New Timing Chain Noise B210

[BestyBlue77]

Hey guys! I have 1976 B210. It's an Automatic. The top engine has been freshly rebuilt. It idled and ran great before I put the new timing chain on. That was the last thing I did & did it separately from everything else. It still runs fine, but is making a noise coming from the timing cover area. I couldn't for the life of me get the darn thing to line up on TDC of #1. It would only line up on #2. Is that normal for this car? I just want to make sure I didn't screw anything up. I'm very meticulous and follow my Chilton to the T. Any ideas about what the noise might be? And is it dangerous to drive it like this? I haven't been driving it to be on the safe side. I just spent the last 2 months restoring this puppy. Don't want to eff it up.

[Doctor510]

Did you put a NEW chain tesioner in?  When in doubt, reset the cam timing.

[datzenmike]

You can turn the cam by hand to line the sprocket to the dowel pin.

 

Noise isn't right. Best to take the cover off and set it right.

[BestyBlue77]

Yes, I put the whole new kit in. How do I reset the cam timing?  All I know is that the timing was off 9 degrees (that's how much slack it had in the chain when I tested it using the rotor method).

[BestyBlue77]

Datzenmike, Ya, I did that. But in the Chilton manual it said to make sure the engine was at TDC of #1 cylinder, and as I turned the cam by hand it would forcefully pull itself into place in exactly 4 distinct places as I was turning it. I'm assuming one pull for each cylinder. The only way the dowel would line up was when it was at TCD of #2 cylinder.

[datzenmike]

I'm not familiar with the A series but the L you set the engine to TDC cylinder one. And fit the cam dowel to the number two hole in the sprocket. If the dowel doesn't line up turn the cam till it does. Bam. To check the stretch the side opposite the tensioner must not have any slack in it. To get this, turn engine clockwise up to TDC and stop. Chain is tight on the tension side, now check the sprocket position. If chain has stretched, sprocket will be slightly counter clockwise from where it should be.

[BestyBlue77]

Ok.  I'll give that a try. I was looking at some advice that said I could possibly change the cam timing by adjusting the distributor. Either way looks like I'm taking that sucker apart again.  Ugh. Just sucks cause I'm working outside on my back in the cold, and re-torqueing all the oil pan bolts to 4 ft. lbs. sucks bizalls! Will let ya know if I figure it out.  Thanks so much!

[Doctor510]

Ok.  I'll give that a try. I was looking at some advice that said I could possibly change the cam timing by adjusting the distributor. Either way looks like I'm taking that sucker apart again.  Ugh. Just sucks cause I'm working outside on my back in the cold, and re-torqueing all the oil pan bolts to 4 ft. lbs. sucks bizalls! Will let ya know if I figure it out.  Thanks so much!

You cannot change the cam timing with the distributor!  Remove the front cover, remove the rocker shaft on top of the head.  That will take ALL the pressure off the valve springs so you can adjust the cam timing.  Take your time and get it right.  I build a lot of the Roadster R16 motors, they are very similar.

[BestyBlue77]

Doctor510, THANK YOU!!! That's what I needed to know.  I was afraid of doing all that work again and not solving the problem. Now, I feel better about tearing into it. I will get this worked out, and let you guys know.  Thanks again!

 

P.S. I ALWAYS take my time!!!  I can't do it any other way.  I'm just made that way. Slow and steady wins the race in my opinion! :)

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Those pushrod A series motors have a tendency to make weird valvetrain noises when the valves are loose. The noise sounds exactly like a timing chain noise. Check the valves before you tear the oil pan and front cover off.

[BestyBlue77]

Alright guys, I have tried pretty much everything I can think of to get this car running right, and it still makes almost the same noise it made before.  I had already done a valve adjustment on it, and it ran okay before, except it did get hot before I even left the driveway. I replaced the thermostat, and temperature sensor, so I know those are not the problem.  Oil is flowing fine, and coolant is new. I tore it apart again, and had a very experienced friend come over to help me.  I'm pretty sure the person who had previously worked on this car had no clue what they were doing, because along the way I found a bunch of crappy repairs. Such as using RTV on the carburetor, and manifold gaskets. That was a mess to clean up. Oh boy! As I was saying, the car ran fine, except it did get hot, and it made the noise I spoke of in the earlier posts. It took for freakin ever to get the timing lined up on TDC #1. I believe the distributor was off a tooth or more.  We had to completely redo everything as far as the timing goes. Once we knew everything was set correctly, and reassembled, and I tried like hell to start it, but to no avail. We second guessed ourselves and messed around with it some more to double check everything was correct. It still would not start. We found at that point I wasn't getting any spark. I pulled the newer coil off of my other B210 and it finally started right up.  So I got everything timed and in tune, then tried to take it for a test drive only to have it die and blow the fuse that I had installed on it coming from the battery. (Just a safety measure, because it has a new stereo installed, and it will spark a tad when I reconnect the negative battery cable.) I popped in a new fuse started it up, and it did the same thing. I decided to purchase a new coil because my other car is my driver right now. I hoped that would help, but nope, it blew a 3rd fuse. SO it will idle, and I can turn it off, and it restarts right back up, but when I try to pull it out of the driveway it goes in reverse for about 15-20 feet then dies when I put it in drive to go forward.  What the heck is going on?  Any ideas???

[datzenmike]

What fuse? DISSCONNECT your fuse and stereo, it's not important. Get the engine running first. You have too many things that could be the cause, reduce that number. Anything else electrical that's been messed with????

[BestyBlue77]

Originally the B210s cam with a fusible link connected to the battery wires. The old one was in bad shape, so I replaced it with a new 30A glass fuse version. It's just a safety measure so my harness doesn't get fried if there's ever a nasty short.

 

The stereo was already in there. I have done nothing to change any electrical, besides the fuse, and the new coil.

 

[datzenmike]

What color was the old fusible link??? A check shows Green which is 40 amps. In addition a fusible link can sustain a dead short for several seconds without blowing. A fuse blows instantly.

 

Check what amperage it was and change it accordingly. Carry several in the glove box.