Both timing chain points are excellent. For me anyway. Crap, not sure what to do. Still waiting on that 1st RockAuto delivery of the water pump, t-stat and the hoses, so I got little bit of time to consider which way to go.
Wish there was a sticker in the bay with a date from the last time timing chain was done. With 248k I assume it was done sometime down the line.

I could open up the 6 or 7 bolt thing y'all are talking about and possibly see if its sort of new? Prob just have to make a decision one way or the other. Or if I could see the degree of separation!? Just thought of that! I'm sure I'd need explicit instructions on how to check that.

I have the Haynes for 94-01 full size Pick Ups. Probably wouldn't hurt for someone like me to have a factory service manual though! Thanks!

 

When you say, -With everything apart, just stick a hose in one of the coolant ports for the water pump. Circulate water thru there till it comes out the other side clean. It'll make the flush that much more effective, with less crap to worry about.- I like that idea. A whole lot! So I wondered, for no apparent reason-
Can I stick the hose into the t-stat and let it come out somewhere instead? Or def go into one of the coolant ports? Appreciate it!

 

Thermostat hole would be fine too.

If you pull the timing cover, just replace the chain and gears. I would bet money it has NEVER been replaced, and has more slop than a two-bit hooker. Get a good double-roller unit from wherever you care to. Fair few folks make 'em, and I am not sure any one brand is better than any other. I put an SA Gear .25 pitch double roller in mine, and am perfectly happy with it.

If you want to check it without pulling things apart..... Just pull the distributor cap. Turn the crank backwards until the rotor (in the dist) starts to move, then, turn the crank in the correct direction until the rotor starts to move. Note how many degrees you had to turn the crank for things to start happening. According to theory, up to 12 degrees is 'acceptable'.... (not to me.)

 

Y'all have been a big help. Thanks. I looked at timing kits. Not bad as far as price goes. And if I only replace the gears and chain, you think that would actually be a bit easier, with less risk of damage to that oil pan gasket and anything else, maybe?

I am like Ramman18 though, prob a lot like 18, where as I don't like getting hemmed up in some sort of bind doing things that don't necessarily need to be done.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it", I've heard.

I want to replace the timing chain and stuff in there. Mainly because I agree with HeyYou, about this trucks timing chain prob never having been replaced. Since it's at 248k, if it hasn't been, I'd def think it's due!
I thought "they" say that now a days though, timing chains are for lifetime? Or I may not be comprehending that right. My mother has an 08 Rav4 and I'm pretty sure I read that it's supposed to last for life. ??



Is this a possible major issue-
Theres 7 studs that hold the w/p on, well, almost all were rusted and in bad shape, imo. But one of the holes had water coming out of it when I started loosening it. And by the time I got it out all the way, it was draining water out of the hole. Like, a lot it seemed like.
It's the stud at the top of the water pump, all the way on the right. One of the long ones. Water just came right out of it as I was loosening it and after I had got it all the way out of its hole. Freaked me out kind of bad!
That normal ya think?
I probably got a giant crack in the block or something, maybe blown head gaskets? Who knows!
These new studs are nice and clean though, with that blue stuff, prob some type of loc tite, on the ends already. So I ordered them. They were only like 10 bucks.

Thx.

 

The stock chain isn't lifetime anything. You have pretty much already exceeded it's lifetime.

The mere act of pulling the timing cover has the chance of thrashing the front part of the oil pan gasket, where it seals to the bottom of the timing cover. Be careful. If it does tear, RTV will seal it up. (you still have to leave what's left in place though.)

Water coming out some of the bolt holes is normal. Draining down the cooling system before pulling the pump minimizes what spills everywhere.

 

Some of the water pump bolts go through the water jacket so that's why water/coolant comes dumping out.

