joeb Posted June 30, 2007 Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 my motor is out and the valve covers/timing cover are off. i am trying to figure out the relation between the crank sprocket and valve sprockets as far as orientation. i think someone had an illustration awhile back that showed the timing marks. can anyone provide an illustration or link? i may have a lead on a timesert kit so until i get it, there is no hurry in pulling the heads. except i want to see what the headgaskets look like. i did notice the rear O2 sensor is white. maybe that was from my super head sealer i tried. i thought they were supposed to be black? p.s. i found it. crank mark is 12 oclock, intermediate pulley is 6 oclock. intake and exhaust cams are at 12 oclock from head surface Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeb Posted June 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 i read a detailed description for pulling the heads. does the cam sprockets have to be removed from the cams to get the heads off? i can see removing the tensioners but how about the sprockets? once the chain is off, the cams are going to want to move anyway. is removing the sprockets not a big deal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigCat83 Posted June 30, 2007 Report Share Posted June 30, 2007 i read a detailed description for pulling the heads. does the cam sprockets have to be removed from the cams to get the heads off? i can see removing the tensioners but how about the sprockets? once the chain is off, the cams are going to want to move anyway. is removing the sprockets not a big deal? The cam sprockets do not need to be removed from the cams, but the timing chains must be removed from the sprockets. Remove the crank pulley, then the timing cover; time your engine (#1 piston at TDC w/timing marks lined up) pull the heads. The northstar is not difficult to time and realize that you may have to rotate the engine over four times to get the timing marks to line up. I do understand that you are supposed to be able to remove the heads without pulling the front crank pulley, timing cover etc. I wouldn't do it this way because of the chance for errors, problems and so on upon re-assembly. Pull the the crank pulley, cover etc and do the job according to the book - you'll be so happy you did... Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted July 2, 2007 Report Share Posted July 2, 2007 You may need to rotate the crank up to seven turns to get the timing marks on the crank and the intermediate sprocket ti line up. You need the #1 cylinder at top-dead-center prior to pulling the heads in order to prevent damage to the valves. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhall Posted July 2, 2007 Report Share Posted July 2, 2007 One or two of the forum members have removed the heads without opening the front cover, but it's a risky process. The chain tensioners area ratchet type of mechanism, so if any slack occurs in the chain to the cam, the tensioners will move out to adjust slack. Resetting the tensioners requires removal of the front cover. Go ahead and pull the front cover. You'll want to confirm that all timing marks are in place before you button it up. See attached pic. One chain tensioner is on the left. These are the crank and primary sprocket inside the front cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigCat83 Posted July 2, 2007 Report Share Posted July 2, 2007 Pardon me, it's seven times not four... And to get the crank pulley screw out, I had to lock up the flexplate and fire up my IR 250 pd ft impact gun to 120 psi! Nothing less touched it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeb Posted July 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2007 i rented a balancer puller. the store only had a chrysler model which worked great. i have the front cover off since that was my plan all along. its on an engine stand now so why not make it simpler and pull off the cover. i wanted to check for sludge buildup anyway. still waiting on the timesert kit lead. i might hear from my source today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeb Posted August 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2007 i set #1 to TDC and the crank sprocket timing mark is at 12 o'clock and the intermediate sprocket is at 6 o'clock. the timing marks on the cam sprockets are a dot and slot and all are at 12 o'clock relative to the head. i did not turn the crank or cams and did the timesert process and put the heads back on and installed the chain tensioners. now when i rotate the crank, i have to turn it 10 times, not 7 to get all the marks to line up. i did read on another website that it is 7 turns. any comments? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigCat83 Posted August 19, 2007 Report Share Posted August 19, 2007 i set #1 to TDC and the crank sprocket timing mark is at 12 o'clock and the intermediate sprocket is at 6 o'clock. the timing marks on the cam sprockets are a dot and slot and all are at 12 o'clock relative to the head. i did not turn the crank or cams and did the timesert process and put the heads back on and installed the chain tensioners. now when i rotate the crank, i have to turn it 10 times, not 7 to get all the marks to line up. i did read on another website that it is 7 turns. any comments? The timing marks were all properly lined up when you reassembled everything? You are using a FSM to time this; right? The pegs on the cams/sprockets are in proper orientation to the top head surfaces (again use FSM) when timed? In turning the engine over by hand all marks etc remain properly lined up, no slop in the timing chains, no movement of any of the marks and no interfernce with anyting internally on the motor? If so you should be OK. The Northstar really is easy to time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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