Help with chain housing leak - questions

[Ho Hum 74]

Folks,

I have a small but annoying leak between my RH timing chain housing and the case. The top stud actually failed and left a piece in the case. A new stud has been used as there are still threads available but I’m reluctant to torque it just in case I strip the threads.

Given that it is winter I’d like to remove the housing, extract the remaining stud and put it back together. My main questions are as follows:

1. Can I do this with the motor in the car?
2. Can the motor be partially dropped far enough to get the appropriate access?
3. Can someone verify the process:
a. Drop engine
b. Remove housing cover
c. Release chain tensioner
d. Remove sprocket and chain
e. Remove chain housing
f. Clean
g. Extract stud
h. Re-assemble
4. I guess I’ll have to re-time the RHS cam(bummer)
5. Can I use Curil-T on the chain housing-to-case paper gasket? I think I assembled these dry but I’m not convinced of their ability to seal.

Thanks

Tristan

[ChrisBennet]

Could you be more specific on what stud you are talking about?

This summer I helped a friend replace one of the studs for the chain ramps in the left chain box. The thing had fallen out of the motor (as onto the street). I'd never seen that happen. We put another stud in there with some fresh epoxy and he was back at the track the next day.

-Chris

[Ho Hum 74]

Chris,

This is the top stud on the right hand side as you look at the engine from behind the car. The chain housing angles up sharply from the stud area so it will be near impossible to remove the stud without removing the housing.




Thanks
Tristan

[ChrisBennet]

OK, I see what you're talking about now. It's seems really strange for that stud to break.
I would change "g" in your list to "remove sprocket and chain ramp"
You don't need to remove the chain.
You will also need to remove the cam thrust plate behind the sprocket.
Even with the chain box removed I wonder if you can get a drill in there.
-Chris

[Eagledriver]

I suppose you could do it with a partial drop but it might be easier just to pull the engine. You can leave the tranny in that will save pulling the cv bolts. Just be careful not to bend the shift rod if you leave the tranny in (or even for a partial drop). You need to get a set of reverse drills to try to drill out the stud without destroying the case. Be extreemly careful with trying to remove that stud.

-Andy

[Wayne 962]

If it were my engine, I would try to find all the methods possible to fix this without having to take that housing off. I would thread the new stud in there with some epoxy and let it dry. Then torque it down. Those studs really don't get torqued down too much, so the threads should hold and the epoxy will help.

An important fact to remember is that the first three threads handle almost all of the load. So, if you can thread it in there about 1 full turn, it should be okay to torque down. Someone must have over-tightened that stud to make it break...

-Wayne

[Ho Hum 74]

Wayne,

That's interesting. I'll give that a shot. I'm not relishing the job of removing the motor, housing and re-timing the cams. The motor runs perfectly just seeps a little at the bottom of the housing.

Tristan