If the crank was bouncing around that much you would definitely hear it.

Centering the timing cover is pretty critical this is why Ford went to the dowels later on and used a tool for the early ones like the LS motors do for centering the timing cover during install.

Now if the oil pan is off this is not much of an issue as you can line up the bottom of the timing cover with the block and get things close enough usually.
Now if the timing cover has been pulled to do a timing chain when it is being installed it will be forced up by the spliced in pan rail gasket and the pan end seal. If the tool is not used you can end up with with the cover sitting to high and potentially get a leak on the bottom side of the seal due to a lack of tension on it. Now this situation is compounded if there is some main bearing wear. As the front main bearing wears the top of the shell due to the tension of the accessory drive belts pulling it up so this can take even more tension off the bottom side of the seal and cause a leak.

Just as an FYI the tool is called a cylinder Front cover Pilot tool Ford tool number T61P-6019-B The same tool was used on the FE's

 

This engine picture from the previous post has the 1/2 dowels. You can see one of them sticking out on the driver's side of the engine, it looks like a little pipe sticking out.

 

This engine looks like it has the smaller holes for the dowels.

 

That's a Mexican Block no timing cover dowels.

 

 

I don't see how people change the front cover without dropping the pan a little bit. I have never been able to get them on and off doing it that way, even a chevy. I always have to loosen the bolts on the oil pan and let it drop a little bit to get the front cover on. More power to people who can do it, it would be less trouble if I didn't have to mess with the oil pan.

 

You know what. It was a long time ago. I might have taken a older cover with no dowels, just bolts, and had to drill the bolt holes out to accept the new block's dowel pins. The dowels are hollow with the bolts in the middle. So now I am wondering if there really was a cover with smaller dowels, I am now not sure.

 

It can be done not easily but it can be done. On the older engines with no dowels it was quite easy to do cause as soon as you unbolted the cover you could pry it up from the pan an 1/8" or so and pull it off. When Ford started going to the dowels it could still be done but was no where near as easy. And I agree with the Chev thing I have never been able to get a stock cover off with out dropping the pan a bit unless I pulled the seal before hand.. As a side note the GM LS engines are like the old SBF's (as is the rest of the engine ) and require a tool to center the timing cover during install, especially if done in situ..

 

 

 

Wrong seal for that application that seal installs from the front. You are installing it backwards and it will NEVER EVER seal. The tension spring ALWAYS faces inward (towards what you are trying to keep in).
Installed the way it was the seal had NO lubrication and would shred in short order.

You need a seal with no Flange (One such as below) and installed from the back, with the tension spring facing the oil sump.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=1837972&cc=1120790&jsn=541

 

I think the dipstick in the timing cover means the engine is from a car with a front sump oil pan, but Matthew can correct me if I'm wrong. I thought the trucks all had the dipsticks in the rear sticking in the block just above the oil pan.

 

Or, as mentioned above, you can use the harmonic balancer to center the cover before you tighten it to the block, but that will probably only work if you loosen the oil pan so that there is no upward pressure on the bottom of the timing cover.

 

Good catch. Yes that would be the timing cover from a car . The dip stick be in the block for the trucks and later Fox bodies and Panther Platform cars.