I ordered the chain this morning. I have only removed the valve cover late last night. Everything else will come off tonight.

The car has logged 230,000 miles. I use synthetic oil and thus change the oil at about every 10k. The timing cover leaks (don't they all?) so I end up putting in a new quart every 6-700 miles.

I will be changing oil in much shorter intervals after this repair as I am going to switch to a heavier weight oil. My oil pressure goes down when the engine warms up which I attribute to a 'loose' engine. My oil leak should also go away.


It sounds like I shouldn't expect any valve or piston damage, so I can replace the chain and then check the compression.

Should I also replace the chain rails and tension rail?