Well, I found out the dealer wanted 370 dollars for the egr. So I got the part number and went to auto zone and paid 214.00 dollars! Yeah it sucks. Good news is the egr, is the easiest thing I have ever replaced! You, unclip the wires going to it, take off two bolts, replace the gasket which came with the egr. Then reverse with the new one! While I was at it, I finally got the other bolt off the bracket with the coil! So I FINALLY changed that. Hardest part was getting off the little tiny bolts that bolted to the bracket. I did that with a screwdriver and a hammer and kind of chiseled them off. Then I figured, I might as well change the spark plugs. Since it would be easy as crap to get to the infamous one behind the alternator. So I changed all of them with bosch platinums. Now, I have changed all the spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributor cap, rotor, and coil, cleaned my k and n, changed my belt tensioner and belt, and changed the fuel filter. So I put everything back in order and fire it up. Sounds really good. But it went and did the idling crap again. Sooooo, I am REALLY stumped on how the crap I am going to fix this. I am thinking, TIMING CHAIN. Heck, that's like the only thing I haven't changed on my car. The chain only cost like 20 bucks from auto zone. But I'm thinking this is going to be a HUGE project if I try and tackle it. Has anyone done this? Also, the spark plug on the drivers side all the way against the firewall had some oil on it and it looks like it might be leaking there. Not a lot but it is. Maybe it's a seal? Well from all my hard work today, it didn't fix the problem I was hoping. Oh well, at least I have a lot of new parts under the hood! And thanks a whole whole bunch to all you guys who helped me change all this stuff. Heck like a year and a half ago I couldn't even change my own oil! Let me know if any of you guys have attempted the timing chain yourselves! Eric

 

I went thru the same thing you did as far as changing all those parts but the one thing I never got to do was my timing. I always had that idle problem even with me cleaning the IAC well once I did the timing she purred like a kitten. It was easier than I thought it would be.

 

Run a compresion test. You may just find the reason for ytour idle problem. Sence you had plug fouled with oil it could be a seal or a couple of other things. Oil in the chamber can cause it to drop a pistion and give you a crapy idle and accelration problem. Run the compresion test on all cylinders. there is a section in the chiltons book about doing the test and what the results mean.

 

Check the chain stretch.
17mm ratchet on the crank snout
Pop off distb cap. Move crank observe rotor movment.
If inch crank move then rotor, found problem.
Put on new water pump same time.
Not fun, very worthwhile!
Can just loosen distb, rotate toward the firewall.
IF smooths out idle, you got a few miles of fun, till you do the job.
But, then you still plan to do it....

 

I bet you're only getting the timing chain for $20... buy the camshaft sprocket and cam gear, too. I hear you might also want to buy a new timing chain tensioner... if you search the V6 archives, you'll hopefuly find info that someone put up about a part # and price. (For the Cloyes timing chain, you discard the stock tensioner, because the gears hit it!) Altho, my tensioner wasn't in bad shape for being an '86 with +180,000 miles on it (at the time).

Buy the FelPro gasket set for it. You might have to go to a "real" parts store to get it right away/next day, AutoZone might take a week or three to order it. The FelPro set comes with a water pump gasket, timing chain cover to block upper gasket, the front crank seal, and a bit of cork gasket to replace the front oil pan lip.

I didn't use the cork gasket. I used blue RTV to fill that gap.

Note that you might have two "hidden" bolts on the bottom of the timing chain cover. Neither my Haynes (no comments, Drew! ) or my GM/Helm manual mentioned those two lower bolts!! I thought my timing chain cover was stuck to the block.. so I started prying... then I finally got the idea to look for extra bolts, and found two of them. They're underneath the bottom of the timing chain cover, and connect the oil pan to the timing chain.

I used Permatex Hi-Tack Gasket Sealer (red, in a metal can with a brush in the cap) on the cover and water pump gaskets. I used engine assy' lube on the front seal and gears/chain.

You'll need a three-jaw gear puller to remove the crankshaft gear. I tapped the new one on using an old section of pipe (which fit around the crank snout, and mated against the "middle" of the crank gear). I hear that if you heat the crank gear up, and put it on the crankshaft while wearing gloves, that it slips right on.

Don't use the center bolt of the crank pulley to draw the harmonic balancer on. I did that, and the bolt snapped. My mechanic welded the balancer to my crankshaft- not the proper way at all! But it's been holding for 3 years... still, you don't want to have this happen. Either buy/rent (Autozone rents, right?) a balancer installer, or drive the balancer on with a rubber mallet. Make sure you hit only the CENTER of the balancer, and NOT the outer ring, or you'll ruin the balancer. Make sure to smear more engine assembly lube (doesn't matter what brand) on the part of the balancer that will fit the front seal. Also, check your balancer for a groove made by the old front seal. If a groove exists, you can either buy a new balancer, or buy a balancer repair kit for $10-$15, which consists of adhesive, and a new "sleeve". You put the adhesive inside the sleeve, and tap the sleeve onto the outside of the balancer-to-front-seal area.

You'll need a ducksfoot puller to remove the balancer. They're cheap, so you might just want to buy one instead of rent one. Mine cost $15 from Pep Boys, and came with an assortment of bolts. (Pep Boys accused me of trying to steal the bolts, I blew up, demanded a mananger, and while he went to try and "find" the puller (for 10-15 minutes, I could see him in the aisle), I ran up behind him, and started throwing puller sets at him. "See? They ALL come with bolts. What kind of store manager doesn't know his own store products?" Oh man I was fuming... I only go back to that store if I need to.)

 

Bolts sizes
15mm
13mm
10mm
8mm (maybe!)
Those 10mm are the ones Tom mentioned.
THEY ARE FINE SMALL HEAD MACHINED THREAD BOLTS, LONG!
They go from pan to timing chain cover.
VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU TAKE FOREVER TO BE 100% ABSOLUTLY SURE THOSE ARE THREADED CORRECT.
IF NOT,
LEAK CITY, ONLY DISCOVERED AFTER THE JOB IS DONE & ENGINE RUNNING!
USE 12 point sockets to remove the small head bolts.
800-831-0884
Northern Auto Parts,
Everything delivered, Speed Pro, Fel Pro, Air Tek pump, $50-ish.
WORTHWHILE PROJECT!

 

Wow, You guys are great!! Looks like I have a pretty big project on my hands! Maybe I'm in over my head. The timing chain from auto zone does come with the sprocket as well tomp. And thanks a lot for the in depth preview of what I'm gonna have to do! You guys are great and this projects gonna have to wait till at least next paycheck, since the egr and junk took a crap load of my money. Thanks again guys! Eric