timing belt cover removal

[IggDawg]

my timing belt cover is a little loose in the bottom. a tiny bit of oil is getting out and tehre;s liek a 5mm opening. I figure I should open it up and check it out anyways. do I need to yank the engien for this or is there an easier way? there's like no clearance.

[Legacy777]

pull the cooling fans.....that should give you a little bit more room.

[IggDawg]

I'm making that "wow, I'm exceptionally stupid for not thinking that" face. so you can make an appropriate face in response. how can you not?

thanks for the tip .

[magicmike]

um....there should not be any oil leaking from there. If there is you probably need new front cam seals. I know my 87 GL was doing that. Dont bother removing all that crap unless your prepared to change the seals. All you can do is go through all that work to say "Hey there is oil leaking from there" lol That oil leak is what also causes pre mature timing belt failure. The good news is that all the seals will cost you less than 20 bucks. The bad news is its a bitch to get at. Also keep in mind it is VERY VERY difficult to get off the bolt that holds on your crankshaft pulley. If your A/C is out of order I suggest pulling both your radiator and the A/C radiator thingy (not sure what the correct name for that thing is) That should give you more than enough room to work.

Good Luck,


Mike

[ciper]

MagicMike beat me to it but I agree, no reason any fluid should be present in the covers. If you happen to seal it up completly all you will do is ruin the belts by soaking them in oil.

[IggDawg]

good call on that. it's the crank seal or a cam seal or something. I guess I have another weekend of "honey, you spend too much damn time with the car!" :p . I totally didn't think of the whole soaking the belt in oil thing. I'm just worried about letting in the elements. I have on a skidplate and that helps keep stuff from splashing up. guess it's time to head out and get some goodies.

[Mark Ward]

It is easy to get the covers off if you remove the electric fans... That will give you enough room. You can llok then to find the possible leak.
Mark

[IggDawg]

So are the cam seals and crank seal moderately easy to replace? is it all elbow grease and little brain power or am I going to be sitting there with the shop manual wishing I had never started the job?

[magicmike]

They are very easy to replace once you get to them. The hardest part is getting to them. Why not wait until you need to change the timing belt? Thats when I did mine.

Mike

[IggDawg]

It's winter here so there's salt all over the roads. There's an opening about 4 or so inches long along the seam between the block and the cover. it's only open a few millimeters. It's on the underside, facing down. I'm worried about salt water splashing up there and corroding things. I have a nice skidplate under there and that helps a lot, but salt water can still make it though the radiator. I guess I'm just paranoid and I'm worried about stuff getting in there. If you guys say not to worry and to wait for my timing belt to need replacement or inspection, I will. I always over-worry about these things.

I also get some oil smoke from time to time when oil drips on the exhaust manifold that passes under the front of the engine. that doesn't bother me too much, but I'd rather have no smoke .

[magicmike]

I'm worried about salt water splashing up there and corroding things.

um.......if everything in there is soaked with oil how is it going to corrode???

not being a smart ass, just seeing the glass half empy.

Mike

[IggDawg]

Naah. if you smart-ass my concern, it makes me think my concern is laughable. And thusly not worth my worry . thanks for the tips and "don't worry"s