Nylon Cam gear procedure

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GERMYS_72

GERMYS_72

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My Car
72 Mach 1 H code

72 Sportsroof 351W
What is the latest and greatest procedure and parts list from start to finish, to change out the timing gears on a 1972 H code, including advancing the 4degree retarded timing at the cam and distributor. I see the below post from hemikiller on a different site from 2022 that seems current enough. What all has to come off the engine to do this ?


Loosening the first few pan bolts on each side will allow you to flex the pan a bit when your push the timing cover down and onto the dowel pins. Glue the gasket to the block with gasket shellac.

Be very careful with the bolts around the water pump passages. If they have a lot of resistance, you want to work them carefully to avoid snapping them.

Melling makes a good basic double roller https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mel-40405/make/ford

Replace your water pump while you have it off. https://www.amazon.com/Gates-43041-Water-Pump/dp/B000C2U790
 
I'd leave the radiator in the car, but tape a piece of cardboard over the back side to prevent damaging it while you work there. You can take it out if you want. Either way, its gonna get drained.

Remove the fan shroud, fan, belts, water pump pulley, alternator/AC/power steering brackets. You can generally leave the alternator, AC compressor, and power steering pump connected to the wires and hoses, just get them secured out of the way to get the water pump off. I tied mine back with paracord and was able to pull the entire engine out around them. Drain the radiator. I just pull the lower hose and have a bucket ready. Remove the rubber hoses that connect to the water pump.

The front of the oil pan interfaces with the bottom of the timing cover, so the pan has to be somewhat dropped. If you don't have a reusable oil pan gasket, i would plan on replacing it.
Fuel pump has to come off the engine block, which usually means disconnecting the 2 lines to it.
The water pump should come off easily once the accessory brackets are out of the way.
Timing pointer, harmonic balancer, and then timing cover. Take lots of pictures and keep track of all the different bolts and where they go. That should get you to where you can see the timing set.

Behind the timing cover on the crank is the oil slinger, which may or may not get reused, depending on how fat your new timing set is. A double roller may not leave room for the oil slinger.

You'll probably be in it for a new front crank seal at least. I wouldn't bother with a new timing cover. The current production ones are crap metal, so not better than even an old pitted 50yr old one. I'd also do a new water pump, and if you're feeling saucy, a new fuel pump is like $10.

There's an aussie guy on youtube called clevoking who has some decent videos putting together the front of a cleveland, especially an old one with old parts. You can see the process outside the car. I use a similar technique as him, smearing a thin bit of RTV on the paper gaskets. The RTV helps fill in the imperfections in the surfaces from 50yr of abuse.

 
giantpune said:
I'd leave the radiator in the car, but tape a piece of cardboard over the back side to prevent damaging it while you work there. You can take it out if you want. Either way, its gonna get drained.

Remove the fan shroud, fan, belts, water pump pulley, alternator/AC/power steering brackets. You can generally leave the alternator, AC compressor, and power steering pump connected to the wires and hoses, just get them secured out of the way to get the water pump off. I tied mine back with paracord and was able to pull the entire engine out around them. Drain the radiator. I just pull the lower hose and have a bucket ready. Remove the rubber hoses that connect to the water pump.

The front of the oil pan interfaces with the bottom of the timing cover, so the pan has to be somewhat dropped. If you don't have a reusable oil pan gasket, i would plan on replacing it.
Fuel pump has to come off the engine block, which usually means disconnecting the 2 lines to it.
The water pump should come off easily once the accessory brackets are out of the way.
Timing pointer, harmonic balancer, and then timing cover. Take lots of pictures and keep track of all the different bolts and where they go. That should get you to where you can see the timing set.

Behind the timing cover on the crank is the oil slinger, which may or may not get reused, depending on how fat your new timing set is. A double roller may not leave room for the oil slinger.

You'll probably be in it for a new front crank seal at least. I wouldn't bother with a new timing cover. The current production ones are crap metal, so not better than even an old pitted 50yr old one. I'd also do a new water pump, and if you're feeling saucy, a new fuel pump is like $10.

There's an aussie guy on youtube called clevoking who has some decent videos putting together the front of a cleveland, especially an old one with old parts. You can see the process outside the car. I use a similar technique as him, smearing a thin bit of RTV on the paper gaskets. The RTV helps fill in the imperfections in the surfaces from 50yr of abuse.

Click to expand...

thanks @giantpune , that's a two day job 🤣 I was thinking it was half a days work
 
GERMYS_72 said:
thanks @giantpune , that's a two day job 🤣 I was thinking it was half a days work
Click to expand...
Its not really a ton of work. Just a bunch of little things. You can have it torn apart to where you're looking at the timing set in the engine in a couple hours. If everything was clean and shiny, you could have it back together in a couple more hours.

The scope creep will make it drag out, though. You'll want to clean up the stuff you're pulling off and reusing. I soaked all the bolts, timing pointer, brackets, and pulleys in evaporust. The brackets and pulleys, I hung up and spray painted and had to wait for them to dry, then painted a second coat. Then if you are needing to replace the whole oil pan gasket, that's its own ordeal if the engine is still in the car.
 

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