Very cool! Your the only guy with a video of how to get the timeing cover on the old school way without undoing motor mounts and jacking the motor up to get the pan off you did it exactly how its sapose to be done! Boots the rebel cat knows the deal! Great video dude!

Good job, I've been working on these for almost 50 years and lowering the pan it the route, the only problem I have is the RTV overkill. and I loosen the pan all the way back if I can. An 1/8" down and only use the RTV at the corners. That RTV is great for sealing up the screen on the oil sump. Not to mention how hard it is for the next mechanic to clean off. That's what happened to whoever worked on the one I'm dealing with now. And they used that red crap. Lost oil pressure, dropped the pan to replace pump and it was clogged. Must have used a full tube on the timing cover and didn't replace seal at crank which was toast.

Great video. Not many people show this trick. When you are a driveway mechanic lol this is gold! Thanks

Thank you very much for your time and explanation . I have been having a hard time installing the timing cover to my wife's 1992 corvette . The cover came off easily but, I have been going through hell to put it back on . Very much appreciated .

I’m looking to remove my gear drive and didn’t want to remove the oil pan. After watching your video I may have to go for it. Boots sealed it for me. :-)

after reading the shop manual for 76 cadillac seville with its factory olds 350 n said OMG front seal is a ton of work thank you im sure it will help when i fix the front seal on the seville

This dude and his cat are awesome. Thanks for the video.

Thank you been fucking going into a rage over this

great info. been a while since i did any wrenchin thank you.

I'm starting to get into working on my 87 R10 with a 350 sb and just took the harmonic balancer off today to replace it and the timing cover. Man am I glad I found your video! I kept looking at my new timing cover with the lip on it and quickly figured I would have to deal with the oil pan. But all the vids I had seen, prior to running across yours, was with the motor out, if only we all could have that luxury right. I think I will loosen all of the oil pan bolts several threads and let it drop a bit. Good time for an oil change anyway! Thanks again man, I appreciate the tip! Keep wrenching!

Awesome tip! Thank You!

good advice

Thanks for making this video. Because I am stuck on the timing cover on my 350, tried countless times getting the cover over the seal lip and nothing comes from it. I’m going to try your method today!

Thanks man! Getting ready to do this on my 98 454. This is the only video I have been able to find on this.

Thank you for the video that's what I will do

THANKS A BUNCH. I am doing a timing chain on a 95 5.7. I can see were this will work. Now I can sleep at night.

Thank God I found a video... Thanks you

Put the rubber in boiling water for 5 minutes softens it up to make it easy to go on

Maybe for a 350 not a 400sbc figured I would give it a try to find out oil pan was a one piece and only accomplished ripping tje reusable oil pan gasket and haveing to remove the motor

Thank you my friend your the only one on here that knows what’s goin on It worked but was still a bitch

I thought I recognized your voice, you do the civil war videos. Getting ready to do a cam, I flattened #7 exhaust lobe.

tried this on a 94 Cadillac and it destroyed the oil pan gasket and still had to lift the engine. take the extra time and do it the right way

I don't think this method will work with a one-piece oil pan gasket already in place. I can see how this'd be easy enough with a separate oil-pan front rubber gasket that can be fully placed into the bottom channel of the cover and then knocked in over the rounded lip on the oil pan while staying in the cover's channel. However, getting a one-piece oil pan gasket into the bottom channel of the cover while the gasket is also restrained in place at both sides of the oil pan.... just pinches at the corners and I don't think it'll work. Would have been a useful distinction to know beforehand. Oh well, guess I gotta drop the pan before all this RTV dries out. SOB>>>

Fit timing cover onto GM 4.3 engine w/out dropping the oil pan: 1. Grind 1/8” off of the INNER LIP of the timing chain cover’s gasket CHANNEL. 2. UNIFORMLY spread this channel from 3/8” to 1/2” wide. 3. Trim 1/2” off of the ends of each side of the channel. 4. File smooth any and all sharp edges of the channel after grinding and trimming. 5. Grease the gasket and inner lip of the channel so the cover will more easily slide into place. 6. Fit the RIGHT side of the cover plate so that the channel STARTS onto the gasket. 7. Wiggle the Right side of the cover location hole onto the locating pin. 8. With a 1/2” wide flat putty knife as a leverage pry, gradually roll the channel up onto the gasket… from right to left…keeping the locating hole on the pin. 9. Stick an offset (bent) pointed awl (like a big dental pic) thru a TOP HOLE of the cover plate and the point of the awl (or small Phillips screwdriver) into the corresponding BOLT HOLE in the engine block. 10. With that awl in place, use it as a pry lever to force the cover down and to the left, while tapping the lower edge of it onto the oil pan gasket. Trimming a little bit of the gasket CHANNEL as in 1,2,3, and 4 above is okay as the thick part of the oil pan gasket will NOT be able to ““pop out”” of the slightly reduced dimensions of the channel. Inasmuch as the gasket is sealed by the OUTER flange of the timing cover and NOT the channel, AND that the oil flow BATH for the chain and sprockets is not pressurized, it should not leak.

If you don't have any weather strip glue, is it fine to use rtv sealant to hold the gasket to the timing cover? If not, what would be the reasoning?

That timing chain cover has always been a bitch . Oldsmobiles were easier

why not use rtv?

Very Helpful... I am actually doing this on a 72 Plymouth 360... looks to be similar enough.. any chance you can do one for the Mopar? I am so stuck right now this could be a life-saver

What a stupid design. Chevy probably saved 10c/ car by doing this.