Doing the timing chain on my 85 22re and i got a nice little hidden surprise when i pulled off the crank pulley. Found the crank key chipped off and some carnage to the hole it is supposed to set in.

how dangerous would it be for me just to put a new key in and assemble it? is there any type of repair that can be done to a issue like this?

 

as far as i know the woodruf keys are or should be replacable. If not you have two options jb weld or replace the crank. But yeah you should be able to just replace it.

 

the outer key is for your crank pulley worst comes to worst you spin belts also setting up the timing may be a pita if you cant use the key anymore

 

there is damage around the hole that is shown in the picture. im wondering if this damage is going to effect the strength of this key.

 

nah, just put it together with a new key. Clean the keyway if required using a tiny file.

that is, unless you would prefer replacing the crankshaft...or shortblock, or engine, or swapping in a 4.7L v8 from a tundra/sequoia...

put it together and go drive.

 

so i got a new key for it but the damage was too severe for it to be held in place by itself. cheap solution, jb weld the key in place and act like there is nothing wrong.

what this was causing was my crank pulley was able to move left and right so setting my timing was inaccurate but it ran real good. here in california if your ignition timing isnt set at 5+/- 2degrees, its a auto fail. so even though it ran like a top before i took it apart it would have been impossible to get it to pass smog in the condition it was in.

basically with my timing set at 5 it was really set at about -10 which caused it to have no power. just giving you guys a heads up, its always a shame when people ask for advice on these forums but dont close it out with what the solution was.

hope someone else can use this information.