Alright, here's my problem. I've got an engine with the pulley removed.... You all know what that means, the thrust bearing more than likely fell behind the spacer and will be crushed if put back on! Now, the big question is. Is there anyway to get it back in place (with the engine out of the car) *WITHOUT* removing the front cover? Or am I totally just wishing for the impossible and facing the harsh reality that I have to remove the front cover? (Also, what all needs to be replaced when removing/and reinstalling the front cover? Like gaskets, o-rings, etc?)

 

nope you gotta pull the front cover its really not that bad i could get it done in about 2 hours now ive done it so many times

 

Yeah... I've done it before as well, but I'm never sure what all I'm supposed to replace when I remove the front cover! (some people say theres o-rings that I have to replace but I have no idea where they are!

 

ill draw a pic up on paint and itll show you which one its really easy

 

Well, I guess I've answered my own question. I know all about the thrust bearing and where it is and how to replace it, but I was confused about the O ring in the front cover, never knew where/what it was. Thanks though

 

Hey wait if you flywheel is on real tight you won't drop your thrust bearing, I changed my front cover gasket without holding the clutch in and put it back on and everything was fine...

 

I don't know how that's possible... The front spacer moves freely regardless of how tight the flywheel is, giving it chance to fall down, and since it's been shipped a thousand miles I'm really doubting it

 

well the flywheel pulls the e-shaft back, and if its on tight enough, there will be very little play, if you take the front cover off there is an assembly of the bearings and balencing wieghts (I call it front stack) and the timeing chain, this should be sufficent to hold the thrust bearings on, one way you can check this is but checking hub protrusion, Pg 69-70 of your hayes manual, it goes though the exact process. If you don't have one I'll type it out word for word but its long and most people have one

 

It's 1,500 miles away at the moment

 

oh hehe, why is it that far away?? also if the engine is outa the car that shouldn't apply...

 

Yup... Engine's out of the car... Has been shipped many a mile, and I'm willing to bet a ******** that damn thing's fallen out of place. Oh well, already ordered the parts to fix it.

 

Bite the bullet and you wont be sorry, here is a link to the O ring in the front cover: http://www.mazdatrix.com/faq/oring.htm

it is on the right hand side when looking at the front of the block, when the engine is out, this job only takes about an hour or two. when you go to reassemble everything, the final step is putting on the pulley, set the engine down on the GROUND, but have a single 2x4 that the flywheel will sit on, make sure the flywheel teeth are dug in good to the 2x4, and tighten the bolt for the pulley.

 

Get the fsm for free onling. REad the engine section. Note the page that shows you how to tell if the bearing has fallen. Measure.

 

Hailers: Never had good luck measuring, I tried that with my TII and it was wrong and I crushed the bearing. Either way, I already ordered the parts to take the front cover off and make sure it's correct, so no big deal.

 

i used some moly grease to hold the bearings and spacers in place worked pretty good but my motor is still frozen