Advice for timing cover/oil pan sneak?

[rocksteady]

I have a 94 hardbody XE KA24E with 130k that I just bought, and sure as I get her home the timing chain guide fails and the chain is slappin something awful. Trusty Haines manual in hand I tear it apart and now i'm waiting on parts. Don't have a hoist to raise motor as described in the manual so I'm going to try and seal the cover to the pan with high temp sealant to cut the work in half. Has anyone pulled this off or am I just asking to do it all over again? Any advice would be appreciated I can't stand oil leaks!

[moneymike]

i did the timing chain in my 91 ka about 3 months ago did a clean nice job with some high temp gasket maker had no problems or leaks. its a good lil do it yourself project

[RT22]

Do it right the first time and save yourself from doing it again. And possibly messing up the motor. You should be able to do it with motor in if you strip the front side, radiator and the like, you should have enough room to do it with motor in.

[rocksteady]

have everything pulled on the front with the cover and timing chain removed, just still have the oil pan on. are you saying I can take off the pan without removing the front diff?

[moneymike]

you dont have to remove the pan just MAKE SURE nothing falls into it trust me its not fun

[Rev_D21]

4wd I take it? You can carefully curl the front lip of the pan enough to slip the timing cover by. Just don't go hog wild and bend the crap out of the pan. If it's 2wd then you don't have to do anything else but remove anything in the way then drop the pan to get the timing cover out.

[rocksteady]

yeah I think the broken piece of plastic guide is down in there. I'm going to try and probe it out. I just ordered a kit for a 94 I hope they don't send me another plastic guide for the tight side. would the parts be the same only metal for a later year? I also had everything marked tdc on the first mark of the crankshaft pulley instead of the second which put the keys a little to the rigght of high noon. is this of any concern as long as the chain links match the marks on the sprocket? can i change the position of tdc once the chain is back on without worrying about the dizzy and oil pump lining up? thanks yall

[rocksteady]

yeah the cover came off with some finesse of a rubber mallet I'm just attempting to put the cover back in the same way minus a new oil pan gasket using high temp red rtv sealant. would the black stuff be more oil resistant? how hot does it get down there?

[Rev_D21]

Red is more than enough. I used gray and it's still dry. If you moved the crank off TDC you will need to reset it. From there you can reinstall the dizzy and oil pump. This is crucial, if you are off a tooth it will not run right.

[rocksteady]

cool thanks! the keys are lined up in relation to where i removed the chain and sprockets so i'm thinking that once i put on the new chain i can adjust tdc without any drama. should I put all back in the configuration i pulled it? i marked the dizzy there. so why is the second mark on the crankshaft pulley tdc that just doesn't make any sense thanks again for the beta

[Q451990]

You can also check out your factory service manual at http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/ - the '94 will be under the Pathfinder manual. Might provide some extra information that's not in the Haynes manual.

Heath