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Old 04-12-2008, 01:49 PM
donbryce donbryce is offline
MB, love..hate..love..
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: NB Canada
Posts: 1,173
Self-made tool: Timing Chain loader

Thanks to the threads and pictures posted by several great people here, especially Alkraut and Roncallo, I'm nearly ready to finish my timing chain guides replacement and put in a new chain. By 'ready', I mean getting up the nerve to remove the distributor and do the driver side upper guides. The passenger side guide was easy, but I'm a bit worried about removing the chain sprocket to do the left side.
Anyway, I decided to make my own chain loader tool, dimensions copied/estimated from pictures of the actual unit available from U.S. sources for about $52.00 + about $30.00 more for shipping and duty/taxes etc. to Canada.
Besides the high price for a one-time use tool, I didn't like the way it mounts to the front camshaft bearing carrier bolts. I was worried about disturbing the torque settings and/or mis-alignment of the bearing to the cam when replacing the bolts after finishing doing the chain job. I suspect it is designed to be used on either the left or right head, but all the threads on putting on a new chain have it used on the right one only, so I thought I'd just custom make it to use there.
I took my best guess as to the actual sizing of the 'covering' piece that goes over the chain/sprocket and did up a cardboard pattern. I taped cardboard on the inside of the curved top to get a little over 1/16" clearance from the chain/sprocket, checked for fitment, then disassembled and traced the pattern on some steel scrap, just over 1/16" thick.
After tackwelding the cover piece together, I transferred the spacing cardboard from the mockup to the steel piece, then set it on the sprocket. I made a piece of angle with 2 holes to mount to the alternator bracket holes in the head, then did the uprights to connect them together.
Attached Thumbnails
Self-made tool: Timing Chain loader-chain-loader.jpg   Self-made tool: Timing Chain loader-100_0776.jpg   Self-made tool: Timing Chain loader-100_0778.jpg   Self-made tool: Timing Chain loader-100_0779.jpg  
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Last edited by donbryce; 04-12-2008 at 01:59 PM.
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