DeTomaso Mailing List: April 99, Message #147

At 14:30 04/05/99 -0400, JDeRyke@aol.com wrote:
>Tom: best guess is, you have a worn timing chain & it jumped several (many?) 
>teeth, mis-timing the cam. OR, you sheared the distributor drive gear roll 
>pin. Pull the water pump and front cover (can be R & R-ed without dropping 
>the pan) and check the cam-to-crank timing. If the motor has over 25,000 
>miles, order a roller timing chain and sprockets beforehand; you WILL need 
>them. If the chain is not stretched and the cam & crank are in time, then 
>pull the distributor and very carefully verify the roll pin is all the way 
>thru the drive gear. Note they sometimes shear on one side only but still 
>allow the gear to twist. New pins are 5¢ from Ford. Reinforce the new pin 
>with a second, smaller pin pushed thru the center of the main pin. A spot of 
>RTV on both ends will retain them until you load the system. I'd leave the 
>front cover off until you R & R the distributor; its possible for a 
>non-Ford-familiar engine "builder" to install the oil pump driveshaft 
>backwards. If so, when you pull the distributor, the pump rod will lift up, 
>then fall into the pan, forcing you to pull the pan and oil pump to replace 
>it correctly.  With the front cover off, you can reach in with long pliers 
>etc and ensure the rod won't fall out of position, even if its in there 
>backwards. Good luck-J DeRyke

I would avoid R&R'ing the front cover if at all possible.  In my
experience, it is virtually impossible to R&R the front cover WITHOUT
removing the oil pan.  This is due to the snug fitting front cover to pan
rubber seal that will push against each other when trying to re-install the
cover.   In most cases, I have found you will need to drop the pan at the
front in order to get the little tabs on the back of the cover in
underneath the block just above the oil pan.  I screwed with one for hours
before finally resigning myself to drop the pan.

Have you honestly had better luck Jack?  If so, please let me in on the
secret.

Asa Jay
: )