Next weekend I plan on replacing the Water Pump, Timing Chain, rear main seal (leaking), and oil pump with a melling high volume unit.

Here's what I've got or know I need to get:

Water Pump
Cloyes HD Timing Set
Timing gasket set (includes WP gasket, correct?)
oil pump
rear main seal
Stant T stat 180*
10 T stat gaskets (oops, wrong part # from Rock Auto. At least they were cheap and I'm stocked for 3 lifetimes.)
Bypass hose
Oil Pan Gasket
Antifreeze
oil change supplies
extra quart of oil for lubing parts (hey now!)
Ultra Grey RTV
Ultra Copper RTV
Coolant system RTV
1 1/4" Deep Well socket for Crank bolt.
24" Breaker Bar, (no air tools yet, need a hint for keeping the crank from turning.)
torque wrenches
PB blaster for the y pipe and starter bolts
rubber mallet to "adjust" the oil pan
Thread to tie down the four corners of the oil pan gasket while I reinstall it

I need to get the O ring for the heater return pipe, new upper and lower Rad hoses, and rent the Harmonic Balancer puller from Autozone

Now here's the questions:

1. Anything I'm missing?

2. Is there an easier way to find TDC without removing the Distributor cap? I thought about removing the #1 spark plug and sticking an unsharpened pencil upside down in there. Then turn the crank around until I saw maximum pencil showing. If that's not such a hot idea, PLEASE SPEAK UP!

3. Anybody got a good idea for pulling the the Crank off with just a breaker bar and no air tools? Can I wedge a Screwdriver or something through one of the holes in the crank pulley? I read the PS article and it recommended wedging a screwdriver in the Flywheel keyway, but I won't have a buddy to hold it there even though I'll have the oil pan off.

4. Also, I was thinking while I've got the Crank off, should I just bite the bullet and buy an Underdrive pulley for it? Any pros a cons to that? Anybody know what size belt I'd need to replace the stock one?

I know that's a ton of questions, Thanks in advance for the help!

pulling the crank off ?? do you mean the damper off the crank and why would you ? pencil in the spark plug hole bad idea , tap the key a few times till the rotor is sitting on # 1 .. before you take the cap off maark the side with a orange marker or red or black. that should be dead on.. dont care to stick stuff where it doesnt belong... oil pan gasket will have the front main seal to.. hell you damn close of doing an engine rebuild... or stating a **** movie ??? yanking the crank , lubes , sticking in holes...

be wary sticking a screwdriver through the crank pulley. it might work ok, but be careful of what the screwdriver is pressing against. be careful not to break anything... i think being creative with screwdriver or crowbar around flywheel/starter ring might be better than prying on the front of the engine.

don't stick a pencil into spark plug hole. instead, leave spark plugs in for the moment and remove harmonic balancer, using engine compression to help hold the motor from turning. once balancer and timing cover are off, wipe off the sprockets, and stick a little dab of colored rtv on the timing marks. remove the spark plugs and rotate the engine until the timing marks are aligned. remove and replace the sprockets with everything in that position. the sprockets are keyed, so they will come off and go right back on in that position.

when removing balancer, screw the big bolt back into the crank to protect the threads. this prevents the removal tool from getting into and messing up the threads.

heater pipe o-ring should be with the wp, not the timing cover gasket. wp gasket will be in both.

be sure and use thread sealer on all the bolts that pass into the water jackets. i'd use it on all of them. i used the blue stuff. rtv would work just as well.

i coated the timing cover, wp, t-stat gaskets all in a very light coat of rtv. take your time cleaning all surfaces so you don't end up with a leak. i also used a generous dab of rtv where the joints are in the oil pan gasket. i used some liquid teflon sealant on the block drain plugs and somewhere else, but can't recall where.

the rear main cap calls for anarobic sealant. i think it was a little tube of red liquid. i used it just because Haynes said to.
edit...my mistake on color. not red. blue tube...
its permatex #51817 anaerobic gasket maker.
i'm don't remember if i got it at autozone, or other independent place.
i just noticed it says to use with 'surface prep activator'. i didn't do that.
"fills surface imperfections". 'ideal for aluminum and cast iron flanges"

i used some locktite on oil pump bolts.

pay very close attention on the rear main seal not to put it in backwards. also loosen the main caps up enough that the old one comes out reasonable easy. if not, the new one's not going to go in without damage. watch the sharp edges of the upper cap and don't let it cut the new seal.

my personal opinion is that underdrive pulleys are a lot of money for very little benefit.

if the fan won't come off, don't waste too much time with it. just unbolt wp, remove or cut bypass hose, and lift out wp, fan, and shroud all at once. once you get it off, you can clamp the wp pulley in the vise and the fan comes off easy.

i will continue to edit this post as i think of more tips...

I would also get some anti seize on the water pump bolts, and like dhvaughn said, it is usually better to place a crowbar of some sort in the teeth of the flywheel.

Alot of people have said they used the screw holes in the balancer to hold it still while breaking the Bolt. I bought an air compressor for this job. I didn't want to hurt anything.

When you go to take the starter off be sure to use 2--10"x1/2" extensions on the top bolt, it is a PITA to get to from underneath the truck.

I just did the same thing. It went pretty well you have all you need.

Also that o-ring comes with the timing cover gasket, the Waterpump and that bypass tube if yuou get a new one and I would reccomend that you do, $9.

I had my intake off, so I used the rotor method, but it was a little off, I can't see the pencil hurting a thing so do that.

The fan will come off really easy if you get a strap wrench, for $5 from harbor freight or $15 from autozone. Just get it around the wp pulley and get a pipe wrench (a lot of leverage) on the fan nut, it will come right off.

I have pictures I have been meaning to post on some of the hardeer parts about this job, I will have them posted by three today CST.

aim when you do the rear main seal... do me a favor and take some good pics. i belive i have the same problem, but ill wait till you tackle it before i do [8D]

Wow Aim

That is a lot for one weekend. Good Luck

Jeff

Not a weekend,

I'm a teacher so we're talking Spring Break here. I got a whole week to screw it up. Otherwise this would have to wait for summer.

Ok , pencil was a bad Idea, just trying to think about a quick ewasy way to fond TDC. I like dhvaughan's suggestion, I can't stand hanging my a$$ up in the air trying to get that passenger side screw to bite on the distributor.

motor,

I think really all you need as far as pics are on the PS article, but I'll take pics for posterity.

*raises hand* Mr. Squriell... i had a question.