Do I have to take of the head to take the front cover off and re-do the gasket?
I can get all the bolts (have to take out the exhaust cam to get to one of them), but is this bad for the HG?
I just want to re-do the gasket, and I really don't want to take the head off, it's a pain on this car and I don't want to mess up the timing.
Removing front cover
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FSUDrifter
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Hijacker
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'94 F-150 - Location: Fredericksburg, VA
you can leave the head on and do that gasket fine. If you have a 1/4" swivel socket, you can get to the bolt under the exhaust cam easily.
But I do recommend that if you pull the front cover, pull the upper oil pan as well. The reason is that when you pull the cover, you're breaking the seal on the oil pan. It will never reseal properly unless it's a continuous bead, so you may experience a leak from that area.
Also, when you get ready to put the front cover back on, pull the oil pump spacer that's on the nose of the crank. You can get a bit of extra clearance so you don't mess up the front of the head gasket. I tried to put mine back on with the spacer in place, and all I did was accordian the HG and made it very unhappy. Thankfully gasketmaker has help up on that spot
But I do recommend that if you pull the front cover, pull the upper oil pan as well. The reason is that when you pull the cover, you're breaking the seal on the oil pan. It will never reseal properly unless it's a continuous bead, so you may experience a leak from that area.
Also, when you get ready to put the front cover back on, pull the oil pump spacer that's on the nose of the crank. You can get a bit of extra clearance so you don't mess up the front of the head gasket. I tried to put mine back on with the spacer in place, and all I did was accordian the HG and made it very unhappy. Thankfully gasketmaker has help up on that spot
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ILikeMy240sx
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actually you HAVE to pull the upper oil pan off to even have a chance of taking the front cover off. I tried to do it w/o taking the upper oil pan off and it didnt work.
And yes, you can but if it's a stock HG then you have a VERY good chance of ripping it off when you take the front cover off or put it back on. The stock HG bends very very easily and it will be a ***** to put the front cover back on with the HG right on top of it. It sucks. But the good news is that that part of the HG doesnt do much in terms of sealing your combustion chambers. Just put some RTV on top of the front cover...
When you take the upper pan off......... you will curse like theres no tomorrow lol.
And yes, you can but if it's a stock HG then you have a VERY good chance of ripping it off when you take the front cover off or put it back on. The stock HG bends very very easily and it will be a ***** to put the front cover back on with the HG right on top of it. It sucks. But the good news is that that part of the HG doesnt do much in terms of sealing your combustion chambers. Just put some RTV on top of the front cover...
When you take the upper pan off......... you will curse like theres no tomorrow lol.
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FSUDrifter
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Re: (ILikeMy240sx)
i already got the upper pan off, i have the engine pulled so it was pretty dang easy actually...
I have a cometic HG so I don't think it will tear, and yes i realized that there is no pressure in this part of the engine, otherwise I would never try this.
so you think i can get that top right bolt that is under the exhaust cam out with some swivel joints? I guess I'll try, that would make things easier. Hopefully I don't drop the socket in there...
I have a cometic HG so I don't think it will tear, and yes i realized that there is no pressure in this part of the engine, otherwise I would never try this.
so you think i can get that top right bolt that is under the exhaust cam out with some swivel joints? I guess I'll try, that would make things easier. Hopefully I don't drop the socket in there...
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ILikeMy240sx
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Re: (FSUDrifter)
haha ok didnt know you had the engine pulled. Well, in that case.. this is easy haha.FSUDrifter wrote:i already got the upper pan off, i have the engine pulled so it was pretty dang easy actually...
I have a cometic HG so I don't think it will tear, and yes i realized that there is no pressure in this part of the engine, otherwise I would never try this.
so you think i can get that top right bolt that is under the exhaust cam out with some swivel joints? I guess I'll try, that would make things easier. Hopefully I don't drop the socket in there...
Yea, I actually used a ratcheting wrench with a flex head to get to that bolt but I cant imagine how a swivel wouldnt work. Oh and dont forget the O-ring at the oil pump outlet and no RTV around that area. I learned this the hardway.... a piece of silicone glob decided to make its way into the oil galley in the engine and starve oil to the head + bottom end. Result was not pretty...