hey i bought an all stock 1984 toyota pick-up with 135,000 miles and it started making a clacking noise and it has been doing it whenever im not accelerating i know its the timing chain but i was wondering what brand timing chain and parts such as sprocket, tensioner, guides i should go with. also do i have to remove the head to change the timing chain, tensioner and guides and should i replace the head gasket thanks Nick. i am planning on fixing it myself and soon so any input would be great thanks Nick

 

Try engnbldr.com for parts and even advice, he's quick to email back (seriously quick). He has good quality parts. Don't go with just any parts. You really should do the head gasket with the timing chain. If you plan on keeping the truck long enough, the head gasket will go out before the next time the chain does, then you'll have a lot more work on your hands. It can be done without removing the head, and most instructions you'll find on the internet will show you that way, but at 135,000 the gasket could already have a small leak, and you're pushing it to go about you're way with a gasket that old. I had one last 240,000, but, it's a serious pain when they go. You will disturb the gasket a bit by pulling the timing cover off, too, and you need to be really careful not to tear it, and really careful to seal it up good when you put the cover back on. For a rock crawler, IF your gasket lasted 200,000+ miles, it could last you a really long time if you're only at 135,000, but you just never know. I tend to think along the lines of a daily driver, since that's what my truck is, and for a DD, you really want to do preventative maintance.

Anyways you can see what other people say and decide what you want to do, but I'd say if you're going to tear that far into it, you might as well do the head gasket.

 

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