I've had that Death Rattle and it was definitely from the Evil-L. As Victor
said, if yours is damaged you can use a vise-grips to bend it back and
forth until it snaps off.
But first of all, put the engine at 0 degrees BTDC and mark the camshaft
gear and corresponding chain link so you can match them up again. Cut a
triangular hardwood wedge large enough to slip under the camshaft gear and
in-between the left and right sides of the chain. There is actually a
Datsun part number for this tool, but I made my own. The wood wedge should
be large enough so that it won't fall into the engine below your grasp.
Drill a hole near the top so you can tie a cord on it to help you pull it
out later on. This wedge will prevent the chain from falling into the
engine when you remove the camshaft gear. Jam the wedge into place so the
chain remains tight, remove the camshaft gear and layer the chain on top of
the wedge. Layer some paper towels on top of the chain to catch any debris.
Now snap off the Evil-L. (Paper towels are better than cloth rags; cloth
lint can clog oil passages while paper disintegrates.) Then put the
camshaft gear with chain in place back on, matching up the marks you made
earlier.
Fred - So.SF
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: The "Evil L" vs "Death Rattle"
Author: "Ken Pearce" <ken__pearce@hotmail.com>
Date: 5/16/2001 11:13 AM
One other associated question with the Evil L. Is it responsible for the
"2000 Death Rattle" or is the death rattle noise from the chain hitting
something else? Like the timing cover...
Thanks for all the responses, they are most helpful. I'm torn between
shimming the upper tensioner and just breaking the L off. If I shim, how
long before the tensioner wears and I have to shim again...
(Ross, got any washers cut for shimming?)
Ken Pearce 68-2000
Bellingham WA
http://titan.cc.wwu.edu/~pearceke
_________________________________________________________________
|