I have 145,000 miles on my 305TBI so I figure I better change the chain. Is it pretty straight forward? I guess I need a tool to pull the balancer. Can I borrow these from the store, or do I have to buy one? Do I need an impact wrench to get the pulleys off? Anything else I may need? One last thing, any specific chain thats better then another? Thanks for the help.

 

btt

 

I wouldn't bother changing it. It can't hurt though, and may prolong the life of your engine a little longer. He's what you have to do.

The crank pulley should come off with a regular wrench. You may have to get a little creative with keeping the engine from turning.

You will need a puller for the balancer. Should be able to buy or rent from a parts store.

Drain coolant and remove water pump.

You will have to loosen the oilpan and pull it down a little.

Remove the timing cover.

Crank the engine around by hand to get the marks on the timing chain to line up and remove the can sprocket and chain.

You could pull the crank sprocket off and press on the new one, but I have always just left the old one unless I was doing a full rebuild. It will cause the chain to last maybe 100K instead of 150K miles.

After you put the new timing chain and cover back on(and new gaskets), use some black RTV to seal the oilpan and bolt it back up.

Do not hammer the damper back on. Make a pressing tool using a bolt, nut and washer.

The rest is pretty straight forward. Take this opportunity to replace the belt and hoses if they haven't been done recently.
Good luck

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89 Transam GTA, 350TPI, auto, 3.27 rear, dual cats, gray.
Magnaflow cat-back,
K&N open element,
Best E.T. 14.63@95mph

 

you can walk the crankshaft gear on, you will need a 3-arm gear puller to get the gear off..

CHANGE the crank gear.

this will seriously make your engine run smoother as cam timing will not be sloppy at idle, you will also notice that you will have better off-idle power because cam timing will be dead on.

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Webmaster: www.IROC-Z.org

 

Change the crank gear. I wouldn't be suprised if it's missing a tooth. Some of the stock gears aren't even metal. I've had good luck with the summit brand chain and gears I installed. I also installed a summit cam at the same time--good results with it as well. I can't imagine why you would want to leave the crank gear.

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350 with stealth intake, holley carb, 470 lift cam. 700r4 with .5 boost valve, vette servo, tci lock-up kit, B&M megashifter. Richmond 3.73 gears, powertrax locker, timkin bearings, synthetic lube. Custom 3 inch single into 2 2.5 pipes. 1 1/2 drop springs, 1 5/16 solid front sway bar, 1 inch rear bar, custom subframe connectors, custom LCA relocation brackets. Kobel ground FX, current red metallic paint. Lots of other stuff...
82camaro