Front cover removal tips ?

With a worsening coolant leak and a steady oil pressure light on, I'm preparing to remove the front cover and all the other fun that goes with it to replace the gasket along with an oil pump inspection/replacement and also checking the oil pick up tube for clogging.
Are there any "You damn sure better.." tips :2cents: that others who have done these jobs would like to pass along? :wtf:

The '95 also had more problems with the head gasket than the other years.
Front cover, aka timing cover, is a MAJOR repair job....and you will need to have a good repair manual....and follow the instructions.
Make sure to get all the bolts......I have seen mention of the one "behind the oil pump" that is easy to miss. If you try to remove the cover without taking ALL the bolts out.....you will break it.
Also, where thread sealant is called for......use it....or you will have leaks.

I would also buy the replacement gaskets from FORD as they have been improved.
The gaskets for the front cover are very inexpensive......but they are a LOT of work to change.

If you replace the head gaskets, I would also buy them from FORD......and you will need to replace the lower intake manifold gaskets as well.
Do NOT put any sealants onto the head gasket......it is to be "dry fitted".

I have NOT done the front cover gasket repair, so others may have tips for you.

You need to jack the engine up, I only needed to remove the front mount to gain the clerance needed. All the studs (5 if I remember correctly) must be unscrewed from the block while the cover is still in place, just double nut them and hope they are not seized in the cover(mine where ok)

When you reinstall the cover the 3 rear studs must be in the cover before you place it on the engine, I put all 5 in place just so I wold not forget.

I did not remove the oil pan, I used a FelPro gasket set that includes silicone sealer for the pan to cover joint. This joint was silicone from the factory anyway.

Like Wiswind said, do not miss the bolt located under the oil pump, it's an allen head and was not a standard size (it's Metric I think) I wound up grinding down a 1/4" drywall screw tip and puting it in a 1/4" socket. It did not need much grinding to make it fit.

Before you pull the crank balancer all the way off make note of it's position (mine had a notch that I pointed straight up) then remove the cam sensor and note the position of the "vane" that spins under the cover.you also neeed to make a scribe a mark to line the sensor up with the timing cover.

I have to say the worst part of the job besides bending over the fender for real long time is scraping the gaskets off.

It took me 14 hours without trying to rush it. Only special tool was a balancer puller, people have said you need a power steering pulley puller but I got the pump bracket off the engine without removing the pulley. The 1 lower bolt is the problem, with the pulley in the way you can only turn it 1 wrench flat at a time.

I had trouble breaking the balancer bolt loose as I could not keep the engine from turning. I used an old trick from years back, I put a socket and braker bar in the bolt and wedged it on the frame rail. I then bumped the engine over with the starter till it broke the bolt loose. Be carefull if you do this, if the bar slips it's going to go flying.

My Windstar is a 96, I am assuming your 95 should be the same

Good luck

Yes, the allen bolt behind the oil pump. Don't miss that. Recessed of course, and that recess completely filled with crud, making it unnoticable, unless you know it's there. After my personal excavation I found that mine was already loosened up.

Does you leak drip from the vacinity of the oil filter?

Karl

I did not remove the oil pan, I used a FelPro gasket set that includes silicone sealer for the pan to cover joint.

Good luck

For me, this is a major tip! I'm facing this gasket job on my '99, and would like not to remove the oil pan.

Is the oil pump mouted to the front cover on the '96? What were the steps concerning the oil pump?

After removing the pulleys and the camshaft sensor synchronizer, was the oil pump removed? ???

The FelPro gasket set includes a tube of silicone sealer to seal the pan to the timing cover. The instructions say to install the cover then squeze the sealer into the pan to cover joint. I did not feel this would result in a lasting seal so I first put a bead of sealer on the block to pan junction. I then ran a bead of sealer around the front edge of the pan. Make sure all the parts are spotlessly clean and oil free so the silicone can stick.

I then reinstalled the cover and sealed it from the outside as the instructions recomended. So far it is bone dry, just keep the sealer at the outside of the pan, you would not want it to squeze into the pan where it may break loose and clog the oil pickup.

If it leaks at a later date I could always drop the pan then, I had nothing to loose by giving it a try.

The Oil Pump is installed on the timing cover and does not need to be removed to remove the cover. Be carefull not to get any of the old gasket into the oil passages in the cover or the block. It would not take much to lock up the pump.

