Part 1. Preparation and safety
Objective
- Install the timing cover.
Personal safety
Whenever you perform a task in the workshop you must use personal protective clothing and equipment that is appropriate for the task and which conforms to your local safety regulations and policies. Among other items, this may include:
- Work clothing - such as coveralls and steel-capped footwear
- Eye protection - such as safety glasses and face masks
- Ear protection - such as earmuffs and earplugs
- Hand protection - such as rubber gloves and barrier cream
- Respiratory equipment - such as face masks and valved respirators
If you are not certain what is appropriate or required, ask your supervisor.
Safety check
- Make sure that you understand and observe all legislative and personal safety procedures when carrying out the following tasks. If you are unsure of what these are, ask your supervisor.
Points to note
- Make sure the seal is fully seated and square.
Part 2: Step-by-step instruction
- Install timing cover seal
The timing cover seal keeps oil from leaking past the harmonic balancer. Some seals have a coating painted on them already, some are bare metal. Put a thin bead of non-hardening sealant around the outer edge of the seal. Put a block of wood behind the cover so you don't deform the metal as you hammer on the seal. Use a bearing race driver or a tool that will contact the entire face of the seal as it's banged in.
Check to make sure that the seal is fully seated and square. Then lubricate the inner lip of the rubber seal with some grease to keep it from burning out when the engine starts up.
- Install timing cover gasket
Clean the gasket mounting surfaces of the cover and the block with some solvent. Most gaskets for timing covers are made from a paper composite material. The best way to seal these is with a gasket sealant. Most formulas work like rubber cement. Coat the surfaces of the block and the timing cover. Then evenly coat both sides of the gasket and let everything dry for a minute or two. When the sealant has dried enough to be tacky, the gasket will stick firmly in place and allow you to line up the gasket ends and bolts holes. When the alignment is accurate, put on the cover.
Put some oil on the threads of the timing cover bolts and threaded them in. The torque setting for these bolts may be lower than your torque wrench can accurately measure, in which case use your best judgment when you tighten them by hand
