Quote:
Originally Posted by lintcollector
Palf70, Grumpy, & Nikwho,
You all have given me hope. Maybe I just don't quite understand or didn't convey what I understood. 
I understood the gears that are dead are at the bottom of the engine, where the distributor connects with them. I understood it'd be taking the engine clear down into depth's I've never seen. Are the stripped cogs the timing chain, or are the "timing gears" different that with the timing chain?
I was also told it's likely the cam bearings and camshaft could also have issues.
I was told to fix or replace the engine would be upwards of $3k-$7k, and I don't have the pocketbook to cover that.
I don't have the tools to pull the rings or other such neat little gems, if necessary. Heck, I don't even have an engine hoist & mount to pull the engine...
Am I off in thinking it may be above my paygrade? I've changed timing belts on other vehicles (Hyundai Excel), but I thought the stripped cogs were harder to get too...
Thanks gents, the prognosis I was given was NOT happy or encouraging. |
My personal opinion is that if you can change a Hyundai timing belt, you can change a SBC timing set! While it may be a bit overwhelming when you start, these engines are very simple, and it is not very complicated!
For all things building SBC's, I like to use the book How to Rebuild the Small Block Chevrolet. Barnes and Noble book stores typically have them in stock! It will walk you through every part of tear down, to rebuild. Plus, if later on you decide to do a full engine rebuild, it is the book that you want!
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how...ton/1015146806
Now, depending on what happened to the engine, and how it failed, you may have other issues. Like pistons running into valves. I doubt that your cam bearings are destroyed. As timing chains wear out, they get longer. When they get long enough, they can skip a tooth, and throw your timing off. If the engine was turning, with a stationary camshaft, you MAY have bigger issues. A compression test SHOULD tell a bit of a story there, without pulling the heads.
IF it's distributor gears that are the issue, and ot the timing set, you'll need to swap the camshaft. Not much more work that the timing set! I'd do it, if I had an old engine with the stock camshaft in it, anyway. I doubt that you'll need cam bearings! The camshaft spins at half the speed of the main/rod bearings, and far less energy is transferred to the cam bearings. A cam swap is easy. I'd throw a cheap decent cam at it, like the SUM-1103K, for just over $100 for new camshaft and 16 new tappets. That's slightly more work (removing intake, losening rocker arms and removing pushrods), and involves a valve adjustment, but I'd be adjusting the valves on a tired old engine, anyway.
Those engines are pretty tough, though! I would try a timing set. You can do it with the engine in the truck (a few oil pan bolts will just be difficult), and see if it runs well. Then, I'd try to source a cheap SBC 350" block, and slowly collect parts to rebuild it, while driving and enjoying the truck! You can learn even more if you tackle the rebuild yourself. OR, not THAT long ago, I bought a remanned long block 350 from Summit Racing for $1,800. That engine ran quite well. You can generally rebuild one for considerably less. The aforementioned book will walk you through the process, and even get you speaking the correct language to go talk to a machinist, to have your machine work done.