AMC 360 timing cover

[Hedgehog]

After a few posts on the subject a used but recently rebuilt AMC 360 motor is sitting in my garage waiting to be installed in my 1975 CJ5 . Before being installed I'm doing what I believe is prudent work on the engine.

The water pump is bound up so a new water pump is on its way. With that being the case and knowing the issues AMC engines have with the timeing chain and distributor drive gear I would like to remove the timing gear cover. I think I'm okay, but the gasket set comes with many gaskets associated with the oil pan. Does the oil pan need to be removed when the timing cover is removed?

Thanks
Michael

 

[ijeeper]

It's been a while since I've worked on my AMC V8, but I don't recall any conflicts between the oil pan and the timing chain cover. I also noticed you list your Jeep with a AMC 304 . They are both externally balanced and the 360 will require a damper and fly wheel that is specific to the 360. In other words, you can't use the damper and fly wheel from the AMC 304 on the 360. Otherwise, everything else is adaptable, you may have some bolt size differences for the headers.

 

[Petescj]

Be easy with the bolts on the water pump. Take your time. When I replaced mine on my old 360 I broke 3 bolts. That timing cover is aluminum and a replacement wasnt cheap then , so I can only imagine what it costs now. I was lucky enough to be able to repair mine with heli coils.

After a few posts on the subject a used but recently rebuilt AMC 360 motor is sitting in my garage waiting to be installed in my 1975 CJ5 . Before being installed I'm doing what I believe is prudent work on the engine.

The water pump is bound up so a new water pump is on its way. With that being the case and knowing the issues AMC engines have with the timeing chain and distributor drive gear I would like to remove the timing gear cover. I think I'm okay, but the gasket set comes with many gaskets associated with the oil pan. Does the oil pan need to be removed when the timing cover is removed?

Thanks
Michael

 

[Hedgehog]

My water pump bolts have come right out, there are a couple left to remove though. I need to mount the engine on a stand to do the job properly, the chains on the picker I have keep getting in the way and sitting on the ground to work isn't my thing anymore. The engine stand I have is flimsy and needs to be reinforced, that will happen tonight.

For some reason I'm loath to remove the oil pan. It's hard to say why. Removing everything else doesn't bother me. So, do I need to remove the oil pan to remove the timing cover? If it is necessary it will be done though.

You mention helicoils. After removing the exhaust manifolds I notced that 4 bolt holes have helicoils in them. I hate'em. Have you ever used a Time-sert thread repai kit? They are pricey, but the helicoil kit is expensive too. To me the repair is FAR superior. I will be removing the heliciols and putting in Time-sert's to repair the threads. Generally I wouldn'g bother, but I will be running headers on the 360 and headers need attention to keep them tight. I don't know if helicoils would stand up to the abuse.

Thanks
Michael

 

[CJim7]

You don't need to remove the oil pan, but there are at least 1 shared bolts that need removed. You can see one of them going vertical on the drivers side of the timing cover. Cant tell by the picture, and I cant remember from memory if there is one behind the oil pump.

 

[Hedgehog]

Hey, what color green is that? It looks very similar to my Jeep. The jeep looks great from a distance, but I've got a couple proper '75 fenders to put on after painting. I just know the whole jeep will be painted before I'm done. I'm struggling to find a color to match.

 

[Petescj]

I had to call my Brother on this one. Its been a long time since I worked on that one. The aluminum timing cover got screwed up cause the water pump bolts were cross threaded. Thats where the heli coils came in. I dont know a whole heck of alot about metallurgy but the steel heli coils in the aluminum cover was supposed to work well. Didnt have the Jeep much longer before it was stolen.

 

[Jimbos76cj]

I think theres actually 4 bolts that go through the oil pan and into the timing chain cover.. I would at least losen it so it can move a bit. its a tight fit and I dont think it will come out easily with out dropping it. reinstallation will be hard to do also with the new seal on it since its will be fresh and not compressed like the old one is.

 

[Hedgehog]

Well, after a good hard look I decided against digging all the way to the timing cover. There is the oil pan issue, then the harmonic balancer needs to come off and the fact that I know this thing has had a complete professional rebuild not long ago, so I decided not to pull the cover. At first it was hard to live with that decision, but with the VERY obvious rebuild and the way it ran in the yard I purchased it from the decision was really not that difficult to live with.

Thank you all for the help, I learned something even if the cover is staying on.

Michael

 

[CJim7]

Hey, what color green is that? It looks very similar to my Jeep. The jeep looks great from a distance, but I've got a couple proper '75 fenders to put on after painting. I just know the whole jeep will be painted before I'm done. I'm struggling to find a color to match.

That's Grabber Green. I don't like to follow tradition when it comes to engine color and wanted something different.....really love this color.

 

[Hedgehog]

Ahhhhhh thought so, I saw a can of that color at Autozone. I am not exactly a sheep following the crowd either. My whole engine isn't painted like yours, I'm just not that energetic. One of my favorite colors is old Ford Blue, not dark, not bright (like new Ford Blue) a nice old timey blue. I've painted the valve covers, water pump, the AC pulley, long with a few other brackets on the front of the engine. After baking the paint for an hour at 200 degrees I like the finished product. An engine that looks like I care, but not stupid with my money by buying chrome.

 

[BIGTRUCKNUT]

I'm partial to black myself.