Hello all, I just had a couple quick questions about my next repair and figured this would be the place to ask so here goes. The vehicle is my 92 Dakota Magnum V-8 318 with 181K miles on it. A little while back (approx 1000 miles), I grenaded the water pump and replaced it, the pulley, the thermostat, all the hoses/clamps etc and life was good until about 2 days ago. What I'm guessing might not be a coincidence now, the timing cover gasket has developed a bad coolant leak in the upper left corner where it seals to the engine block. This leak is a $10 fix and not much of a problem for me, but I'm wondering if now is also the time to replace the timing chain and gears while this is all torn apart. That's something I'm not too familiar with. I guess my questions are as follows:

1.) I'm at least the 3rd owner of this truck and have had issues with ordering engine parts in the past. Most stuff fitting a 93 even though the truck is a 92, so I have no idea if the engine has been swapped or rebuilt at some point. If I pull the timing cover off and find a double roller chain with minimal slack, is it safe to assume it's been changed and just leave it alone?? Is there a spec for the amount of deflection in the chain itself??

2.) If I find the stock sprockets and a sloppy chain (which is the most logical outcome) will 1992 and 1993 parts both interchange??

3.) As far as disassembly, can I just line up the timing marks on both pulleys when it's all torn down and put the new ones on the same way or do I need to set the engine at TDC ahead of time??

4.) Most aftermarket timing gear kits I'm looking at have settings at 0* -4* and +4* on the crank gear. Is there any reason to advance or retard the timing?? Will it affect the computer or emissions at all?? This thing still has to pass emissions in CT for the next 5 years.

This will be my first Dodge timing chain replacement with the engine in-vehicle and not on a stand. Also my first magnum engine at all. I just want to make sure I cover all my bases here. Any help is very much appreciated.

 

I had a coolant leak from my timing chain cover gasket and when I did it I replaced the chain & gears. My engine was used and they said it had 151K on it. The timing chain had 3/4" of slop. After I replaced it it had let than 1/'8".

1) You're probably safe to assume that. You should just replace it anyways, you're right there.

2) All Magnum chain kits should be the same for the 3.9, 5.2, 5.9, '92 through I think '03.

3) Line the marks up before you take the chain off. That'll be top dead center.

4) Just set it to zero. Unless you know what you're doing you could end up with a running condition. Those are for degreeing a cam and usually you have offset keys to utilizes those -4/+4 degrees. It involves a degree wheel, a piston stop, and a solid lifter.

 

from what i have read advancing the cam does not give more torque. it moves torque from top RPM to lower RPM. iam not sure how much. do NOT go more than 4 degrees advance. from what i have read the newer gears set are very accurate. to the point that dialing it in with a degree wheel has no advantage. just my idea.

 

Alright, well that sets things at ease a bit. I ordered the double roller chain set with billet sprockets last night for a 92 just to make sure it got here for today. The thing that was confusing me was that in a couple write ups I read and a crappy haynes manual some people were saying cylinder #1 will be TDC and others said cylinder #6. Also said to set it before tearing the engine down which I see no benefit to until the cover is already off especially if there is a 50/50 chance of picking the wrong cylinder. So, without any further delays, it's time to get to work on this thing!!

 

Setting the timing marks (on the gears) after you get cover off will be fine.

 

in the chrysler factory service manuals, ( i have 3-4 with in my reach right now ) it tells you to line up the dots on the the sprockets. it does NOT say that it is at #1 TDC. cause it is at #6 TDC. if you doing the timing chain sprockets dont over think your self. the book ONLY says line up the dots, and NOTHING eles.

 

Alright, after some minor issues and a crazy work week, I finally got a chance to put the truck all back together tonite and fired it up. It started really hard the first time, couldn't find an idle at all and blew a ton of moisture/carbon out of the exhaust. We checked the wire connections and found the battery ground hanging by a thread from where I pulled it out of the way initially. I disconnected the battery, fixed the ground, double checked all connections and gave it a second go. This time, the truck still started hard but idled and ran fine as I let the battery charge. As soon as I put it in a gear, the idle drops to 100 rpm's and then stalls out. It will restart once or twice and idle if the truck is in Park or Neutral but then will not start at all. It instantly dies if put into a gear after the first try. Also, if you go to rev it up, it is maxed out at around 2800-3000 RPM's which is far off from it's usual red line. Is there a chance I screwed the timing up somehow?? I took the old set off and installed the new one at 0* with no issues in the same exact spot. Seemed pretty straightforward to me. The truck isn't throwing any codes or making any noise in the top or bottom end. It idles great, just won't run under a load.

 

I would say you messed up your timing. If it ran correctly before you replaced something and now it doesn't, you have to look at what you replaced. I've gotten customers come in and say their vehicle ran good before they did a tune up and now it runs bad. I'll check the firing order and sure enough, they have a couple of spark plug wires crossed.

 

Finally got the old girl running. The timing was dead on perfect like I already knew. It turned out to be an old electrical issue that came creeping back into the picture. I also think the PCM/computer is on borrowed time, but for the moment, she's back to 100%. The oil pressure even came back to where it should be instead of down in the L range. Thanks for all the help guys