Replacing Timing chain on 360 dodge RV

[Jimise]

Just wondering if any one has ever replaced the timing chain on a Dodge
318/360 engine. (My 1975 motorhome) Any tips or tricks on breaking loose the crank bolt?
 Thanks!  Jim........

[CUDA3134]

If you do not have an air impact gun. Remove the transmission access cover and wedge a pry bar or screwdriver into the flywheel stater ring gear teeth to something solid .Do not wedge against aluminum housing on trans it might break.

[brichter]

Just wondering if any one has ever replaced the timing chain on a Dodge
318/360 engine. (My 1975 motorhome) Any tips or tricks on breaking loose the crank bolt?
 Thanks!  Jim........

I use a 1/2" drive impact gun made by Ingersoll-Rand. You can buy a strap wrench pretty cheaply nowadays, get one with a handle at least 18" long.

[coorslight115]

Put a socket on a breaker bar and enough pipe to allow the breaker bar to rest on the frame and crank the engine. The starter will break it loose.

[brichter]

That will possibly work, but I'd recommend against it.

I was a professional mechanic for 23 years, and if I had a dollar for every time I had to repair broken stuff caused by someone doing that, I could buy myself a damn nice bottle of Single Malt. When you key the starter, the breaker bar and pipe will tend to move in an uncontrolled manner and having objects that big flying around the engine compartment can be hazardous to anything else in there with it.A strap wrench will cost about $20, and they come in handy for so many different applications, you'll never regret buying it.

[stayouttadabunker]

I was going to suggest holding the wrench on it with two hands and have someone else turn the ignition key...
I didn't think it would be a good idea though...

[KirkLasVegas]

I was going to suggest holding the wrench on it with two hands and have someone else turn the ignition key...
I didn't think it would be a good idea though...

I say "Short-Block the damn thing while your in there. It will be good for another 25 years...

Kirk

[brichter]

I was going to suggest holding the wrench on it with two hands and have someone else turn the ignition key...
I didn't think it would be a good idea though...

That's a good recipe to get millions of hits on YouTube...

Or an entry into the Darwin Awards.

[StatFreak]

I was going to suggest holding the wrench on it with two hands and have someone else turn the ignition key...
I didn't think it would be a good idea though...

That's a good recipe to get millions of hits on YouTube...

Or an entry into the Darwin Awards.

Or BOTH. 

[Jimise]

Just wondering if any one has ever replaced the timing chain on a Dodge
318/360 engine. (My 1975 motorhome) Any tips or tricks on breaking loose the crank bolt?
 Thanks!  Jim........

I use a 1/2" drive impact gun made by Ingersoll-Rand. You can buy a strap wrench pretty cheaply nowadays, get one with a handle at least 18" long.

Where do you put the strap wrench?  I do have an impact gun now.
I also like the "Short block" idea as well.
It is a good old Motorhome, Taken us to many nascar races in Phoenix!
Time to get her fixed.....   Thanks........................Jim.

[Foster]

I think you use the strap wrench to hold the harmonic balancer and crank still while you loosen the nut(s)

[coorslight115]

All good info But I have also been a mechanic since 1977. I have worked on mopars but do not remember if that was one of the few that had left hand threads on the balancer bolt Worth looking into. You can tighten it all day and get nowhere

The trick to the breaker bar and pipe is to lodge it under the frame rail turning up. That way it falls to the ground if it slipps and not break stuff in the engine compartment. Used it that way all my life and never broke anything....but I was a pro not a backyard mechanic with good quality tools and a little skill and knowlage. Somethings even the best impacts will not take out

[Jimise]

All good info But I have also been a mechanic since 1977. I have worked on mopars but do not remember if that was one of the few that had left hand threads on the balancer bolt Worth looking into. You can tighten it all day and get nowhere

The trick to the breaker bar and pipe is to lodge it under the frame rail turning up. That way it falls to the ground if it slipps and not break stuff in the engine compartment. Used it that way all my life and never broke anything....but I was a pro not a backyard mechanic with good quality tools and a little skill and knowlage. Somethings even the best impacts will not take out

I am not sure of the threads either, Maybe somone else here knows for sure which way to loosen the bolt?
Thanks!  Jim......

