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2nd Gen Ram Tech1994-2001 Rams: This section is for TECHNICAL discussions only, that involve the 1994 through 2001 Rams. For any non-tech discussions, please direct your attention to the "General discussion/NON-tech" sub sections.
Ok guys, new here! My truck is a 97 ram 1500 with 5.2 and 175k miles. Im going to be replacing the water pump and timing chain tommorow, I have never done a timing chain and have a few questions. I read the pavementsucks diy on how to do it, but im confused. Once I have the timing cover removed, cant I just turn the (old) gears until the dots line up? (top gears dot pointing down, bottom gears dot pointing up..) Then remove old chain and gears and install new ones in same spot? Dots should still be aligned in same spot right? Sorry if this is a dumb question but I dont know much about timing chains and dont want to screw it up. The set I got is a Cloyes heavy duty double roller. Any other tips or advice? Thanks for any help guys!!!
And you have it exactly correct. Once everything is out of the way, I use a large crescent wrench on the crank snout, using the key for the dampner as a 'stop' for the wrench, and turn the crank till the dots line up nicely. Once the cam is in the correct spot, may have to turn the crank back just a bit, to get them to line up properly.
Well it all went well, took me about 5-6 hrs for the whole thing. Stock chain had about an inch of play in it. Truck seems like it has a bit more power now, but hard to tell. Runs good tho, thanks for the help guys!!
New timing chain help
