Hey All,
Can anyone provide feedback on the timing chain cover that Fusick offers? I have found that mine has more rust pits both inside and out than I care to install back on the engine. Hoping I can get some feedback from people on their experience with the quality and fitment of the new cover.
Thanks.

 

Kevin,
I have a new one at the shop that a customer supplied for a build I am doing. Not sure what brand it is. I also have the original. Monday morning I will put them side by side and see what the new one looks like. If it looks ok I will let you know the brand.

 

Thanks Bill. I appreciate it.

 

As a side topic, has anyone ever painted the timing chain cover - specifically the area behind the water pump? Yes a good antifreeze mix will go a long way towards preventing corrosion but was just looking for some extra protection.

 

Yes, I paint mine whenever I am reassembling the motor and before the water pump is installed.

 

Not a side topic at all. Thanks for adding it to the conversation Al.

The part that surprised me was how much corrosion I had on the inside of the cover. It was actually more than the outside. Kind of scary. A leak there goes straight into your crankcase. Since I've owned the car, there has been no moisture in the oil, but it sure looks like it had to be happening at some point in its life. Maybe zinc plating would help. I can't think that it would hurt it in any way, but don't know for sure. Zinc is crystalline. It makes a great adhesion promoter on the exterior body panels for primer and paint, but maybe it would be detrimental on the inside of an engine as it breaks down.

 

Zinc is used as a sacrificial anode in electrolysis protection. It may be one of the first things to go/fail in the cooling system. ???

 

Kevin,
As near as I can tell the one I have hear is identical to the oem one I have. My customer said he bought it from "thepartsplaceinc" . There is no identifying marks or numbers on the plastic bag so I don't have a clue who manufactured it.

https://www.thepartsplaceinc.com/

I am not sure about painting it. Personally not sure if I would want the chance of the coolant loosening the paint. Here is a picture of the one in my Wifes Riviera when the timing chain gave up. This was in 2018 and the car probably had 250K miles on it ? We have had it since new and to be honest with you I bet the coolant was not changed more than 3 times over those 30 some years. There is no noticeable rust on it.

 

Inline Tube says their covers are powder coated. That may be a good protective barrier on the interior side. Engine paint adhesion on the exterior surface may be a consideration?

 

Is powder coating ok inside a crankcase? Cracking and peeling a problem?

 

A good question, hopefully someone here can provide an authorative answer. You may recall engine rebuild references used to recommend painting the block valley area with Gyptol. It struck me that the casting would likely have some contaminents that may comprise the paint adhesion. In contrast the steel time covering would be new and should be properly prepped prior to powder coating resulting in a good bond. Are there other considerations?

 

I have never seen the need to paint or powdercoat anything inside an engine. I would be more concerned with the paint or other coating coming loose and causing a problem compared to whatever slight good it might do.

 

I changed the timing chain in my '69 350 a couple of years ago and replaced the original cover with one from Inline Tube for the exact reason you describe - corrosive pits on the surface which would inhibit sealing. The new cover had a black coating which I left alone and I did not top coat it with engine paint because I did not want to risk poor adhesion and the paint peeling into the coolant or oil.
Quality was very good. Fit like the original and had no problems with bolt hole alignment or any other defects.

 

All the aftermarket covers are JUNK. They are actually made incorrectly. They tend to leak if you don't Gob the sealant at the bottom where the pan meets. If you look closely at your OEM cover, the bottom lip is even with the front plate of the cover. If you look at the aftermarket ones they sit high and don't line up with the front of the cover.

 

Well, I didn't find any fitment issues like rickw30 mentioned. I did buy mine from Fusick and it is the Inline Tube one. I didn't remove the powder coat, but did have to smooth some areas that looked more like it was dipped than powder coated. I only cleaned up what I needed to which included the holes for the alignment pins. I hope there are no issues. Don't want to find out the hard way. Waiting on a new radiator, then it's start time.

 

Is it possible the replacement/repop covers were made with the seal flange higher to facilitate installation without oil pan lowering? Not suggesting that is the case, question just came to mind, I wouldn’t rule out bad execution or the all too common American to metric manufacturing debacle.

​​​​​​….

 

That's an interesting idea. If that's the reason for the change, that could be really nice.

 

I thought I had read that the Inline tube cover didn't have the threads in the small holes, do you no if it did?

 

I had a parts place cover that the front seal would not fit tight in the cover. You could push it in by hand. After some research I heard others had the same problem. Used a nice original instead…

 

I guess I got lucky. The one I used from Inline fit like a glove and no leaks 2+ years later. I did not have to add excessive amounts of sealant to the lower corners, either.

 

Ok, since I have nothing better to do . . . . ..

I set up this jig to measure the position of the part of the cover that actually presses on the seal. That is really all that matters. The first picture is the oem Olds cover and the second one is the one from "The parts place" As you can see they are basically the same dimension. The size of red lip I have marked on the second pic really is irrelevant as far as I am concerned. All it really does is locate the seal and keep it from sliding onto the engine.

Also, the hole where the crank seal goes measures exactly the same on both covers so I do not anticipate an issue there.

This is the second one of these front covers I have used. The first was on a 403 I did about 2 years ago and it is fine.

Skyhigh mentioned the lack of threads in the two small holes. I don't think there are supposed to be threads there. The correct screws are actually self tapping.

Hope this helps


Oem Olds cover:





Aftermarket cover:

 

Mine was tapped. From everything I could tell, it was identical. It was actually slightly thicker metal than the original. Motor hasn't been started yet, but I expect no issues from how the install went. No excessive gaps or oddball fitment. At this point I'd say it was as good as the original. Metallurgy aside of course.

 

I've used 3 aftermarket units over the years. Two from Inline Tube and one from The Parts Place. The two from Inline worked perfect. The one from TPP I couldn't get the crank seal in because the stamped hole was tapered. Maybe it was a one off? I don't know.