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Re: Cracked Timing Cover

To: jboatri@emory.edu
Subject: Re: Cracked Timing Cover
From: Paul A Asgeirsson <pasgeirsson@juno.com>
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 1999 09:44:43 EDT
Cc: tzuchow@ibm.net, spridgets@autox.team.net
References: <l03110701b3952b1e2742@[170.140.244.186]>
Reply-to: Paul A Asgeirsson <pasgeirsson@juno.com>
Sender: owner-spridgets@autox.team.net
Hi Tom,

All the following is excellent advice, but there is one important item
missing.  You need to center the case with it's seal in place so it won't
wear prematurely and leak again.

It's really quite simple to do.  With the seal in the cover and the
gasket blued up and everything ready for assembly, fasten the cover to
the engine mounting plate with only 2 or 3 screws lightly screwed in. 
Light enough so the cover will shift easily.  Now slip the pulley on the
end of the crank.  This centers the seal.  Now tighten the few loose
bolts to just hold the cover in position.  Remove the pulley now and put
all the rest of the bolts in place and tighten them up properly without
moving the cover at all.  With the seal centered, you will get really
long life from it.

Paul
PAsgeirsson@juno.com

On Tue, 22 Jun 1999 08:24:37 -0400 Jeff Boatright <jboatri@emory.edu>
writes:
>Tom,
>
>First, Ulix' JB weld/washer/super glue fix sounds like the way to go. 
>But, to answer your question, you don't have to pull the engine to get
the
>timing cover off. You will need to pull the grill and radiator, loosen 
>the front engine mount bolts, and jack the engine up so that the pulley 
>clears the front crossmember. When I replaced my seal, I had to jack the

>egnine to the point that it was slightly lifting the front end! Anyway,
then, 
>you need get the front pully off, which requires a 1 - 5/16th socket on
a
>cheater. The only socket of this size that I could find took a 3/4"  
>drive. Luckily my neighbor had one. Then you need to pry the front pully
off. 
>I used a couple of crow bars. Then you need to remove the forest of 
>bolts holding the cover on. Yes, their heads are of two sizes, both of
which
>escape me right now (1/2 and 3/8??). Finally the cover will come off. 
>But, you're not done yet. You'll probably need a new front seal and 
>definitely a new cover gasket. You also need to check that the mating
surface of 
>the >cover (with all the bolt holes) is flat, flat, flat. It's usually 
>puclered around the bolt holes. This, along with an old seal, is often
the 
>source of oil leaks from the front of the engine. When replacing it all,
the 
>seal should fit snuggly into its pocket - I applied greas liberally
inside 
>and out (see Haynes). The gasket should only require blue goo on the
cover
>side, though many folks put it on both sides. Finally, there are in 
>fact torque values for all of those bolts.
>
>Surprisingly, the hardest part of the reassembly, for me, was 
>realigning
>all of the pieces of sheet metal that the radiator screws pass 
>through.
>Colin Chapman would've been proud of the parsimony followed by the
>designers. More or less, four sheet metal screws hold the fronts of 
>our
>cars together. I suggest clamping the pieces of sheet together before
>removing the radiator mounting screws. This may require drilling new 
>holes
>through the sheets (but avoiding the rad mounts) so that the various 
>body
>panels are held in place after you remove the rad mount screws.
>
>Aren't you glad you asked? As I said, try the Ulix fix first. BTW, one 
>of
>the local shops here estimated $300 to replace the front seal, in case 
>you
>were wondering.
>
>Jeff
>
>---
>On 6/21/99, Tom Zuchowski wrote:
>>Again I turn to the accumulated wisdom of the List. . .
>>
>>Yesterday I pulled my radiator to have it rebuilt, and I made an 
>unhappy
>>discovery.
>>
>>The front timing cover on the 1275 engine is cracked where the 
>breather can
>>attaches to it. I can wiggle the breather and watch the crack open 
>and
>>close. (This might explain why my oil leaking has gotten so bad 
>lately.)
>>
>>How much trouble an I in? It looks like a LOT of work to get that 
>timing
>>cover off. Do I have to pull the engine? Can something like this be 
>welded
>>closed, or do I have to find a replacement? I am tempted to try 
>cleaning it
>>up and applying a generous fillet of JB Weld around the breather. 
>This is a
>>driver, not a show car.
>>
>>Any and all opinions and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
>>
>>Thanks in advance. You have always come through for me!
>>
>>Tom Zuchowski
>>'61 Bugeye
>>Clemmons, NC
>
>
>Jeffrey H. Boatright, PhD
>Senior Editor, Molecular Vision
>http://www.molvis.org/molvis
>"Seeing the Future in a Very Tiny Way"
>
>


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