I haven't had time to look into why it is missing. I just replaced the front diff and resealed my oil pan, hoping to make it stop leaking. It didn't. here's the question -
I messed up my block when doing the timing chain. I tried to put the middle bolt that holds the AC back on there before putting the AC back on there. I ended up busting off part of the block by torqueing the bolt all the way down. Now, the AC unit keeps coming loose from vibes. But that's not all! I've stripped out my bolt that needs sealant behind the oil pump and I think (hope) that that is where all my oil is coming from. Can's say for sure though. I've but a speedy sleeve on the crank because it had a groove in it. I am going to try to tap out the stripped hole on Saturday, but I am not sure what to do about the busted off piece. I am the point of being so frustrated with the 2 year fiddling with the timing chain process that I'm tempted to just get another engine. Given that I have the busted off piece, (it's busted off where the bolt goes in, the engine internals aren't exposed) should I start thinking about starting over at this point? i mean, I could just put a new engine in there and hopefully forget about it for a while. My head is noisy as heck too, and i've tried adjusting my rockers many times and have put new rocker bolts in there as well. It's quiet until I have run it for like 45 minutes then its gets loud.

Just thinking that I am fighting a losing battle.

Good news is that I was able to put the IFS diff in with no "rework" on it. Bad news is that it is still IFS <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

You can helicoil the hole that you've stripped on the oil pump.. That should resolve that issue. Go slow, take your time, and you should be fine. The oil pump isn't held on there with a ton of torque, so be careful when torquing down.

On the block - that's bad.. The only thing I can think of is finding someone who welds on iron and giving it a shot. Otherwise it's block replacement or no AC...

I can't just run a tap on it? I have to helicoil it?

Dude on ebay nearby has a reman long block for $1200 or so. In the long run it makes lot of sense. I just don't know if i'm up to the task of doing this myself. Guess I should just try no AC for a while and see if that helps.

EB, if you're lurking, I'd rather buy from you but I don't know if you are selling these - LC and DOA are 2k and up.

Was thinking about trying to drill a hole through the "wing" that's left and where it mates to the TC and running a bolt through that with a lock nut on the other end. to hold it tight but I am fairly certain I don't have the stones to try that.

having a thread with myself here. :lol
It's not the middle bolt, it's the top bolt on the passenger side the goes through the AC bracket.
I just started the truck in my garage and it ran the same with # 4 plug wire pulled off as it did with it on... thinking not a good sign. I first noticed the miss after driving it say 30 miles and then letting it sit for a while. It starting missing on startup - I gave it lots of gas and it took us home, eventually straightening out. It took a few minutes. Could be the cold weather? It was cold both times and the first time I drove it in weather this cold this year. I guess a bad TPS and bad timing and bad weather could cause this.

The plan is to pull the #4 plug out Saturday morning and see if it is fouled or otherwise bad. Hope for the best. If it starts running right again then I will address the oil leak.

Anybody that can tell me that a tap in the timing chain cover won't work? I was thinking I would tap it out to the next size and buy the next size bolt. Shouldn't be that big of a deal, right? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />