planning on tabbing the kdp this weekend. how much time am i looking at?

 

did mine last year. don't remember exactly how long but it was well inside a day.

 

It depends on how quickly you work. It took me about 4 hours to do it. Some people find that it takes 8 while others do it in under 3.

 

I would find someone with a kdp jig that puts a screw in front of the dowel pin. takes 30-45 mins. wannadiesel did mine, he has to be around 70 kdp's by now.

 

Wannadiesel did mine too, in fact I was one of the first ones he did. He's an awesome guy and in eastern PA. What else can I say?

John

 

How is this done? Looking at a new (to me) truck, owner doesn't know if original owner took care of KDP. I suspect not.

I would love to be able to drill and check - even better if I could install through the hole!!!

 

You don't actually install the tab through the hole. You use a jig to precisely make the hole in a spot where you can insert a bold to block the KDP so it can't slide out:

KDP Jig Kit

John

 

First you need a jig. I don't think anyone sells them anymore, could be wrong though.
Here's some pictures of how the jig works. The cover doesn't have to removed, it's only off to show what's going on.
I've jigged over 100 trucks, got it down to less than half an hour each. The instructions John linked to above are way more involved than my method.

Drilling hole to tap, jig bolted to cover, long bit needed for clearance, depth stop needed on bit


How the installed bolt contains the dowel pin

 

That is pretty sweet - much easier than tearing the entire timing cover open.

The link to the site with instructions was cool, but it looks like the don't sell the jig kit anymore.

Anyone got one for sale? Or know of someone with a jig in Las Vegas that would be willing to help out or sell theirs?

 

Would'nt you have to remove the cover to get the shavings out from drilling?

 

one way to avoid metal shavings is apply a SLIGHT pressure to the crankcase through the oil dipstick with a rubber tube and air hose. thats the way wannadiesel did mine. some grease on the end of the bit may help as well. if a filing gets in the gearcase, it will just sit in the pan until you change your oil. great idea to stick an earth magnet to the bottom or have a magnetic drain plug.

 

Yeah I guess you could also blow air through the drilled hole to keep any debris from sitting on the gear.

This looks like a great idea, one I've never seen before. Too bad my front cover gasket is seeping and I gotta tear into the whole deal.

 

If you do it the other way you have the benefit of installing a new front crank seal, yours is most likely 12 years old and may be leaking or getting ready to. You also get a chance to tighten up the rest of those little nuts and bolts (engine grenades) in the timing case. I've done a couple; the first one took a little over 4 hours while all the following ones were just under 3. I never had access to a jig but they look like a great idea especially when time is money. Good luck, cd

 

Out of curiosity has anyone ever tried the jig and actually hit the KDP because it had slid out too far?

 

Way I do it is hook 10 psi compressed air to the dipstick tube to pressurize the crankcase, leaving the blowby tube open prevents too much pressure from building. Have to wear glasses when drilling, chips come flying out pretty good when the bit busts though.
A vacuum cleaner on blow hooked up in the same manner with the blowby plugged works just as well.
Don't think it would be much problem if a few chips fell in anyway as the case is just aluminum.

Of the over 100 I've done only two had slid out far enough to block the drill, had the pop off the cover and pound them back in. More trucks than that came to me wanting the pin jigged that had seeping seals, made the tab method preferable.

The tab method is just fine, it has the added benefit that you can tighten any loose bolts under the cover.