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I needed to remove the oil pump so I could change the timing set.
The next part has been less than enjoyable. In order to remove the pump, I needed to remove the pickup tube. When I installed the aftermarket oil pan it came with Allen head hardware, and required the use of two bolts to attach the pickup tube to the pump. Easy on the engine stand, not so much when installed in the truck….With the front cover off , access could be gained to one bolt but not both.
I decided then to drop the oil pan, as it would give another 1”+ of room to gain access to the second bolt. The pan did drop the 1”+ but would not drop far enough to be completely removed. It was however just enough room to remove the second bolt once a Allen wrench was cut down. In order to make certain I didn’t accidentally drop a bolt into the oil pan I put a very thin small zip tie around the bolt as soon as I had it backed out far enough to do so. I then held on to the tail until it was safely removed.
With the oil pump off , it was easy to remove the cam and gear set. There are special pullers for the crank gear but the jaws on my 3 jaw puller were the perfect length, and were small enough to fit behind the gear. Worked great.