[KirkLasVegas]

All good info But I have also been a mechanic since 1977. I have worked on mopars but do not remember if that was one of the few that had left hand threads on the balancer bolt Worth looking into. You can tighten it all day and get nowhere

The trick to the breaker bar and pipe is to lodge it under the frame rail turning up. That way it falls to the ground if it slipps and not break stuff in the engine compartment. Used it that way all my life and never broke anything....but I was a pro not a backyard mechanic with good quality tools and a little skill and knowlage. Somethings even the best impacts will not take out

I am not sure of the threads either, Maybe somone else here knows for sure which way to loosen the bolt?
Thanks!  Jim......

The reason I suggest "Short-Block" is that if you have enough miles on a 273/318/340/360 to wear out the timing parts it has a LOT of miles on it.
I suspect it has a 727 trans bolted to it (Bulletproof). In the early vans it's EASY to unbolt the trans/mounts and slide it out the front.
Rent a cherrypicker and a engine stand.Your choice if you want to leave the exhaust manifolds in the vehicle, but I remember in the mid 70's there is very little room between them and the floor.
With that many miles it would be bad to lose the oilpump, rot out a freeze plug,All that will be new, along with the waterpump, thermostat etc etc.
While you are in there......
Check the bulkhead connector (Pin 1) for discoloration, check the connections to the back of the dashboard Amp-meter. Dodge vans are KNOWN for this! The ampmeter burns out and the pin melts.
Yours is 30 years old.... (I have owned a few of these vans).

Kirk

[brichter]

All good info But I have also been a mechanic since 1977. I have worked on mopars but do not remember if that was one of the few that had left hand threads on the balancer bolt Worth looking into. You can tighten it all day and get nowhere

The trick to the breaker bar and pipe is to lodge it under the frame rail turning up. That way it falls to the ground if it slipps and not break stuff in the engine compartment. Used it that way all my life and never broke anything....but I was a pro not a backyard mechanic with good quality tools and a little skill and knowlage. Somethings even the best impacts will not take out

I cut my teeth on Mopars in the mid-late 70s, and did some bracket racing in my Cuda and Dart with a little DC parts sponsorship from my employer.

Then it was on to the USAF, and big jets for almost 7 years, and then back to cars when it started paying better than the airlines. I've worked for dealerships for the Big 3, then I went independent because I was fed up with the union politics.

Stupid union here called a strike beginning in November (4 years after I left it) and my friends were out of work until April/May the following year while the dealers bussed in scab labor from out of state. The dealers hummed happily along while the mechanics had to tell their families how bad Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years was going to be. My shop was busy, though, and I put a few of 'em to work( on the weekends, so the union wouldn't find out they were working in a non-union shop  ), I wish I could have done more.

Now I'm an engineer for a high tech equipment manufacturer , but still have a garage full of Snap-on (and a few Mac) tools in the garage., I like to get my hands dirty now and then when I don't feel like taking the cars or bikes to the shop, since I'd have to go through everything as soon as it came back to fix what they screwed up.

Another benefit (besides the pay): My lower back doesn't hate me any more, not nearly as much pain as I used to have after 8+ hours a day leaning over a fender or twisting myself into a pretzel to slide up under a dashboard. They don't make cars big enough for me to fit under the dash any more anyway. 

The problem with using the starter is you wind up storing a lot of force in the breaker bar, so if it comes loose, it doesn't just fall. That force has to go somewhere. Also, your method won't work if the bolt has LH threads. It'll make it damn interesting, though.

Foster, you are correct. The strap wrench will hold either the balancer or the accessory belt pulley(s). The one I have uses a 6 groove automotive serpentine belt for the strap, and it will get a bite on almost anything! And, if you do damage the strap, a new belt is as close as the auto parts store, and slides right in...

[pacman1974]

I have worked on hundreds of Mopar small blocks and never ran across any left hand thread balancer bolts. I simply use an impact to take the bolt out. No need to hold anything if you have a good impact gun. The only thing I can think that would have left hand thread would be a boat motor thats set up for twin engines. One side will have left hand components and I think the engine actually runs backwards. Its possible some early engines could have left hand balancer bolt but nothing in the LA family engines.
 A new shortblock or long block would be a wise choice if it has alot of miles on it. A motorhome will have a A727 transmission in it. In my opinion its one of the best transmissions of the time. Also its one of the easiest to rebuild if you decide to freshen it up.
 I have a Cuda and Dart out in the garage and if I ever stop messing with these damn video games and slot machines I might get around to finishing them up.

[StatFreak]

...
 I have a Cuda and Dart out in the garage and if I ever stop messing with these damn video games and slot machines I might get around to finishing them up.

So many hobbies, so little time.