Y33 RS Upper Timing Cover Leaking

[my12by60]

<<Moving this topic from my oil pan thread into its own thread>>

I did a degrease and it is clear that this cover is leaking at the bolt on the bottom corner.

Has anybody removed just this cover?

It looks accessible after removing the three valve cover bolts closest to the front of the engine and the seven or so bolts that fasten the upper timing cover to the engine. Looks like I might be able to reseal just this cover without taking the valve cover off as the timing cover should just slide out once the three forward valve cover bolts are removed.

I am afraid to just right into this job without hearing from somebody that knows a bit about how the pieces fit together in that part of the engine.

[my12by60]

I took a stab at removing the RS upper timing cover today. Access was fairly easy once I removed one pulley and the mounting bracket for the pulley. The FSM shows the timing cover as held in place by 7 bolts that run into the engine block. The three bolts on the radiator end of the valve cover also thread down into the top of the timing cover. I removed all of the bolts but the timing cover was giving me quite a bit of resistance as I was trying to pry it off. With the valve cover still in place (remember, I only removed the 3 forward bolts), I could not work from the top to pry off the timing cover. I tried different angles but I felt like I was on the verge of forcing things too much. I did not want to possibly damage the mating surfaces or bend the timing cover. I also did not want to completely remove the valve cover. I probably just needed to force things a bit harder, but I decided to just put things back together.

I did notice that the lowest bolt on the timing cover had oil on the threads and in the bolt hole. I added a dab of RTV to the threads on the bolts. With the pulley out of the way, I was able to get a nice even tightening on the 7 bolts on the timing cover.

I have not been out for a drive yet to see if my prying made the leak worse. Maybe I will get lucky and the RTV on the threads in combination with the even torquing on the bolts will stop the leak.

[Q451990]

Fingers crossed for you...