Is there really a jig for drilling a hole in the front cover to block the pin from falling out? has anyone had success with this method?

 

YEP!!! It do exist! Once you do one you find out that it is a pretty easy thing to do. Either you tab the KDP or you jig it.

 

I think a guy on TDR has one he lends out. Personally I don't like fixng it that way. Once you take enough off parts to set the jig, taking the rest off to tab the pin is easy. When I did mine it was ready to fall out. Trying to fix it by the jig would have just pushed it out the rest of the way into the gears. Plus you have the issue of the aluminum shavings getting into the engine. A friends truck would have been fine as his pin was as set by the factory, but who knew until it could be seen.

 

I feel the jig fix is totally adequate for the dowel pin, I've personally used it on well over 50 engines. Takes about 45 minutes, the only new part needed is one bolt.
If you can change your own oil you can use the jig.
In fact the only reason I wouldn't use the jig is if you have a leak from the front seal, cover or case that requires taking things apart anyway. Remember you are only preventing a problem that won't happen for the vast majority of engines, why make it complicated? Bolts could come loose all over the engine, should I take the whole thing apart to tighten them?

A jig kit is available from Harold at rvhvnfn@juno.com or 208 850-8749.
$30 gets you the basic kit, postage paid.

 

Maybe my situation was a 1-1000 shot. In my case, the pin was almost all the way out. A drill would have pushed it the rest of the way. Then I would have put a bolt in covering a hole with no pin. With my luck on startup the gears would have picked it up and caused the problem I was trying to prevent. It would have worked fine on my friend's '96 His was fully in the hole.

 

i had mine done the with the jig fix and he pressurized the motorso that it blew all the shavings out instead of letting them fall in. it was a neat trick

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doen't the bolt (set screw) hold the KDP in? Against the pin itself? If the drill breaks through the hole then you know the pin got pushed out and you take the cover off?

What am I missing here?

 

The kit I use (Harold's Jig) comes in at an angle and hits the end of the set screw. With a good flashlight you can see the pin to verify that it's in place, and you can tap on it with a punch to reseat it if it has slid out some.

Wow, Bill! Over 50? I have some catching up to do!

 

I have 3 KDPS lines up to get killed up here if you wanna come on up and improve your record Dave

A 93 (you know who that belongs to) my 95 , and dad's 97.

 

I did a 90 with the pin almost out. The drill passed, but the tap hung up against the pin. We ground the threads off the bolt past the tapped cover so it would clear, but still block the pin.

I've only used the John Strenkowski (CPFF) jig. It is the original and he freely distributed many sets around the country to TDR member volunteers that would track them.

One of the guys learned a trick to minimize shavings dropping in the hole. Use the pilot drill to mark the aluminum cover, but not drill completely through. The countersink operation produces most of the shavings, but without a through hole they drop harmlessly away. Complete the pilot drill and tap.

 

Old machinists trick: put a good amount of grease in the flutes of the drill bit and tap before use to caqtch the shavings. Remove, clean, and regrease a few times.

Jim

 

Grease serves 2 purposes.
Tapping especially in aluminum requires a good lubricant to prevent gauling.

 

I always pressurized the engine to about 10 psi with compressed air while using a jig but it can also be done with a vacuum cleaner on blow.
In the one instance I ran into a pin that was too far out and blocked the drill I continued with the tapping and countersinking. Took the cover off to pound the pin in and there was only one little flake of shaving that had fallen in.