epic612

i have an 89 bird with a 2.8 and my timing chain is broken, somehow. i don't really know. we have a guy whose supposed to be coming out to fix it, but he has proven to be EXTREMELY unreliable, and i'm on a bit of a time schedule now. anyone able to tell me just how hard of a fix that is? i have a haynes manual, and those are all based on a complete teardown and rebuild, but i don't have the necessary equipment or time to do that.

any help is GREATLY appreciated. thanks

Viprklr

iTrader: (5)

It's not a very difficult job just a little time consuming.
How can we help if you don't have the time or tools?
Do you have another friend that can do it for you?

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

The Haynes manual is your friend, as far as telling you what all you have to take off and stuff like that. Compare what it says to the things you see on your car; find all the parts you have to work on, find the bolts, figure out what you think it might take, kind of get yourself a mental image of what you'll be doing, and "visualize". I can't help you with the details, as I have not the vaguest hint of a clue what those 6-cyl motors even look like, I don't think I'd know one if it walked up and bit me.

Obviously you'll need basic hand tools; sockets, wrenches, things like that. You'll need a puller & installer for the crank damper, which you can "rent" at AutoZone and other such places. Don't try to do the job without one. You'll need to drain the cooling system, remove the radiator, and take the stuff off the front of the motor; and change the oil afterwards, like after it's run for a couple of minutes and warmed up. You'll need some way to clean up gasket surfaces; lacquer thinner, a razor blade, and some sandpaper are fine. The coolest would be a drill and those Roloc abrasive pads, they just EAT old gaskets off. Cleaning parts is actually one of the most time-consuming parts of the job, so anything you can do to speed that up without cutting corners, pays off. You'll take off a bunch of things that ALWAYS wear out and go bad, which if they're not known to be new, now would be the time to put new ones on instead of what's there. Water pump, belts, & hoses, especially.

If it was a V8, I could tell you it would take me about 2½-3 hours from tow-in to drive-out. But I'm pretty slow. You may work much faster than me, and the 6-cyl might be easier than the V8, or maybe harder, I don't know.

Bobby_80s

iTrader: (2)

does anyone know if the timing chain has a shelf life or at a certain milage it should be changed out? or if its not broken keep using it?

i just don't want it to break unexpectingly

ljnowell

I think he could probably get away with leaving the radiator in place, in a 2.8 car, I think i did when i replaced mine, about 10 years ago. It was a very straightforward job too, took about 2 1/2 hours.

I wouldnt tear into an engine to replace a timing chain on a preventative measure.