Front Cover will not come away!

[darker75]

Hello,

Can anyone offer me some help, I have had the engine out my +2, sump off, pulleys removed, front cover bolts out, following all the workshop manual instructions. But... The front cover will not come away. It is loose but seems to be caught on something, I can't tell if it's the pump impeller, adaptor ring or what! Very annoying, has anyone had the same problem or heard of it and know a solution?

[kstrutt11]

Probably the seal ring stuck on the backplate I used a slide hammer on the water pump flange to pull mine out, the chances are you will distort the backplate getting it off though, I spent quite a while straightening it out afterwards.

Kevin

[Mark plus 2 cabby]

Hi could-it be the long bolt ? Easy to overlook ? , from the very front of head Down into front cover ? , good look

[Quart Meg Miles]

It is usually a struggle and a degree of brute force is required though inflicted near the water pump housing. You have to somehow lever or wedge the two plates apart as the cylinder linking them there is jammed in with 'O' rings and probably one of the silicone sealants. Try not to stress the plates by pulling on their edges or you will, like Kevin, spend time straightening them out again. And don't insert anything between the mating faces themselves, as if you would!

Using a slide hammer on the pulley flange, as you are almost certainly changing the bearing, seems ideal though I don't see why that should bend the plate as Kevin implies. Slide hammers aren't common and I don't have one myself as patience usually works in the end.

[billwill]

You can make an impromptu slide hammer or buy one.

It is only basically a length of rod (a piece of 8mm threaded studding would do) with a stop piece bolted on the outer end, then on the rod a heavy weight with a hole down the middle for the rod.

Work out some way to fasten it to the water pump pulley, such as using a hub puller and maybe use the threaded rod as the tension bolt of the hub puller, if you can match threads. Or some sort of hook.

Then basically you throw the hammer weight away from the front of the engine and it hits the stop on the outer end of the threaded rod, which jolts the water pump shaft outwards.

Repeat until the front comes off.









Of course it might just pull the pulley mount off the water-pump shaft, but what the heck, such things are sent to try us!




Anyway, I echo the comment above, make SURE that you have removed ALL the fastening bolts.

Two upwards into the head and one long one downwards, and the sump bolts as well as the more obvious ones that join the two halves of the timing case together. Probably best to fully remove the chain tension adjuster too.

[rgh0]

.

Repeat until the front comes off.

or the pulley comes off the pump bearing shaft !! at which point its back to carefully levering it apart while trying not to bend the plates

cheers
Rohan

[billwill]

.

Repeat until the front comes off.

or the pulley comes off the pump bearing shaft !! at which point its back to carefully levering it apart while trying not to bend the plates

cheers
Rohan

Heh heh, I added that bit, while you were typing that comment..

[ricarbo]

When I did mine last, I was very concerned not to pull too hard on the outer edges. I didn't want to bend it.
I found it was stuck around the waterpump. I could rotate the cover a little, but it wouldn't comme off. So I put my 16oz Stanley hammer handle into the space between inner and outer plates, as close as possible to the pump. This handle is oval shaped and made from hickory. I then twisted the hammer head and the cover popped off easily, with no damage at all. I think most hammer handles are a very similar shape.
Regards
Richard

[Quart Meg Miles]

Attaboy Richard, improvise with whatever works.

[darker75]

Thanks for the advice, I'll try the dual purpose hammer handle method first and make advances from there. If I do end up getting brutal then I'll definitely consider Burton Power's front cover replacement mod to allow water pump change without the engine out.

[john.p.clegg]

If you do,remember even those get "stuck on " after a time,plaster lots of silicon grease/copperslip/hog fat,whatever takes your fancy around the mating faces...

John

[AussieJohn]

Mine was well glued together; I cut down 3 bolts which were long enough to just fit between the cover and backplate. with a nut screwed on each bolt I started to undo each nut which pushed the cover off. I tightened the nuts and then left the case under tension until the pump started to separate.I put the bolts in close to the pump and not on the outer parts of the case.

[tvacc]

Honestly, I just do not see this being all that difficult to get off. I have removed some that have been on for 50 years. Never that big of a deal for me and I while having done this probably 25 times am not MR MECHANIC. I suspect you are missing some bolts. Check again. Is the head off? If it is not, what about the one that comes in from the bottom into the head by number 1 exhaust? You might as well as take it off as it is less than ideal to replace the front cover with the head on. I dont have one of my car to count bolts for you. Someone else should and give you a total.

[tvacc]

Off the top of my head, are there 14 plus the 4 in the pan?

[tvacc]

Of course if you can spin it a bit then all the bolts are off.