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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