Timing cover gasket

sccrewzer

sccrewzer

Registered User
What had happened was my HG's blew last friday so while i'm fixing those i figured I will try to fix this oil leak that been haunting me for years now I can't seem to pin point where it is leaking from around my timing cover looks real dirty but nothing looks fresh on the oil pressure sensor to it looked oily so i'll be replacing that. To make a long story short :D If I remove the timing cover to replace the seals around there would I have to realign the cam position sensor shaft? Has anyone had a oil leak in the timing cover area?
 
I had a supercharger snout seal leaking that bathed that area a bit....is the snout dry underneath, right behind the pulley?
 
sccrewzer said:
What had happened was my HG's blew last friday so while i'm fixing those i figured I will try to fix this oil leak that been haunting me for years now I can't seem to pin point where it is leaking from around my timing cover looks real dirty but nothing looks fresh on the oil pressure sensor to it looked oily so i'll be replacing that. To make a long story short :D If I remove the timing cover to replace the seals around there would I have to realign the cam position sensor shaft? Has anyone had a oil leak in the timing cover area?
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Yes...if you pull the timing cover to replace the gasket, you will have to remove and reinstall the cam sensor synchro stalk. It's not difficult to reset to the proper position.

David
 
don't forget about the allen head bolt behind the oil filter on the bottom corner of the timing cover. It's a little hidden and if you pry on the cover without that bolt out, you'll break the corner of the timing cover.

If you pull that off you should inspect the oil pump and surface on the timing cover for it.
 
sccrewzer said:
Has anyone had a oil leak in the timing cover area?
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LOL.. Better question is who hasn't had an oil leak around the timing cover. And don't try to fix it like I did.. by cutting out plain jane fiber gasket material.. :rolleyes: That works for about a month. The right gasket is a blue rtv coated tin gasket.

Also, taking the cover off is hard. It gets welded to the studs by all the baked on oil. I got the best results using a propane torch to melt the gunk a few seconds at a time, and then prying the cover forwards. Balancer is a judgement call. If you see little detectible wear on the inside, you can get by reusing it. If you see 20% or more surface wear, I'd get a new HB or get the BHJ part. I've done it both ways.
 
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I always twist the studs out that are around the waterjacket of the waterpump and clean those up really well also. When you twist them back in seal the threads because at least one of them sees coolant and will leak if you don't.

chris
 
mywhite89 said:
at least one of them sees coolant and will leak if you don't.
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A manufacturing flaw BTW for those who are wondering.. They (Ford) pushed it as deep as they could get away with and added the caveat to seal the threads. None of mine have any exposure to coolant, but just in case.

On a more practical note, (aghast.. no service manual note about this and sadly... no Rotunda tool), when you place the timing chain cover back onto the long studs, coat them well with silicon RTV. That will help to keep the varnish buildup down so that the next time (even if you never need to, plan for it) you take the cover off, it won't be such an ordeal. :cool:
 
XR7 Dave said:
I wanna say T45 security Torx. I've used a big pair of vise grips many times.
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Of all people, you mean to tell me you don't slot that annoying bolt and replace it with a plane jane bolt? I've drilled out the inner nub, cursed at it a bit, and put something back in that I can reach. Which of course, I never need to do, but thats beside the point. :)
 
TbirdSCFan said:
A manufacturing flaw BTW for those who are wondering.. They (Ford) pushed it as deep as they could get away with and added the caveat to seal the threads. None of mine have any exposure to coolant, but just in case.
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Thats interesting. Well I know for sure the last time I had my 89 apart, it has one that protrudes completely.
 
TbirdSCFan said:
Of all people, you mean to tell me you don't slot that annoying bolt and replace it with a plane jane bolt? I've drilled out the inner nub, cursed at it a bit, and put something back in that I can reach. Which of course, I never need to do, but thats beside the point. :)
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You can't take the nub out of that bolt! It's a tamper-proof bolt! If you take the nub out, people will tamper with it! You know even teenagers have access to Torx screwdrivers these days. Are you MAD?!
 
TbirdSCFan said:
Of all people, you mean to tell me you don't slot that annoying bolt and replace it with a plane jane bolt? I've drilled out the inner nub, cursed at it a bit, and put something back in that I can reach. Which of course, I never need to do, but thats beside the point. :)
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Are you serious? I have the proper tools so it's a non-issue to me.

BTW, the lower driver side stud does indeed go into the water jacket on all 3.8L engines (at least all SC ones). If yours didn't, that's only because there is crap in there sealing it up. ;)

I agree with Chris, always remove the studs before attempting to remove the timing cover. If the studs won't come out then you have really big problems and prying on the cover will just break stuff.
 
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