i think my chaing might be stretched a little. throwing off timming and such, how can i check to see if it is without taking off to much crap?

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- David
88' GTA 5.7L TPI MODS---> air foil, K&N, Shift Kit, 180* therm, TB bypass, Gutted CAT, Flowmaster 80 Series

http://www.geocities.com/david_angel_16

 

Breathe,

Remove the distributor cap and tie/hold it away from the distributor. While watching the rotor, turn the crankshaft with a socket on the balancer bolt or with a strap wrench. Turn the crank clockwise a quarter turn and note the action of the distributor rotor. Turn the crank slowly counter-clockwise, and watch the rotor for lag. If the rotor does not turn until the crank is turned several degrees, your timing chain may be stretched.

There is always a bit of play in the chain, and in the distributor gear engagement caused by longitudal movement of the camshaft in the engine. If the car has roller lifters, this can be a bit more pronounced, but shouldn't account for more than 3-5° of crank movement.

If the play seems excesive, you should remove the distributor, then observe the camshaft distributor drive gear for excessive end play while an assistant turns the crankshaft. If the camshaft doesn't move excessively fore-and-aft when the crank direction is reversed, you can assume that almost all lag and play is due to the timing set.

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Later,
Vader
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Justice and Freedom will Prevail
Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

not that it matter much to you since you don't want to take apart the front of the engine, but if you ever have an engine apart and want to know you check by holding the chain horizontal and looking at the amount of deflection in it. i think a sag of more than the chain thickness is considered excessive.

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ICON Motorsports
1st & 3rd
MM Black Diamond 538 F&AM

 

if the chain has excessive slack...itll idle rough and cant be timed cause the mark will jump around on the timing mark on the timing chain cover