Timing cover removal without head removal?

[Careless]

Hello everyone,

 

Is it at all possible to remove the Timing cover without having to remove the head. Perhaps just the front two bolts on the head just need to be removed, along with the oil pan, and then just pop it off or something?

 

I don't like the silver paint on the timing cover, as I know it yellows over time, so I want to have it vapour blasted to bring it back to the OE look. 

 

I'm just worried that it will pull the front of the graphite head gasket down and cause it to split or leak or something worse. If it's a huge deal, I'll leave it, but I seriously hate this silver paint on everything.

 

Looking for advice on removal if there are any tips!

[Diseazd]

Way too much trouble! You'd have to remove the distributor, the sway bar, the oil pump, the radiator, the distributor shaft, the crank damper, oil pan, alternator, get a new front seal and gaskets, and hope you don't screw up the front of the head gasket in the meantime........does that silver paint look better now?   ::   

[Careless]

no, the silver paint still  looks terrible because the engine is on a stand with all the items removed- because the bonehead who painted the block painted it the wrong blue as well, so I have to do that too.

 

So to answer your question, it looks even worse   

 

i have enough seals and front gaskets to do like 3 more motors, and there are some boxes I haven't even went through yet. I just hate this flippin' silver paint on everything! IT CAUSED SO MUCH WORK.

[Diseazd]

Sounds like you answered your own question.......have at it!   

[djwarner]

The timing cover is located on the block by two pins. Once you remove the necessary bolts, the cover must move forward about 1/4 " to free it from the pins.

BTW I strongly suggest you remove the water pump first. Several bolts on the pump actually go through the timing chain cover and bolt into the block. Looking at the pump from the front, the 6mm bolt at 11 o'clock is actually 75mm long. Being super long, it is subject to corrosion and freezing in position. On my engine, this bolt snapped off.

If the belly pan is off, all the better. If not, loosen its bolts enough to separate the pan gasket before removing the timing cover. Most timing cover gasket sets include a replacement section for the belly pan gasket.

All this said, the die cast finish is a smooth dull gray and apt to stain. During my overhaul, no amount of degreasing would remove the stains. Polishing would remove the stain but changed the surface finish. In the end I decided to paint it with Duplicolor high temp engine enamel in Cast Coat Aluminum DE1650. It doesn't match the original dull gray, looks more like a modern aluminum casting.

My overhaul goal was preservation as opposed to restoration, so your project may demand a different solution.

Edited April 28, 2015 by djwarner

[grannyknot]

How about taping it off and and hit with paint stripper? After scraping off the paint you can make the aluminum fresh with a soda blaster.

I use this quick and dirty method,

FF to the 1 min. mark, all you need is an air gun, a bit of tubing and a box of baking soda.

Chris 

[siteunseen]

That soda blasting works great on the aluminium.  Messy as hell but it'll all blow away with just the air gun.  It'll make paint disappear too.  Give it a try but make sure your air compressor doesn't have any moisture.  A way to reduce the amount of soda be sucked up is to put a small nut into the pickup end of the tubing, a little less mess.

 

Here's some carbs I did with the same DIY setup as Chris mentioned above.

Here's some furniture I did for my Mom.  The round table had 2 coats of paint, the smaller telephone table to the left had about 5 coats, it's OLD.  It just disappears without tearing up the wood.

 

 

[CEgg11]

I agree with the two previous. Don't take it off, just treat it on the stand. I've used both soda and pecan shells, either will work great. Just tape off what you don't want stripped, maybe two layers of tape. Take the stand outside....

[Patcon]

Site,

The round table is very cool

[Diseazd]

Momma's boy! 

[CEgg11]

I'm going to start "detailing" my engine tonight. I am going for a pure performance look, whatever that is. It is a "FrankenZ" - a 71 body with an 83 block, 72 head, maxima crank, Toyota brakes, jaguar carbs, etc, so no point in originality. All go-fast stuff, but retro, if that makes sense. I'll just post pics when I am done, I guess.

[siteunseen]

Site,

The round table is very cool.

Thank you.  Even cooler with these, and yes my Mom's my greatest fan.