What does the diffent keyways on timming chain do?

LILCBRA said:

If you don't have a compression tester, I'd advise on investing in one.

Amazon product ASIN B00SKSAB8UView: https://www.amazon.com/BETOOLL-HW0130-Cylinder-Compression-Automotive/dp/B00SKSAB8U/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=compression+tester&qid=1626980431&sr=8-3

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LILCBRA said:

To be fair, you're the only "thief" here that I'm aware of, so that makes you THE thief - general or no!
Besides, I'm no longer in any branch of the service, so rank just doesn't mean anything to me anymore.

And so far, to the OP, 3 different tests have been suggested and a number of different things to check. 3 votes for a compression test, and I suggested a leak down type test and a coolant pressure test if you're concerned you have a coolant leak as bad as what you've led me to believe, which require different tools. Timing requires a timing light and should probably be the first thing to check and confirm. Then, tear the front of the engine down and confirm that the timing chain is indeed correctly installed. The last thing to check would be to see about your head gasket. As Mike said, it's highly unlikely unless there's something you've not let us in on. I'm sure, from what was described, it was an error on your part during the assembly process that has caused the engine to run like vs the catastrophic failure of something. That's not saying a catastrophic failure wasn't caused by incorrect installation though, but a head gasket wouldn't be at or near the top of the list.

Now, having said all of that, you said you ran your engine hotter than 230* - how hot did it get? Do you have an aftermarket temperature gauge installed to be able to say? And how long was it ran at that higher temp?

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CarMichael Angelo said:

As long as you have an Oreillys, an Advance, or an Auto Zone in the town you live in. Every single diagnostic tool talked about here is capable of getting loaned out for free.
( you just have to leave a refundable deposit )

The Comp tester is the easiest to use, and doesn’t require an air compressor like a leak down does. Once you verify that all cylinders are fairly even, you can put the blown HG thing to rest.
As long as the engine is truly on its TDC on the compression stroke. The dots appear fine.
If you had the distributor out, I’d say the poor running issue is due to ignition timing, Interference on the timing chain would’ve left evidence of contact, and would’ve made a god awful noise if it was actually hitting something.

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