Really??? Just pull the engine and over haul it. Its only money ,time and no garage...What good is a lifetime warranty if your always under under the hood replacing it. auto-zone? I would put the Napa new one on and call it done. If high mileage do timing cover and chain set other wise keep your fingers and just do the pump. Make sure its not the fan clutch giving you the squeal.

 

By timing cover? do you mean the timing cover gasket? and by chain set do you mean Timing chain?? Just wanna be sure before I go to autozone and ask them for some part that I dont really know what it is and look like a dumbass. I am going to need to change the water pump, I can't seem to do it though because I cant get the damn fan off... nothing seems to work, anyway not trying to hijack this post, just saying.

 

the idea is to change everything 'consumable' in proximity whilst you're in the vicinity.. you'd be saving yourself a ton of headache in the long run, especially if you intend to keep your truck.. If you want it right, as most here do, you'd be well advised to do them all at once..

the fan is a PITA without proper tools.. I fashioned a bracket out of some iron stock laying around, and no matter how ridiculous it looked, it worked.. Keep in mind that shaft is a counter threaded too..

Anytime you buy a timing chain you'll want to replace the sprocket too- the teeth on the sprocket wear into the bearings (or what passes for bearings on OEM) chains, and the two become married. You could use a new chain on the old sprocket, but the teeth would have their way with that spiffy new chain; you could put new sprockets on, but the chains bearings would have their way with your spiffy new sprocket.. The only way to counter this is to buy them both new, and preferably a matched set.. Double roller chains are stronger and less likely to stretch in the same adjacent links, hence they last longer..

You'll be wanting a chain and sprocket (just ask for a timing chain set), and a timing cover gasket..

You'll also want to either have an extra oil pan gasket, or be mighty careful when you pull the timing cover off..

Don't forget coolant.. check your owners manual for rec'd type.. You NEVER want to mix different types of coolant. They congeal and coagulate and make a sticky mess if you do.. sticky messes and wads of globs don't make a cooling system happy...

I'm sure there are a ton of things I'm missing, as this is just off the top of my head.. You're researching.. that's good.. conscientious research pays off dude, for you and your truck..

 

I just replaced mine after the seal started weeping and blowing coolant all over the engine compartment. The bearings were definitely shot. I upgraded to a high volume pump (http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sk...%26+Drivetrain) and took the opportunity to change all the hoses, the freeze plugs on the front of the motor, and swap out the mechanical fan for an electric fan setup. The whole project took less than six hours, but I'm in San Diego and it was sunny and 75 degrees.

 

I had asked if it was worth going with a high performance water pump a couple weeks ago. I don't think I ever got a response.

I plan to go with an Edelbrock Victor series, E fan and 180 degree Tstat in the future. I was thinking between advancing the timing (my understanding is advancing makes the engine run hotter) and using underpullies, the added cooling would be helpful.

Input?

 

You can only advance the timing by using a tuner, just so you know. You can't advance it the "old fashioned way" by messing with the distributor.

 

I was planning to upgrade my timing chain to a +3 or +4. Isn't that a common way to do it? Or did I misunderstand something along the way?

 

Gets a lot more complicated on these trucks. The cam position sensor in the distributor controls fuel sync, (when the injectors fire) and that's it. Crank sensor controls spark. If you install your cam anything other than straight up, you are going to have some fun getting it to run right.

 

Considering my limited knowledge, I'm guessing I shouldn't bother buying a performance "7 key" chain then?
By the way, I plan to get the SCT to marry everything together. It's just a matter of what I want to do first. The "squeal" is back under my hood (the new tensioner "fixed" it for about a week) so I'm back to looking at the water pump.

 

I got a 3-way timing set, simply because that's the way the double .25in roller chain came. I installed mine straight up. I was absolutely AMAZED at the difference just that one change made in the way the truck runs.

If you can find a fat roller double roller chain, that is less expensive (but, still from a quality brand) that doesn't have all the bells and whistles, go for it. If not, well, you can still put it in there. No one will be holding a gun to your head telling you to advance/retard your cam.