Verify Timing Chain
 

I'm about to button up the front cover after replacing the timing chain and oil pump gears. I was wondering if there is any way to put my mind at ease that I didn't mess up the timing chain?

I aligned the ticks on the gears before removing and tried my best to make sure the new ones stayed aligned when I was re-installing the replacements. I'm just not sure how sensitive it is to alignment or if there are other ways to verify.

If the ticks are aligned then you should be at top dead center. Double check that that is true and that the ticks are still aligned and you are good.

I got mine about 2 'ticks' off when I did it the first time, there was a noticeable sluggishness in running the truck. Re-did it and made sure the little markings were aligned and it ran like a champ. It's really dead simple, just get the ticks aligned- that's all there is to it. good luck...

Ahh, for some reason I was afraid that even if I had the ticks aligned that I could somehow still get the timing off, but the "key" on the crank arm would keep it straight?

I can sleep better now.