Oh NO!!... NOT the dreaded timing chain cover COOLANT LEAK! =:O

[fixizin]

DAY-um, put some AC Delco tracer-dye in the radiator, and looks like the upper passenger-side corner of ye old TC cover is NOT mated to the block as it's supposed to be... durn.

And what's with that "wandering" gasket I circled in red??????

(Big orange "Romex" is for the engine block heater... yeah, not a thing in Florida...)

I saw somewhere in passing (prob. not on TRS), that there was some Permatex product you could smear on there to buy some time????

 

[franklin2]

Just wait till you go to do this job and repair it, and try to get some of the bolts out. Fun fun.

 

[fixizin]

I

Just wait till you go to do this job and repair it, and try to get some of the bolts out. Fun fun.

I've followed the tribulations of my fellow 3.slowers for years on this issue... it's a VERY INVOLVED repair... Lordy!

... I may have to punt this job... any idea on the "book hours" on it???

 

[Shran]

Oh yeah... fun. I can't imagine it's any worse than doing it on a 4.0 (which I have done several) and those are probably a 6-8 hour job. It's not THAT bad... getting everything torqued in the right order and the timing cover aligned to the balancer is the main thing.

If you can get an OEM timing cover gasket, you'll thank yourself. I don't have a part number handy, I can just tell you from experience that those gray paper Felpro gaskets are pieces of crap and the OEM ones are substantially better quality.

 

[fixizin]

Oh yeah... fun. I can't imagine it's any worse than doing it on a 4.0 (which I have done several) and those are probably a 6-8 hour job. It's not THAT bad...

For YOU it's 1 business day... for moi, I can see it easily going 3 days... ... unless I had the "powerplant" out of the truck on an engine stand.

getting everything torqued in the right order and the timing cover aligned to the balancer is the main thing.

What about the OIL PAN interface/interference???

If you can get an OEM timing cover gasket, you'll thank yourself. I don't have a part number handy, I can just tell you from experience that those gray paper Felpro gaskets are pieces of crap and the OEM ones are substantially better quality.

Oh, I thought Fel-Pro was BETTER than OEM?... anyway, on the one hand my OEM gasket lasted almost 27 years... OTOH I just hit a mere 90,000 miles in August so...??

ALSO, look at the section of gasket I circled in RED above... WTHey is up with that?

 

[Shran]

Oil pan/block/timing cover needs a little bit of RTV in the sharp corners. I usually pull the timing cover pretty close to the block first, then snug up the pan bolts, then snug up the block bolts.

Not sure what’s up with the thing you circled, looks like a gasket that blew out but it should be leaking a lot more of that was the case.

 

[RobWigglezz]

It's honestly not that bad of a job. I recommend getting the radiator out, alternator and bracket out, power steering and AC moved to the side so you have plenty of room.

Just go slow on the long 13mm head bolts. If they barely crack loose, work it back tight and loose and they'll eventually come out.

When you reinstall the cover, thread the bottom 2 m6 bolts into the cover through the oil pan and gasket loosely so you don't push the oil pan gasket in while trying to get the cover on the 2 dowels.

I used a normal felpro timing cover gasket kit that includes both gaskets, front seal, and speedy sleeve. I covered the gasket front and back with a thin coat of grey RTV. As mentioned, RTV the sharp corners by the pan.