Valve Gasket and Crank Seal Questions (1 Viewer)

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Diz in my exp has always pointed the other way. It’s a game of being on the right side or slightly left side pointing at the 4th plug if I’m recalling right.
The dots in the gears should be pointing nearly together about 4 teeth below the oiler.
Turn the crank one more full turn. Do you have the alt or the power steering pump attached? You can turn the crank by turning the nuts on either one so you don’t have to keep crawling under the truck.
 
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Please say you have an fsm to follow as you do this work. If not someone can find you the sections. Just don’t go any further w/o it. I personally don’t have them in a pdf but @Gretsch I believe does. Thanks Robert!
 
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I have the manual. It is just my first time looking at the inside of any of this... I am ok with going slow and making some mistakes as long as they are not catastrophic.

The dots on the gears were aligned when I first pulled off the dizzy cap but I assumed that because the rotor was not pointing at position 1 I was out of sync. From what I have read position 1 was critical for removal and installation. I am trying to get the removal to be set up well so that when I put back in the distributor it will go smoothly. Tomorrow I will spend more time poking around and trying to feel the compression stroke through the spark plug.

If I am not confident I will give a call out to a mechanic buddy. I appreciate the time you have spent answering my questions.

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Took me a bit of silly anxiety to feel through the num 1 plug hole. You’ll know when you feel the air really pushing hard against your finger. You can also use a compression tester valve in the hole too. You’ll hear it whistle differently than the exhaust as the piston comes to the top. Just do it a few times to differentiate.
 
@NeverGiveUpYota I now get what you mean by #4. The rotor faces Plug 4. My reference point was inside the rotor where the rotor would match up on plug wire #1. Thankfully both spots are the exact same. I like your reference point better as it doesn't move! Thanks I am going to check for compression to veryify compression stroke and then get the dizzy off and get at the necessary gasket. Thanks
 
Glad I could make some sense, sometimes I think I don’t always word things well.... but gasket? For what?
 
Side cover (lifter gasket) I am just trying to make sure I get the dizzy off in the right position. I am removing the dizzy, oil filter, and maybe the fuel pump in order to access this area. Currently, I have the oil pan out, timing cover off, and soon will be the side cover. Just trying to get this beast from pouring oil out.
 
Side cover (lifter gasket) I am just trying to make sure I get the dizzy off in the right position. I am removing the dizzy, oil filter, and maybe the fuel pump in order to access this area. Currently, I have the oil pan out, timing cover off, and soon will be the side cover. Just trying to get this beast from pouring oil out.
Gotcha. Sorry that took me a bit to get.
 
Everything has been coming along. Lots and Lots of cleaning/degreasing and even some learning. One quick question, I took off my valve cover and I noticed in the rear (nearest the firewall) there is a bolt missing. What does that bolt hold down? Can I just plug this one? It is not the bolt to hold the cover down.

This is not my valve cover but it gives a reference of the bolt. This picture has the bolt in as well on the far right. Thanks

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Well, I am a total newbie. I don't think that bolt actually goes all the way through the cover. I will probably pick up a short bolt and cap it. Let me know if you think otherwise. I appreciate all the help!
 
Well, I am a total newbie. I don't think that bolt actually goes all the way through the cover. I will probably pick up a short bolt and cap it. Let me know if you think otherwise. I appreciate all the help!
That’s just a bolt fed in meant to hold down the corner of the air cleaner possibly.... tomorrow I can take a look w/ my air cleaner set inplace.
Hit a snag doing the rear drums but I’m close. Just need to get the rear end diwn, add fluids and a few small bits and then it’s startup time!

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Well, I am a total newbie. I don't think that bolt actually goes all the way through the cover. I will probably pick up a short bolt and cap it. Let me know if you think otherwise. I appreciate all the help!
That’s just a mount for the air cleaner.

Just catching up on the work you’ve done! Good on you for diving in! I’m impressed that this is your first major auto repair. It’s not too tough is it? Mostly messy and time consuming.

How does that HB look? Did you send it off to have it rebuilt or do you plan on straightening it out yourself? I ask, because that rubber goes bad and will cause vibrations that will eventually cause bearings and other things to walk out of place in the engine itself.

I replaced mine with a new one. I considered having Dales rebuild the old one but just opted for the new one. I have a spare to rebuild if I ever need it. I’m very glad I took care of that because my HB was bouncing all around before that. Now it’s really nice and smooth.
 
Yup agreed w/ Chris and my prev post. I looked an that’s exactly what that’s for.
 
Thanks for the Kudos and information. Getting close but not quite done yet. I have been mostly cleaning! and did the crank seal, timing gasket, side cover gasket, valve cover gasket, oil pan gasket, water pump, fan clutch, thermostat, clutch master cylinder, clutch slave, all the rad hoses.

The Harmonic Balancer straightened out pretty nicely but only time will tell. I did have a buddy with a shop do some final touches on it. Hopefully, this week I will have a chance to get it fired up! Thanks for all the assistance.
 

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