New member here , I have a 1997 1 ton van 360 ( 5.9L LDC) w/ 85 K miles . Sprung a leak from the upper left side of the timing chain cover. I have bought a rebulit factory water pump to install and a gasket kit for the job. I have it torn down to the timing chain cover. I have pulled pulley and balance. Since I have never worked on a Dodge before I need a little advice. I was reading a thread question posted by Dodge 33 who had a similar problem, and have learned a lot by the answers and advice in that thread . Here are my questions:

1. re: replaceing timing chain in above mentioned thread . One guy said in the thread that factory timing chains are junk . Most replies stated that the chain will be shot by 150 K . So I am leaning to replace it along with the water pump even though it only has 85K on it. How long should a replacement chain last? Haynes manual says to replace when over 1/8 inch play It also says must replace both gears if replacing chain. All thoughts for or against are welcome ?

2. Tips/ advice on time chain cover replacement without removing the oil pan. Advice on how not to tear oil pan gasket . Any tricks or tips please !

3. I am not an experienced wrench on much of anything except Model A Fords ,( Oops Sorry about saying the F- word on a Dodge forum), so I anticipate running into some problems and so I thought I would open up a dialog here. Any and all tips, photos, diagrams etc, for this job will be much appreciated. . No way I can afford 100 dollar shop rates so I am going to learn to do it myself no matter what. Thanks in advance
Jeremy ( 1 ton dodge 360 )

 

Your timing cover gasket will come with 2 little pieces to replace that which will rip off your oil pan.

If you are going so far to replace the gasket, you would be a fool not to replace the chain and gears. Never just change the chain or gears, always replace as a set. I have 30 k miles on my timing set. I also have a coolant leak from the water pump area. I will be replacing the timing set with a new double roller, and a new water pump. While you can spend 250$ for one, you can get a very good set for under 80$.

Water pumps are cheap as well, I think I'll be buying the best one available, not a remanufactured one. But that's me.

If you did not keep a record of which brackets and bolts come off from where and in what order, do a couple dry runs without RTV on the gaskets, until you can do it well within the time that the RTV would dry.

 

Ok, Thanks for the comeback . Im convinced. I will change out chain and gears.

To tell you the truth I had at first thought it was a water pump leak when I glanced at it just before having it towed home . Dumb mistake because I did not take a real good look. Anyway I bought a new Napa brand water pump and while I was installing it, noticed my stupid mistake . The bad thing about this new pump was that the pulley was pressed on rather than bolted on and so the top middle bolt can not be torqued due to the pulley position. Must be end wrenched on. So I returned it for a remanufactued Chrysler product which was 20 bucks less and using my old pulley. So the cost for the time cover gasket kit . seal etc was almost a wash. Ive spent 106 bucks so far including 25 for the Haynes manual and so another 80 or so bucks will still keep me at about 200 or just under which will be worth it if I can get her sealed up with all these new components and extend the life of the van. We bought it at a sealed bid auction for $1901.01 last year with 82k on it . Its the long extended van, with 4 bench seats and 2 buckets , seating 14 total. Its a great ride for when my sons and the grandkids are visiting. we can all go in one vehicle.

From what I gather so far this leak is common for the 360. The guy I borrowed the balance puller from said he always uses Aviation hi temp Permatex for all his engine work. What do you think the best stuff to use is , to hopefully prevent reoccurance of this leak? What do you reccommend?

 

I use permatex ultra blue to coat most gasketed areas & even around the hose fitttings before putting new hose on. ( there are different colors, red for high temp, copper for oxygen sensors, etc)
Whenever clamping a sealed area together ( pumps, pans etc) always scrape clean both the mating surfaces & use lacquer thinner or brake cleaner. Once that's dry, I lightly coat both sides of the gasket & the mating surfaces right before assembly. Permatex ultra blue seems to work really well for most apps; give it overnight to cure. Hope this helps!