Timing Chain Guides: Replacement Questions

[SLC Punk]

I had the valve cover off last night and noticed that the drivers side of the chain felt loose compared to the other side. I was wondering how hard of a replacement it is. To change the guides, is it necessary to take the chain off? The truck has so many miles on it, I would like to do it as cheaply and as easy as possible. Any pointers?

[amgraham]

Yeah, you pretty much have to remove the chain to do the guides. You probably want to replace the chain anyway as it's rather cheap insurance for the amount of work you have to do. It is a pretty frustrating job to do but not really hard, more just time consuming. It took me about a day real time to do mine after you back out time I was waiting for parts and the weather and stuff. I used this write-up and it was pretty spot on : http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/EngineMods/TimingChain.shtml

[SLC Punk]

Bummer. I was hoping I could swap out just the guides.. Thanks for the link. Is it common for just one side to go out?

[amgraham]

Yeah, the driver's side guide is always the one that breaks. That's the untensioned side so the chain has more slack. It's not a big deal to pull the chain.. You have to pull the same amount of stuff to get to the guides.

[EWAYota]

It would be a good idea to order your TC from Engnbldr. Just get the timing chain set with drivers side steel rail. Take your time on the job. Be careful if you leave the head on, NOT to pinch the head gasket when you put the timing cover back on as well. And one tip, get a piece of card board and make a template of the timing cover. When you pull the bolts off of the front, put them where they were onto the template. Theres a few bolts that are similar in length, but just off enough to cause you some issues in the end if put them in the wrong spot.