i have a 97 ta and i am doing heads and cam. today i put on the timing cover and harmonic balancer hub. then when i went to turn the motor over to install the opti i couldnt even turn the motor over by hand. i am using a wrench with the bolts that hold the pulley on the hub but still can barely get it to move. should it be that damn hard to turn. please someone help!!!!

 

after doing a few searches i think i have found out what my problem is. i didnt use a pre-96 hub. i am tring to use a cloyes double roller timing chain and was under the impression that all i would have to do is use an electric water pump and it would work but i guess i am wrong. could someone please tell me exactly what i will have to do to make this thing work.

 

The hub would not make any difference in whether you could turn the engine over or not. Take some plugs out, so you are not working against compression. If you have the heads on and the valves are not adjusted, you are also fighting compression on the exhaust stroke.

Seems that you would be able to use your hub as long as you put the crank position sensor reluctor back on. I am assuming the Cloyes gear is the same thickness as the stock one.

 

I do now that if you use the Cloyes double roller that you have to use a 95 or older timing cover to delete the crank positioning sensor. Also sometimes you will have to clearance the cover (mill the tabs at the bottom of the cover) so the double roller will turn freely and not hit or drag. Had to do this on a friend Impala to get it to work. Good luck.
HVY SS

 

if the hub is not long enough wouldnt that prevent the motor from turning freely?

 

may be a supid question but is the car out of gear? i just put in a bigger cam. (in a 97) and didn't have any problems with the cloyes chain.
matt

 

I don't see how it could possibly make any difference. It just sits on the front of the crank.

 

You used the Cloyes double roller, left in the CPS reluctor and used the same hub? Just trying to be sure this is what you are saying. Seems like it should work.

 

yes it is out of gear and the reluctor is what is hitting on the chain. i have marks on the back of the reluctor to prove that. i dont really not what to do. i have a hub off of a 94 also and have tried it only to still have the same problem with a 97 and a 94 hub. i have now decided to grind on the reluctor and hope that i can clearance it enought to work. please if anyone has any info please let me know. is it possible that i needed to use a space between the crank sprocket and the reluctor?

 

man, you are really scaring me. I have the cloyes double roller timing chain set and I have a 97 which is getting heads/cammed right now, and we are about to install the timing set. I'm getting freaked out by reading all these posts about fitiment problems with the cloyes kit. I have an OBD I conversion, so my CPS won't even be picked up by me ECU. Does that mean I'll have problems putting the timing cover back on, etc.

sorry to steal your thread.

 

No way you are putting the reluctor on backwards?

 

it can only go one two ways and one of them will for sure hit the crank sprocket. i put it on the only way i thought it would work.