KRE timing cover problems?
 

Has anybody ever had any issues with the Kauffman timing covers? I can’t get everything to seat and sandwich itself together without nearly 1/4 gap on the one side.

KRE timing cover
Butler SS divider plate
New tubes with new gaskets

Pop the tubes out and divider plate and gaskets sandwich together fine, put one or both in and then have issues.

I coated the back of the tubes with some marker fluid, held them in place, then spun them around to see if there were high spots. Here’s what I found in the pics.

Did this just miss being machined or just a bad casting maybe? I’d hate to touch them up and make too much slop and not get a good seal.

I have the 8 bolt version, dimpled for tri-power. I bought their stainless 2 piece divider plates and I had a set from Butler.

The fuel pump holes are 5/16 on Kauggman vs. ⅜ on my old timing cover.

The plates don't nest well in the timing cover... That is the plates though The timing cover seems good. I will check mine out more this weekend and update the thread.

Edit - I recommend chasing the oil pan holes.

That looks like excessive flash and not a very clean seating area for the inserts.

Curious to see what others think....



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That's interesting. I bought a Chinese knock-off from eBay some years ago - it included the plate and sleeves - it fit great and was of great quality. One would think a KRE product would be better.

Thanks guys... sounds like we’re on the same page as far as our expectations with the cover. I have pics sent out to KRE Power and I’ll keep this post updated with their conclusions.

I was hoping if there was just one high spot from a slight casting issue or a small piece of flashing then maybe I could touch it up enough for a good fit. I wouldn’t mind a little effort to make it work but the driver side tube appears as though it’ll never really seat until some material is milled/ground away at the radius.

I hopped on eBay to see some pics of the other replacements look like and those all appear to be much cleaner. I opted to pay more assuming I would have fewer issues not more issues!

I got one that was the same way. When I tighten everything down evenly there was a good 1/8th inch gap all the way around. I had to run a tap through all the bolt holes before I could even get that far into the project. The bolts would start and after around one turn they would stop.

The spot where your dye is i cleaned up and then i cut a taper in the rubber so thet the diverter plate would slide into it instead of against it. I figured the rubber was easier to deal with than the aluminum.

I bought another one for my 75 and it was fine in all aspects

Kevin

That does seem to be a rather rough finish. I got mine from Ames and was very happy with the quality of the casting, machining, and fitment. I hope you get a response regarding that - it doesn't seem right to me. Maybe someone missed a step in the finishing process?

Thanks again guys. I chased out all the threads and they were in great shape. Unfortunately I haven’t heard a thing back yet in regards to the pics I forwarded.

Yours looks beautiful compared to mine LK. I have such a sloppy radius on that one side where yours looks like a much sharper angle as cast. I don’t mind cleaning up the flashing on the top of the ports because I can basically see enough of the actual cast edge below them (I’d know where to stop). The material on the side I’d hate to just hog into with a die grinder.

What makes this worse is that I only picked this up because the cover that was on the ‘72 block in my car was shot so I ordered this new KRE cover and FlowKooler pump. Once I later found out that block was a huge paperweight I fortunately found a matching year ‘68 block (thanks Paul K) and have a nice ‘68 cover. Not sure if I should just grab a different pump and cut my losses if KRE doesn’t step up.

Im sure KRE will make it right. They have come a long way since they had that kind of service issues in my opinion. Maybe give them a call if you dont get an email reply.

LK that looks waaay better than mine did

Had a few emails back and forth with Jeff Kauffman as field work has me out of cell service during regular hours all week.

I sent some extra pics in addition to the first round of pics. Mainly ones that show no gaps with the tubes left out, gaps when things are buttoned up with all pieces, and how offset one of the tubes sits when viewed from the front head-on.

He said he’d look at one of his there and compare but that was a few days ago. This is starting to get frustrating as I was planning to have everything wrapped up last weekend and painted before the weather here really becomes sketchy. I’ll keep this updated as to what becomes of it.

(Sorry- not sure why the orientation of all these changed during upload)

Have you considered buying another repro and sending that one back for a refund?

That’s kind of the way I’m leaning now. I’ve seen good reviews online and your experience sounds like it worked out great.

I’d order an 8 bolt Flowkooler and run the good ‘68 cover I have now, but I think I’d also have to swap the new balancer I have here for the newer cover.

The issue that I have is that the bottom two holes are not drilled oversized to go into the alignment sleeves. Been having oil leak issues without them. Guess will hunt for a better made cover.:rolleyes:

I had the same problem with the divider plates not nesting properly. I brought an old rough stock on and my KRE one to my machinist to show him and he was able to machine down the high spots.

Yes, the ½" locater dowel holes are missing, so you need to manually center the timing cover on the crank snout, then torque...

They need to fix these things.

Put the cover bolts in loosely and then insert the balancer which will center the balancer seal. Then tighten the cover bolts.

I got caught up with things and totally forgot to update this.

I ended up grabbing a Pioneer branded replacement (#500455) and it’s a work of art compared to the KRE cover. All threads in great shape too.

As far as the KRE cover... that’s a nice $170 paperweight I guess. I did get an email response initially from Jeff at KRE and then I followed it up with more pics of the issues. I believe the last I heard from him was “I’ll have to take a look at one here and get back to you”. I gave that a few days and sent a follow-up asking if he made any progress with it as I was waiting on that cover to get things buttoned up (I wanted to get things together in time to paint before the cold weather hit). No response again so called them up and left a voicemail. Tried that once more and still heard nothing.

I took some measurements of the KRE cover, the Pioneer, and an old stocker I came across after the fact. I’ll have to dig them up... the depth of the milled area where the tubes go is laughable on the KRE. You can basically use a ruler instead of a micrometer, the difference is so obvious.

Sorry- this wasn’t a post intended to slam Kauffman Racing for any particular reason. Those of you who I’ve had transactions with here I’m sure are well aware of how grateful I am for any parts, info, or assistance. I’m never pushy with shipping times or “rushing” things, and that held true with my communications with KRE. I always reach out to those who helped me to say thanks. This isn’t the case with KRE. If they are still in business (I’m left assuming they are not), I hope they enjoy my $$$ and possibly use it towards future QA/QC.

If anything they helped me narrow down the list of aluminum head manufacturers when I shop in the future...lol.

Send it back for a refund.

That’s what the plan was after I never heard back. I mentioned to him the first week or so going by that my plan was to return it. I asked if I needed an RMA number or something first.

I’m hesitant to send something back to someone who won’t even acknowledge me or acknowledge the fact that I’m sending an item back.

I’ve rarely if ever had a deal go this badly with a parts order I’ve placed.

I even included a copy of my original order number with my very first message to make things easier.