Fix It

Park the 1988 Chevy K2500 on a level surface, turn the engine off and apply the parking brake.

Put on the safety glasses and crawl under the passengers side of the vehicle (behind the front tire) with the shop light or a flashlight.

Follow the exhaust tubing on the passengers side to the engine connection. The front pipe of the K2500 features a Y-pipe connected to both the drivers side and the passengers side of the engine.

Follow the Y-pipe back to the next component behind it. It will either be a large, broad, flat component or a round canister with an external heat shield spot-welded to the outer shell. This component is the catalytic converter. Depending on the size of the wheel base of the K2500, behind the converter there may be a small to medium length connector pipe leading to the muffler and the tailpipe. The connector pipe routes over the rear axle and out toward the rear bumper, all on the passengers side.

Raise the front of the Daytona, using the floor jack. Support the vehicle by placing the jack stands beneath it, perably under the sub-frame or another secure part of the vehicle. Slowly lower the Daytona until its weight is held only by the jack stands.

Crawl beneath the Daytona until you reach the exhaust system. Locate the heat shield, the metal cover over the exhaust, near the underside of the front seats. Loosen and remove the four bolts holding the heat shield in place, using the ratchet and socket. Pull the heat shield from the underside of the vehicle, exposing the catalytic converter beneath it.

Trace the catalytic converter toward the front of the vehicle until you locate the flange where it bolts to the front exhaust pipe. Loosen and remove the two nuts holding the catalytic converter to the front pipe, using a ratchet and socket. Pull the converter towards the rear of the vehicle, until it is clear of the studs on the front pipe, and pull the front of the converter down.

Trace the converter toward the rear of the exhaust until you locate where it is clamped to the rear exhaust pipe. The clamp is a basic U-shaped clamp. Loosen and remove the nuts at the bottom of the exhaust clamp, using a ratchet and a socket, and pull the clamp off. Pull the catalytic converter toward the front of the vehicle until it is free from the pipe. A light tapping on the pipe with the rubber mallet may help the removal.

Trace the catalytic converter until you locate the rubber hanger on the passenger side of the converter. While holding the converter, pull the rubber hanger from the converter. Once removed, lower the catalytic converter to the ground.

Place the new converter under the vehicle and place the rubber hanger on the passenger side of the converter, just as it was on the old catalytic converter.

Place the exhaust flange gasket on the end of the front pipe of the catalytic converter. Push the converter into the front exhaust pipe and hand-tighten the nuts on the studs.

Insert the rear pipe on the catalytic converter into the rear exhaust pipe, place the new exhaust clamp over the rear exhaust pipe and hand-tighten the nuts.

Tighten the front pipe nuts with a ratchet and socket, until the flange gasket is slightly crushed between the catalytic converter pipe and the exhaust pipe.

Tighten the exhaust clamps nuts until the rear catalytic converter pipe and the rear exhaust pipe are held together.

Place the heat shield back in place and tighten the bolts, using the ratchet and socket.

Disconnect the cylinder head with a socket wrench. Drain the coolant from the radiator, and store it for later use. Remove the radiator from the vehicle.

Remove the alternator from the engine with a socket wrench. Disconnect the oil pan. Remove the mounting bolts, drive belt and hoses from the air pump, if your vehicle is so equipped. Disconnect the air pump and its bracket from the engine.

Disconnect the water pump assembly and cooling fan from the vehicle with a socket wrench. Remove the mounting bolt for the crankshaft pulley, and detach the pulley with a gear puller.

Disconnect the water bypass line and the fan belt adjusting bar. Detach the outlet line from the heater. Remove the mounting bolts for the timing chain cover with a socket wrench, and disconnect the cover.

Detach the timing chain from the damper of the camshaft, and detach the timing chain from the camshaft sprocket. Remove the camshaft sprocket from the camshaft. Pull the crankshaft sprocket from the crankshaft. Disconnect the spline for the oil pump from the crankshaft.

Rotate the crankshaft clockwise until the key on the crankshaft points straight up, and mount the crankshaft sprocket onto the crankshaft. Place the new timing chain on the crankshaft sprocket, and align the single bright link on the timing chain with the crankshaft sprockets timing mark.

Place the timing chain on the camshaft sprocket. Mount the camshaft sprocket to the camshaft so that the camshafts timing mark is between the two bright links on the timing chain.

Install the oil pump spline to the crankshaft. Mount the timing chain gasket to the engine block, and take up the slack in the timing chain by turning the camshaft sprocket counterclockwise with a socket wrench.

Connect the timing chain cover, and use a torque wrench to tighten the 8mm bolts to 9 foot-pounds. Torque the 10mm mounting bolts to 29 foot-pounds. Coat the gaskets for the timing chain cover and oil pan with sealer. Connect the fan belt adjusting bar, and tighten its bolt to 9 foot-pounds.

Attach the water bypass line. Mount the pulley onto the crankshaft, and tighten the mounting bolt. Connect the water pump and compressor for the air conditioner with a socket wrench. Install the oil pan, radiator and cylinder head in that order.

Replace the oil and coolant to their proper levels. Start the vehicle and check for fluid leaks.