Short of actually pulling the timing cover off and checking it, of course. My car had waaaay more power a year ago than it does now, and despite the fact that I've kept every part of the engine in tune, it's just not the car it used to be. If (or when) I pull the timing cover, how much movement should the chain have? TIA

 

hmmmm, stretched?? How many miles does that motor have? When I pulled my 2.8L out of my old truck at 200,000 miles, the timing chain was in great shape, and I ran her HARD. However, when we pulled my friends 2.8L out of his truck at 290,000 miles, his chain was stretched all to hell.
What I'm trying to say is unless u have racked up the miles, the chain will be fine. When you pull the cover, the chain should be rather tight, i.e. you should not get your finger between the gear and the chain

 

I believe it's a 17mm bolt on the crank.
Get a socket on it.
Pop off the distributor cap.
Twist the crank, observe the ROTOR movement.
IF IT OVER AN INCH OF CRANK MOVEMENT UNTIL THE ROTOR RESPONDS, plan on this project, real soon.
Northern Auto 800-831-0884
Speed Pro & Fel Pro parts, delivered from Iowa to LA,CA was about $50-ish
Don't worry about double this or that.
Don't mean $hit. Ya just want a tight chain up there. You cannot advance it nor retard it. IT GOES ON, dot to dot, exactly the way the factory left placed the original on.
I've done this twice.
Balancer is fun to remove. Use the BEST balancer remover you can obtain. THE BEST balancer remover, nothing less.

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Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA

[This message has been edited by KED85 (edited September 03, 2001).]