So I was having some timing problems, decided to pull the cover and make sure I had installed the cam correctly. Noticed a whole lot of rubbing on the inside of the timing chain cover. Do I need a cam button? Do you think that is my only problem or is their something else like the wrong type of timing chain cover? The engine is a 1996 roller block out of either a silverado or a van. The cover is just a chrome one from summit for an 86+ 350.

 

Seems like you need one of these http://www.summitracing.com/search/Y...locking+plates

pull your distrib, i bet your gear is all stripped up

 

Hey thanks a bunch. I have ordered up one of those retention plates and I will check the gears.

 

Which one did you order? The ones on there that are $3- $6 are only to keep the bolts from comming loose. They aren't going to keep the cam from moving around. Are you running a roller cam? By the look of the mark it looks like the dowel pin is rubbing. Can you take a pic of the front of the cam with the cam gear on?

 

Same thing happened to me......
I don't know which camshaft you put in but the LT1's use a slightly longer dowel pin. Just give it a couple taps with a BFH.....worked for me!!!!

 

I got this one:



Yes it is a roller cam, the nose of the cam has a step that is behind this retainer so it should prevent the cam from walking forward. You are correct it looks like it was just the dowel pin that was scraping. the cam is an xfi 268 part #08-466-8 which should be correct for a non lt1-lt4 engine.

 

Just from the picture, it looks like that dowel is out too far. it should be flush with the gear when installed. A bit recessed isnt a bad thing either.

 

I was working on my engine yesterday and discoverd the same thing, I rebuilt my enging 3 years ago and the dovel pin was flat with the camgear then. The motor is sence then driven aprox. 13000 miles and the dovel pin has come out of the camshaft about 1/2 inch and scraped and busted a hole in the timing cover luckily I found this before any serious damage occured. The question I´m asking myself now is how is it possible for that dovel pin to come out of the axel thru that thight hole in the gear by it self. When installing the new cam I´m going to use the cam bolt lockplate to keep the pin in, tho the lockplate for some reson also has a hole for the dovel im going to turn it so that the pin is behind the metal.

 

Here are some pictures of the damage to the timing cover

 

I never realized that this was such a common problem....!

Another member here thought that his brand new bottom end was the culprit of all the banging and clunking.
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/alte...ml#post4570693

I wonder what's goin on?