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I pulled off the cover to change out the cam. I mentioned this to a friend, and he said I was going to have a hell of a time getting the cover back on and sealed correctly as long as I have the oil pan on... Just trying to fit everything back together without sealing it up, I think he may be right. That piece that goes on the bottom of the cover doesn't seem to want to sit right.

Is there something I need to know about sealing the chain cover when the oil pan is still on? The engine is in the car and I absolutely do not have the means to pull it, otherwise I would have by now.

Thanks, gents!

That is the reason they make 2 piece timing covers, so you can change cams without dropping the pan the second time. I've read posts where guys have shaved the pan and used generous amounts of Permatex Ultra Copper to seal the cover with the pan installed. Perhaps you can drain the oil, drop the pan as far as you can while in the car, install the cover and re-install the pan. But that's probably a recipe for leaks. Hopefully someone else can chime in. I did mine with the engine out and used pan studs with the blue one piece Felpro Pan gasket.

The FelPro(or simlar) bkue 1 piece gasket rubber is the way to go but you would have to drop the entire pan to do this.

The other route would be to lower the front of the pan at least 1/2" without damaging the oil pan rail gaskets or disturbing the rear oil pan gasket. This should provide enough room to install the front timing cover. Do your best to clean the surface of the pan rail gaskets with laquer thinner or a suitable degreaser then apply a thin film of RTV Silicone(I use Ultra black because of its oil resistance) to the exposed surface of the rail gasket and to the front pan gasket,both the side the contact the timing cover and the side that meets the oil pans. A little extra right in the corners where the rail gaskets meets up with the front gasket is a good idea. The possibility of a leak as Don mentioned is certainle realistic but you can reduce the chance by making sure everything is clean and oil free as possible and the chances of a leak go down greatly.

Some have ground off the inside lip that keeps the rubber fron pan gasket in place on the timing cover to make it easier but I don't recommend this as the gasket could get pushed to the inside durning the install of the pan. The way the front pan gasket is deisgned is for the pan to be compressed into the gasket that is in the timing cover which is installed first to create the seal, hence the reason for lowering the front of the pan to do this.

Hope this helps some and doesn't prove to be to confusing.

I have done several timing cover installs with out dropping pan. It's not worth it. To make it happen without dropping the pan with original 69 parts you have to trim the lip some but leave enough to retain the seal and most of the time reuse the old seal. At some point they redesigned the parts and aftermarket chrome covers are now made that way. The newer cover is easier to install wothout dropping the pan but still a pain in the ass. The potential for leaks is high.

I would stay away from any type of chrome parts(valve covers, oil pans or timing covers) because they will leak, usually sooner that later. Silicone simply does not adhere well to the chrome surface and eventually the oil finds it way thru. You can certainly modify a steel or aluminum timing cover as Jeff has described and that is worth considering.

I have what I presume is just a traditional, non-chrome, one-piece timing cover.

When y'all say trim the lip, I'm not sure what that means. Could you elaborate?

This is really stressing me out. What I get for not doing my homework before ripping into things!

First thing is don't stress about this Zac, this is how we learn to maintain and keep our rides running. I have never done a timing cover with the pan in place so even though I understand what the guys are saying aboutn trimming the lip on the cover I have never done it in practice. My experience has always been outside of the car with the engine on a stand but that doesn't mean I would hesitate to do one in the car just haven't had the need to. I found these 3 links that may help you some.

In this first link look at the slide where the mechanic is holding the timing cover in both of his hands. His right thumb is on the lip we are talking about. That lip creates a U shaped pocket with the front surface of the timing cover and this is where the thick rubber gasket is installed. I believe what gets trimmed is the corner of this lip that you can't see under his thumb. Maybe Jeff or someone has a picture of this area on the timing cover that they can mark up the area to be trimmed and post for you.

http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/techarticl ... index.html

http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/techa ... index.html

If you have any more questions let us know and we will help however we can. Good Luck!

In the third link there are some better close upp pictures of the timing cover and how it sits on the engine block relative to the oil pan that may help you visualize more of what youre up against.

http://www.streetrodderweb.com/tech/110 ... to_12.html

in photo 22 of the chevy high performance link is a picture of a trimmed cover. It's a little hard to notice until you compare to an untrimmed one. Trim the cover, take out the first four bolts on the oil pan and loosen the rest. Start one side of the cover into the oil pan and on the dowel pin. Install one cover bolt to keep this side in place then work the cover around with a screwdriver in the bolt holes while beating it in with a rubber hammer. After cover is flat against block install all the bolts and tighten. Don't forget to reinstall and tighten the pan bolts. I'm not sure I ever did this using a new seal between the cover and pan, most of the time I reused the old one.

Okay, I think I'm tracking. I don't have my seal in front of me, but it looks like they trimmed off the part that I've highlighted here. Is that correct?

Okay, I think I'm tracking. I don't have my seal in front of me, but it looks like they trimmed off the part that I've highlighted here. Is that correct?