Front cover question

TwoToneThunder

Registered User
Does the oil pan have to come off in order to get the front timing cover off?

i have the water pump, balancer, bolts going through the pan into the cover and the allen head screw removed as well as the other front cover bolts


however i CAN NOT for the life of me get the timing cover to seperate from the block
 
I'm not sure if it HAS to, but its a hell of a lot easier getting the bottom part of the timing chain re-sealed if you already have the oil pan off. Trust me, its worth the time and energy to take the 20 or so bolts off. Good luck!
 
ive never had to drop the pan in the car before is it easy enough to get a new oil pan gasket in there so i dont have any other oil leak issues after dropping the pan?
 
I replaced the front cover about 3 months ago. I did not take off the oil pan.

After I verified that all bolts, nuts, and connected stuff was removed via 4 big cans of brake/carb cleaner & some rags, I had to smack it a few times with a rubber mallet & a block of wood.

I cannot remember if I removed the oil pump before removal or not.....

You may want to loosen the cam sensor & shaft or better yet remove them altogether!

I've had NO leaks at the front of the oil pan. I used the black felpro rtv that was included in the front gasket set. I put it on the bottom of the front cover, and after it was on, I put a small bead on the front mating surface of the pan/cover. Why not? No one will see it after it's all back together. And I wanted to make sure it wouldn't leak. I sure didn't want to go back in there to fix another one. I also put a small bead of sealant on the keyhole of the harmonic balancer when it went back on.
 
removed the cam sensor and drive syncro i have 12 bolts 4 through the water pump 2 up top 2 off to the pass side both pan bolts the allen screw and the one through the oil cooler


only thing i havent tried is pulling the oil cooler which i dont see how it could come off? subframe and power steering lines in the way


i hit it with a hammer and the cover cracked and still wont budge


anything im missing?
 
removed the cam sensor and drive syncro i have 12 bolts 4 through the water pump 2 up top 2 off to the pass side both pan bolts the allen screw and the one through the oil cooler


only thing i havent tried is pulling the oil cooler which i dont see how it could come off? subframe and power steering lines in the way


i hit it with a hammer and the cover cracked and still wont budge


anything im missing?

you dont have to remove the pump or any of that.. should come right off..

this might help
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i finally got it off in about 10 pieces in the process one of the studs broke off in the block, hopefully alot of rtv will seal it up because im not going to drill it out ive had enough fun for awhile
 
i finally got it off in about 10 pieces in the process one of the studs broke off in the block, hopefully alot of rtv will seal it up because im not going to drill it out ive had enough fun for awhile

highly unlikely that it will work. You need to get that stud out of there so you can put a new one back in. That is a pretty big area to span without some sort of clamping force.
 
does anyone know how much stud threads into the block?

I would say an inch or a bit less. Walk away, then come back and fix it right! Which bolt broke? I hate drilling out broken bolts but you need to. Worst that can happen is you suck at drilling it in the center and straight like I do and you have to drill it out further and thread in a helicoil.

On another note, double nut the studs for the water pump and twist them all out, clean and teflon tape the threads that go into the block, I know at least one of those studs screws goes into a water jacket. Might as well do that while your fixing leaks.

chris
 
highly unlikely that it will work. You need to get that stud out of there so you can put a new one back in. That is a pretty big area to span without some sort of clamping force.
Agree. If you don't get that side sealed well, you'll have oil and coolant where you don't want it.
 
does anyone know how much stud threads into the block?

When drilling something out, you are not drilling the whole thing. You want 3 things. #1 - a small drill bit to drill a pilot hole into the center of the broken off stud. #2 - A bolt extractor of the correct size for the bolt. #3 - A left twist drill bit of the correct size for the bolt extractor.

Drill the pilot hole to get things started. Doesn't need to go very deep at all. Then drill the left twist bit as far as recommended for the extractor. if you are lucky, as you are drilling with the left twist bit the bolt will start working it's way out and you won't need the extractor. If you are unlucky, once done drilling use the extractor as instructed and attempt to remove the broken stud.

Before starting the left twist bit, I'd be tempted to put some heat to the block around the bolt, nothing more than Mapp gas can get, and cool the broken stud with some non-flammable bolt-out spray. Then start drilling. Might make it come out easier.
 
If you are lucky, as you are drilling with the left twist bit the bolt will start working it's way out and you won't need the extractor. If you are unlucky, once done drilling use the extractor as instructed and attempt to remove the broken stud.

And if you are really unlucky, the extractor will break off inside the broken stud. (The beginning of a lousy day.)
 
How close to the block did the stud break off? Is there any sticking out?

Get yourself a nice sharp center punch to make a dimple in the center of the broken off stud. This is probably the most important thing, if you dont get the first drill hole in the center then you are just adding time to your repair.

Make sure you heat it up before starting.

Another way that has not been mentioned is to weld another bolt to the broken stud then while its still hot turn it out. Did this on four studs on my mitsu eclipse manifold. The bolt gets hot and loosnes then it will turn out. But my bother is a very very good welder and he did that.
 
the top stud above the water passage on the passenger side is the one that broke i havent tried to get it out yet im doing some other fixes on it for now to keep my cool
 
drill it with a left handed drill bit and it may unscrew its self out as you drill. worked for me before on broken bolts etc.
 
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