yeah you can break/cut it open easely and clean it off and do it again.. when you had to be in there..

Cover is off but for the record, it does not drop down at all. There are alignment pins that prevent that. Also, how dumb is this thin long water pump bolt. I have worked on engines for over 40 years and have never seen such a bad design.

Where's the head to that bolt?

Very specific bolts go into the water pump, front cover. Be extra careful doing this.

If I was new to the L series motor I would buy the "Tom monroe's how to rebuild" book. It answers all the questions you've asked that I've read. $20 from Amazon.

13 hours ago, ennisdavis said:

I have worked on engines for over 40 years and have never seen such a bad design.

Worked on engines?  i'm sorry but you polished engines or so?  Well you ask a LOT of questions that are simple to answer for someone that worked for 40 years on engines? What you have there is a bolt without it's head... some guy... must have taken it right off!  

I've worked on engines for 6 or 7 years and I've seen several worse designs. 

like the 1zz piston or the  n47 timing chain. 

I bet the cover didn’t want to drop down with that bolt sticking out 

Thats the point to me posting the picture. The head broke off because the bolt is thinner then a pencil. As long as one too. And thats not a bad design?

I think its just evidence of poor maintenance. m6 bolts are allowed, and rusty short ones break as much as rusty long ones. 

21 hours ago, ennisdavis said:

Thats the point to me posting the picture. The head broke off because the bolt is thinner then a pencil. As long as one too. And thats not a bad design?

Not sure why you are trying to redesign the L motor . Take any other engine of its era and will see it’s a superior design . Properly maintained it’s probably one of the best engineered engines of its time . That bolt would have been fine if the owner had used coolant instead of water . We see it all the time . I challenge you to find a motor of that period that has forged internals for the most part and precise machined surfaces .

 

It seems I'll be servicing my front cover (see attached).  But, from this and other discussions, I'm glad my oil leak isn't a blown head gasket.  I get fresh, new unburned oil at the corner of the cover and block (under the masking tape). Its annoying to have had this leaking for a long time and being unable to isolate the source.  I first replaced the valve cover gasket. So, I know I'll pull the radiator, shrouds, fan and belts. Is it fairly straight forward to:

- drop the pan entirely and go with a new gasket after thorough cleaning (its totally fouled from the oil of this leak)

- pull the pump and front cover from the block (oh, and drain the oil first)....  or can the pump and cover come off as a unit?

- gaskets needed on the front cover or just sealer?

Thanks,

Ed