I need to do the water pump on my z. I have a brand new chrome timing cover that I have not installed yet. Do I need to drop the oil pan to install the cover? Whats involved?

 

The pan doesn't have to come off, but you've gotta take it plenty loose so you can pry it down and pull out the cover. Sounds like a good time to replace the timing set. Also sounds like a good way to create a leak. Chromed tins are notorious for being poor Chinese parts. Breaking the original oil pan gasket sure isn't going to help things in the leak prevention department. Might be able to juice up the gasket where the pan was pulled down, with RTV. Might even sorta seal.

 

Once you put the water pump back on, you can hardly see any of the timing cover.
They also rust quickly.
And Drew is correct, they are cheap and almost guarantee leaks.
Just don't do it.

 

Hang the chrome Timing cover on the wall of your garage. You will enjoy it a lot better there.

 

Lol.. thanks for the advice guys... not going to install it!

 

That's my advice as well. They ALWAYS rust under the chrome, and blow the plating off in large flakes; within a VERY short time, in REAL WORLD use (as opposed to "square inches of chrome" contests in shopping mall parking lots for the benefit of easily-impressed 8-yr-old kids), they ALWAYS look like mortal crap.

Plus, if you don't grind the chrome off on the sealing surfaces, they ALWAYS leak. But of course the grinding just promotes and enhances the rust process.

It's one of those surprisingly innocent things that ALWAYS has unforeseen consequences you DON'T want, and therefore isn't by any means A Good Idea.

Paint your stock one black so it hides, if you ever have it off. Meanwhile, if it isn't leaking, just leave it alone. You'l be MUCH happier.

 

Great advice! Thank you all!

 

I just did this with my truck thinking it was a 2 piece gasket and nope, that sucked. When I took off the cover, out came the front of the oil pan gasket. I guess about 3 inches of it. But when i swapped the chain and put the cover back up, just lower the pan enough up front and replace the ripped up gasket with RTV, and I dont see any leaks yet.

 

Depends on the year. Until 1985 the oil pan gasket uses a 4 piece setup, with rubber strips at the front and back, and cork right and left. 86-up use a 1pc rubber gasket with inserts to keep from overtightening the pan bolts, etc. There are aftermarket 1pc pan gaskets for earlier V8s, but they're not something most people are going to run into, unless they installed it themselves.

Felpro sells timing cover gasket sets with pieces to replace the portion of the gasket that's damaged when the timing cover alone is removed.

I did one cam swap without removing the pan. It was a $200 Malibu with a 267 V8 and I was installing a 2nd hand flat tappet "RV Cam", so I didn't feel too bad about squeezing a bunch of "gasket glue" into the gap and tightening the bolts up. To be fair, it didn't leak profusely for the few months I kept the car, but I only kept it a few months. And it was a $200 Malibu, pretty sure I didn't spend much time worrying about minor leaks.