.
..and just to Make Damned Sure... After I saw my own images ...I spied the
ONE THING that just might mean there could possibly be a way out of this
Timing Chain Purgatory after seeing
THIS Feature in the Lower, Inner Timing Cover-Gerotor Oil Pump Casement.
Notice how Deep that Protective Aluminum Cast Investment Well or Shroud is down inside there...?
Well... I thought
MAYBE... Just
MAYBE.. that once the Crankshaft Cog-Sprocket was slid over the Nose of the Crankshaft (#1 Cylinder TDC TIMING PIN - Quasi-Woodruff Key Locater) and then inserted back through the Center Gerotor Female Cog Port... WITH the New Timing Chain installed...that
MAYBE it might be
IMPOSSIBLE for
THAT section of the Chain Links to completely Fall or Drop Off the Sprocket Teeth once FREE... and Just
MAYBE ...it would wind up being Snug Enough in there to prevent that unfortunate event from ever happening.
So I decided to spring for an inexpensive
"MOCA" Timing Chain Set Kit (for around Sixty Two Bucks) just so I could try out THIS Experiment (Which... AFAIK...
had not as yet been done... to my certain knowledge) and then be able to SEE First Hand if there was
ANY HOPE that this might WORK. But, Sadly...
NOPE.
The New Crankshaft Cog was VERY SNUG... so it was NOT necessary to have the Nose of the Crankshaft poking through there for the sake of Stability. The Chain Links also fit VERY SNUG.... and even though there was Not a LOT of Extra Space once the Chain became LOOSE... it could still manage to Slip completely OFF of the Sprocket Teeth and then slide either to the Left or slide to the Right by One Tooth ...or even MORE...
WITH EASE.
Now, If ONLY GM had designed a
Black Plastic "UFC Mouth Guard" sort of device tucked inside of that narrow space down inside there to Prevent that Chain from Dropping Down from those Teeth by even a
'little bit'... then having such a purpose-made "Thing" fixed in place down there would have made
HUGE difference in expediting this Cam-Phaser Repair while working from the Top - Down... with the added "Peace Of Mind" that once the Tensioner was Re-Compressed and the Two Timing Marks were aligned on the Exhaust Camshaft Cam-Phaser Sprocket and the Intake Camshaft Sprocket, everything would work properly.
Anyhow... the one other thing worth mentioning though is that for the Money... this Off Brand "MOCA" Timing Chain Set was of a
MUCH Higher Quality than I expected it would ever be. For example, consider that the Top Chain Guide was not only stamped from Thicker, Good Quality Mild Steel...
but they Chrome Plated the Damned Thing, too ... and...
they also installed a THICKER Black Plastic Chain Guide Plate Insert as well!
Take a look at the image of the Timing Chain Tensioner Cast Iron Body and you can see that it was Cast FIRST and Then Machined down very nicely afterwards. Every Component that was necessary
(Including the Special High Temp Silicone Sealant) was present inside of this kit; individually Labeled, Lightly Lubricated, bagged up hermetically and finally, sealed inside of a Larger Bag with the "MOCA" Company Logo embossed as a
"Point of Pride" Motif.
So if I was working on any GM 4.2L LL8 Engine as a "Budget Build"... I might just consider getting
THIS Kit instead of my usual choice of only using the more expensive
Cloyes After-Market Repair Products.
...Just sayin'... Anyways...
I was trying to Look Out For You, Dude... But this Idea was a BUST... Sorry about that... :>(
MOCA Auto Parts DOES Carry Quite A Few Things... for the Owners of Our GMT360s:
https://shop.mocaautoparts.com/?shpxid=b394bdf0-fb56-4e0d-bce4-2f00534855ec