It all depends on what you want to do with the truck. You've hemmed and hawed enough I think. Just get the chain and get 'er done. I went to Napa and had to order the double roller Cloyes kit. Got it in a day though. Most of what took me so long was 1) cleaning the timing cover - nasty! and 2) getting all the studs, bolts and nuts back where they came from. Even with a template it was surprising how much I forgot in one day. (Getting old and forgetful I s'pose.)

With 248k I bet my truck that it was never done. Most people have no idea what a timing chain is and every shop/mechanic I've ever talked to would say not to do it. It may be at "the end of its life" but how many people actually keep these trucks past 200k? Now timing BELTS on the other hand, different story. You couldn't give me a vehicle with a timing belt. Stupid design.

I bought into the hype and while it may make a world of difference to some owners, mine didn't. I recall the noise when turned OFF was now quieter. There was a little chain noise as everything stopped moving but that is now gone. Performance, idle, mpg all the same. So I was overly excited to see what would happen performance wise and was disappointed. So regarding that, I don't see the benefit. I'm sure it depends on how the engine was used during its life. I've towed a lot, but always driven it like a big rig - slow take offs, easy shifts, etc. It's only seen 4k rpm a couple times.

But my chain looked like all the videos so I was excited to get the new one on. Oh well. Are you keeping the truck forever? Then do it. Are you hoping to get a new engine soon? Then don't. How about doing a compression test? Things turn out good, and you want to run it another 20k miles or so, then do it. Compression not so good, leave the old one and start shopping engines. It's easy for repairs to lose their honeymoon faze. How many times have you heard about someone putting a bunch of parts on a car then turning around and trading it in?

Regarding flushing, I just drained the radiator and pump, then flushed the core, then refilled. Didn't go after the block drain cause it looked a bit too rusted. Again, at 250k it will be good enough! You're not fixing up a custom Hemi with a blower!

 

Hey y'all. Man, I got a problem. Did the water pump install, t stat, all the hoses and stuff. But theres this leak and I'm not so sure it can be fixed.

The leak is at the upper right side of the water pump. Right at the inlet port on the water pump. Y'all probably know exactly where I'm talking about. That port that's for the metal tubing piece, the one with that bracket on it, it comes out of the heater hose and goes into the pumps inlet port.

The bracket mounted on the metal tubing is for that one 14mm bolt, and when I push the metal tubing piece into the pumps inlet port, the bracket doesn't exactly line up with the hole for the 14mm bolt. Its just a little bit off. Like half the hole. So I have to oust the bracket jjjover some for the holes to line up exactly, for the bolt to be able to go in.

But when I do that, it causes the tubing to back out of the water pump some, just a little, but it doesnt stay in the pump's inlet port as far it can when I dont line it up.
And the o ring is def still in the water pump. just not as far.
I also def put the new o ring that came with this AC Delco water pump on there as well.
There anything I can do? Anyone know why it's leaking right there? Right out of the inlet port? And what I might can do?
I appreciate it. Thought it was ready to flush and test drive! Thanks for anything y'all can think of.

 

Most parts stores will have that tube in the Help section. Just replace it. I suspect the bracket got bent, and you *might* be able to just bend it back to where it needs to be... but, new tube will also get you a new o-ring.

 

Oh, thats all it needs? Crap! Thanks HeyYou. I couldn't get it to stop leaking for nothing! It sucked cuz I'd barely move it this way or that way, every which way there was, I'd put a little pressure on it a few diff ways, nothing worked for very long at all! It'd just keep on leaking.
Sometimes I could hold it just right, then it would stop but if I just even flinched, that was it! Leaking again!

Thx man! Hope it works because it really seemed like it wasn't gonna happen, no matter what I did!
I was thinkin about smearing some of that gray permatex around the outside of the inlet port, with the metal tubing in there, but I cant get it to stop leaking long enough to spread it!

Thanks!

 

When I did my water pump that tube was very loose and I didn't trust that it would seal with just a tiny loose o-ring, so I used some RTV sealant on the tube when installing it. Worked great and no more loosey doosey.