Hi Guys,

I'm about to put my new ATI Super Balancer on and I want to know if I should change the timing chain and oil pump. '98 coupe with 113k miles.

My old man has a '89 and is a long term GM fan who says the timing chain is not a wear item. Is he correct or full of it?

Looking for a quality opinion on this....please don't just say "change it" if you don't have knowledge!

 

What are your plans for the car? Staying stock or going to add more power to it?

 

I think I'd change it since you're already in there. LS1 is an interference engine and a broken timing chain is catastrophic to this engine. LS2 timing chain is stronger than the LS1 and they aren't expensive. A new oil pump would only set you back another $60.00 dollars or so and now would be a good time if you have a few extra bucks to spare.

 

Staying 100% stock with this car. Only reason for upgrade to ATI is putting something on there that won't fail again.

 

Chains do stretch and the oil pumps do fail..So I agree with tbrowne

 

I went ahead and popped the front cover since the gaskets for my water pump will come with the front cover gasket...

...Everything looks nice. The chain isn't super tight but looks impeccable. Doing some research right now to see if that is the stock chain. I'm a 2nd owner on the car...I assume the car was sold to avoid some of this work but I am fine being that huckleberry.

I'm a little afraid of changing to a new chain with the engine in the car...worried about timing of course and messing that up. I haven't read into this yet (have already spent so much time learning how to change the balancer), does anyone have an estimate (scare factor?) that has changed it before?

Many many thanks to the forum as always.

 

Damn those pictures came out huge! Sorry...

I noticed my block is drilled and tapped for the chain "damper" but it is not installed...maybe I can still get one of those.

 

I pulled the OE damper from my fairly low mileage, '01, in order to avoid any issues in the future. In a classic case of "while I was in there", I decided to upgrade to the LS2 timing chain. I, too, was considering the GM chain tensioner, as my car didn't have one. However, since my block didn't have the correct bolt spacing, I went with the Trick Flow adapter, which allowed me to use the GM tensioner.

I look at it this way, since it takes so much effort, to get "stuff" out of the way, just to swap the damper, you might as well change anything/everything that's potentially worn/questionable.

 

if you go that far a cam swap is just a few more bolts away... setting the timing is super easy... look at the pic you posted and at about the 10 o'clock position there is a dot on the cam gear, well if you spin the motor around to where that dot is in the 6 o'clock position there will be a dot on your crank gear and those dots will line up together, that's all there is to it... when you install the new chain spin the motor over by hand a few times and then make sure the dots on both gears are still in line and if so then you are good to go

 

True, BUT.............he'd still have to remove the fans, the radiator, and the A/C condenser.............but since he's in there!!!

 

Lol, the first thing I did was remove the breather, radiator, condensor, fans...I also happen to have the exhaust dropped and the starter out. At some point in the future, I have to pull the dash pad and the intake manifold as well because of the demonic blend door actuators and oil pressure sending unit. ...Yeah, all the normal stuff on my C5 is bad, but just think about how it will be when I'm done!

I have neither the patience nor $$$ to start thinking about cams...not a racecar here.

 

I did mine with the condenser in the car... but yeah the other stuff will have to come out... I just couldn't get that far in and not change something but that's me

 

do the chain they do stretch yours has some....youll feel better about it. Cam and lifters should be fine.

 

I did oil pump and chain on a friends' 2002 that only had 45k on it.
The chain had a LOT of slop in it. I went back with the single roller to avoid
having to modify for a double roller.
It was nice and tight.. It did not have the holes drilled and tapped for the
new style ls2 damper so i just did the replacement chain..
Also did oil pump. Just remember to PRIME the pump ..
Melling has a video on how to do it.
So My Advice is: Do both . You have the tough part done already.

Also, make sure you are careful with the oil pump O ring and make sure to use
the correct one... You'll know by color.. And the melling pump comes with both.

 

It is a good idea. I would do a Melling high pressure pump and LS2 chain.

I also recommend the SAC City alignment tool for the front cover install. A small price to pay not to do the job twice.

 

I've seen that the high pressure pumps are not recommended for high mileage engines!!

I think I am going with the LS2 chain.

Thanks for the rec on the alignment tool. Will give it my consideration. Yeah, I DO NOT want to have to do any of this twice. That is the point of the chain and oil pump now.

I love me a guiness...haha.

 

Make sure to use the correct tools for damper installation, especially for pressing the hub onto the crank snout. On the ATI, you are supposed to measure both the crank snout and the hub to the 10,000's of an inch. There is a recommended interference fit of a few 1/10,000's of an inch (can't remember the exact numbers but can look it up if you don't have it). If you are outside the interference fit window you will need to get the hub honed to the correct diameter since they are shipped to ensure they are not too big and depending on your crank snout diameter the need for honing will be determined. ATI will do this for a nominal cost if you don't have a local machine shop capable of honing. Call their tech support for more information.

I would swap the timing set with new GM to ensure you get new sprockets as well, which can wear and develop chain wrap. I would also install the timing chain dampener if it were my car. Some of the earlier years were prone to the oil pump failing due to the bypass sticking and loss of oil pressure. For that reason, since you are already there, I would swap in a new GM pump. Katech had some of the original GMPP timing chain dampers a while back, not sure if they still have them. If not, I would go with the RDE aftermarket unit rather than the Trick Flow which will require further disassembly.

RDE Timing Chain Dampener

I assume you will be installing a new seal.

 

I replaced my whole timing set when I did my balancer at 132k. There were no problems, but I figured it would add considerable life to the engine. I used a c7 LT1 timing chain. This is currently the oem replacement for an LS1. I used a ported LS6 oil pump with the stock oil pressure spring. I got a new crank sprocket, but was unable to source an LS1 cam sprocket. The newer sprockets are all solid and have the features for the cam sensor since it is in the front on newer engines. The LS1/6 sprocket is much lighter with holes in it. I was able to source a used LS1 sprocket with 11k on it from the forum. I had to buy the adapter bracket to install a timing chain dampener on my 99.

 

Hey guys!

Good news and bad. Good first, I finally finished...the car runs smoother than ever. Bad news, after turning the wheel the first time under power in the driveway, I heard a grind and shut the motor off...opened the hood to find power steering fluid everywhere and the PSF resevoir empty. It seems I have done a terrible job reconnecting one of the PSF lines or it isn't my fault at all and something finally went bust. I haven't found the source of the leak yet but it is really fast and drains out completely in no time. Anyone ever experience this after having the rack in and out? Any guesses? Probably not...taking the evening off for some pizza and will see if I can fix it tomorrow.



-Chris

 

Before you started the car, for the first time, did you "bleed" the rack??


If not, try this..... Lift the car so the front wheels are off the ground, as you need to be able to turn the wheels, left and right. With the engine off, make sure there's a LITTLE fluid in the rack, then turn the steering wheel full left, then full right, several times. If the fluid level drops, add some fluid, then repeat. After the air has been "burped" out, with the fluid level in the reservoir still a little low, start the engine, and do a couple of lock-to-lock turns. Then top off the fluid as necessary.