Featured Magnetic drain plug is worth it's weight in gold!

[Jeremiad]

I can vouch for that Melling 10295 oil pump. Excellent product! I endured two turned rod bearings (engine rebuild), failed lifters (another rebuild), and flat-sided pistons (another block and rebuild), and then had to argue about the pump, but insisted that the Melling 10295 went in. The difference in oil pressure was noticeable throughout the rev range, but especially at idle and low rpms which is huge! Worth every penny.

 

[digi2t]

Thanks for the endorsement. It's pretty well regarded by most who use it. All my stuff is ordered (thank you Rockauto!!) and on it's way. Having worked as a machinist for a time, I found that I had several .250" x 2" ground hardened pins in my toolbox. I'm going to cut one longer than the stubby original pin, which will allow me to drive it in further. The bore on the cam is about 1.700" deep, so I'll cut it at 1", and drive it in until it sits just below the surface of the sprocket. I'll then use a cam lock plate to not only lock the bolts, but also orientate the plate so as the pin is covered by it;

That will ensure that the pin stays put. I also have 10.9 grade bolts on the way (thanks Mark in FLA!!) with drilled heads to secure the sprocket;



I'll lockwire them once they're Loctited and torqued, and that... will be that. If it's good enough for Boeing, it's good enough for me.

To be continued...

 

[XFIRE82]

good you found the mystery and our guess was right. Strange things happen, may never see it again but it did happen and good nothing major happened as a result.

 

[digi2t]

Got down to business today. Installed the new timing chain and sprockets. The Cloyes set is very nice. There's a total of 2 mm of slack in the new set. The Iwis Z chain is quite a bit beefier than the Reynolds. I also installed the chain guide. It's a 2004, so the 1.7" spacing, LS3 model guide will fit here. Started with the lower sprocket. Poped it and the pump drive sleeve in the oven before breakfast, 300 F. for an hour. Still had to drive the sprocket on, but the sleeve slipped right on. I used the balancer install tool, with a piece of 1.75" diameter x 4.5" long aluminium pipe;

Using a .250" diameter ground hardened pin, I made the new cam sprocket pin. I drove it in, but before doing so, I used a deep socket, a long bolt, and some shims to keep the cam from moving in towards the block. I tapped in the pin, and then trimmed it so it sits just a hair below the surface of the sprocket. I then installed the retainer plate and bolts. The retainer I orientated so as to cover the pin. This will ensure that the pin never comes out again. I initially thought about lockwiring the bolts, but went with the stock bolts and Loctite instead. Worked fine before.

New Melling HP oil pump. Shimmed and centered.

Finally, final clean up of the gasket surfaces, installed a new seal in the timing cover, nice bead of Ultra Grey everywhere, and install the cover. Used a centering tool to ensure that the cover is centered on the balancer. I noticed that the old seal was worn offset about 1/8" of an inch, so another job poorly done by the speed shop that installed the cam.

Tomorrow, I'll prime the new pump, and then start getting Humpty Dumpty back together again.

 

[hemicat]

I use the Gold Plug on my Challenger differential, oil cooler and oil drain plug.

Gold Plug LLC - Magnetic Drain Plugs

I intend on getting them for my 03 Z06. I tried the Dimple plug:

Magnetic Drain Plugs - Dimple Products

but was concerned about the size of the magnet and how little material there was left for the threads.

 

[hemicat]

I am also planning on getting the Melling 10295 high pressure oil pump installed in the spring. Got the Katech HME-G68V-2 timing chain while I was at it. I was going to just use the LS2 chain but heard too many stories of them breaking so I figure it is not worth the risk to cheap out on something that can cause catastrophic damage.