Hey guys, can I replace this housings' gasket without pulling the motor out? And what is this housings 'real' name? LOL! And, is it hard?


(took this pic from someone selling it in our FS section, LOL!)

 

its called the front cover. yes, you can do it, no, i wouldent advise it unless you have the new front cover gasket, and know wtf you are doing. due to the bearing stack, and alot of other things.
guys, correct me if im wrong, please!

peace

 

Well how hard is it? Seems pretty easy. Just a couple bolts, right? Not including the pulleys... Right? And I would need a new front cover before replacing the gasket?

 

Assuming we're talking about a totally stock car...

1) DISCONNECT BATTERY
2) Drain coolant
3) Remove fan shroud
4) Remove fan via four 10mm nuts
5) Remove belts
6) Remove water pump
7) Remove water pump housing
8) Disconnect oil cooler line
9) Remove pulleys via four 10mm bolts
10) Remove 19mm eccentric shaft front pulley bolt - use starter trick
11) Remove 6 12mm bolts that hold the front cover on from the front
12) Remove several 10mm bolts underneath from the oil pan front edge
13) Remove oil metering pump
14) If this is a turbo, remove oil drain pipe via two 12mm bolts

You should be able to remove the front oil cover now...


-Ted

 

Look at YOUR picture. On the left side, about half way up, there is a piece of old gasket left on the cover. See the small approx 1/8" hole????? Feeds the OMP. DO NOT BLOCK THIS HOLE...EVER.

 

i was curious about how to pull off the 19mm pulley (no.10 on your list) with the motor out & no starter or trans attached.i have tried an electric impact gun but nothing moved.clock wise or counter?
thanks in advance

 

The hardest part about it will be the front stack. You have to make sure the needle bearing/bushing/washer assembly are put together perfectly otherwise you will burn up some stuff. It is very hard to do for a first timer without the motor being positioned vertically.

 

Make sure to read this:

http://www.mazdatrix.com/faq/pulley.htm

 

that nut is a huge pain in the ***. If it is out of the car you should heat the **** out of it with a blow torch and then hit it with an impact wrench. Only way I got mine off.

 

I used a small torch and took the 19mm bastard out while it was in the engine bay. Just get it real hot then keep cranking with the electric impact gun. It will come out.

I can't see your picture but I took of the front cover in my TII while in the engine bay. RETeD has it right just do what he said. Also watch for the small washers on the waterpump housing. Also the small hole for the OMP.

 

yep ive done one with the engine still installed. this was in a 1st gen no less, so it was a bit more difficult than it would be on an FC.

 

That's a real PAIN IN THE ***!

An electric impact is not going to take it out.
We've had 1/2"-drive impact guns rated up to 500 lb.-ft that wouldn't take them out!
A 3/4"-drive impact gun rated at 750 lb.-ft definitely WORKED!

To do it the manual way, torch the bolt (as freemanrx7) might help with the threadlocker).
Get the heaviest person you can find and tell them to stand on the engine - remove the oil pan, oil pick-up, and the OPR in the front cover - this allows the engine to sit flat.
You'll need to keep the engine from spinning - if you don't have a flywheel stopper thingie, I just stuff rags into the exhaust port.
Get a LONG pipe and a breaker bar...
If you have a big floor jack, the jack handle comes in handy right about now.
I would use a pipe at least 4' to 5' long...longer the better.
LEAN ON IT.
It should break free.


-Ted

 

I had a buddy lodge a crow bar in the flywheel teeth (redneck style for sure), and got a 3/4" breaker bar with a jack handle stuck on the end. I (180 lbs) had to jump as hard as I could on the handle a couple of times before it broke loose. This was after a good half hour of torching.

 

The easiest way to take off tight stuff is bring it to me so I can hit it with my 1/2" snap on impact with about 120psi of compressed air behind it. If you're a bit too far take it to a shop and give the guy 5 bucks for a minute of his time.