Just mark the crank balancer, cam sensor housing and the vane position and you will not have any trouble there.

Coach it seems to be between the block and the cover near the top of the engine. I originally thought it was the water pump and replaced it. Jeez o' Pete what a job but I've been in there once and I'll go again. "Damn the torpedos!"
Thanks to all for the good advice.

A heads up.

My 95 needed rod bearings at 177,000 miles. I had rod noise on start up. A pan gasket and 30.00 set of rod bearings I'm just about at 200,000 miles and no noise (from the rods that is).

#6 was the worst bearing. It had copper showing in just about all of the upper half.

Dan

Mention of rod bearings brings up the major concern.
Leakage of coolant INTO the engine.
Coolant in the oil WILL cause damage to bearings and such......in a relatively small amount. If you can eyeball the oil and find it.......it is way more than enough to cause internal damage to the engine.
You can take a sample of oil, and send it in for analysis.
It costs $20 for a standard analysis, plus postage (several dollars) at http://www.blackstone-labs.com/index.html

They will send you a free sample and mailing kit.
Well worth the cost, and they are fast.

Well, I've finally started the dreaded front cover gasket job on my '99 3.8. I've got about 6 hours in it and haven't finished dis-assembling yet! I've got the water pump off. What a beast of a job! Tomorrow morning I hunt for a balancer puller.

My hat's off to anyone who has already completed the gasket change-out. Wish I'd just traded it instead!

BTW, did anyone add any RTV or other sealant to the cover gasket?

12Ounce -

Please take pictures and share your experiences with this project. I'm hoping my 2000 won't have the same problem some day - but if it does, I'd like to know what I'm in for.

Yes, I am taking pictures .. but will depend on someone else to publish them, as I don't know how.

Today, I got maybe two hours of work in, and have finished the "disassembly". The crankshaft pulley/balancer is removed, the front cover is removed. Shop towels are stuffed into place to prevent debris falling into oil pan. Once the water pump was removed ... most of the 'bad" work was done. I do not plan to remove the oil pan. But two oil pan screws had to be removed to release the front cover. The "hidden" socket screw is 6 mm BTW.

Tomorrow starts the clean-up and reassembly.

12Ounce -

Presuming you've got a digital camera, there are lots of easy ways to post pictures.

Probably the easiest: Create a photo album on one of the free picture hosting sites. For example, here's an album of Windstar towing pictures I took, posted using webshots:

http://community.webshots.com/album/549196858rbUAlb

I would recommend posting them on one of the free sites as well.
I had someone ask about having me post their pictures, but as I have dialup, that would be combersome.
If you have your own folder, you would certainly load more pictures, and you would be able to very easily edit the comments with your pictures.

The pictures are VERY helpful.
Mine have had well over 70,000 views in about 1.5 years.
It is hard going into a job not knowing what it is going to involve.
Pictures make it so much easier.

Phil,
Where did you buy the spring air bags?

Well, I've finally started the dreaded front cover gasket job on my '99 3.8. I've got about 6 hours in it and haven't finished dis-assembling yet! I've got the water pump off. What a beast of a job! Tomorrow morning I hunt for a balancer puller.

My hat's off to anyone who has already completed the gasket change-out. Wish I'd just traded it instead!

BTW, did anyone add any RTV or other sealant to the cover gasket?


I used a thin coat of #2 Permatex on the water passages on the cover and on the water pump gasket. Just returned from a 1300 mile round trip and so far no problems. I also did not remove the oil pan and when reinstalled I used the RTV from the FelPro kit, it's not even seeping at the pan to cover joint.

Did you mark the balancer and the relationship to the cam sensor position?

If so I would recomend that you do not try to torque the balancer bolt untill you install the cam sensor, you do not want to let the engine turn.

Do not forget to put the studs into the cover before you place it on the engine, their are a few that are to long to install later no matter how much you jack the engine.

I like #2 permatex for this application.

Yep, I agree, torqueing up the balancer bolt is the last step.

I have made a bolt-keeper out of cardboard copies of the two gaskets overlaid. This helps me keep up with which bolts go where ... and which ones have to be pre-mounted in the cover.

Someone mentioned putting nylon thread wrap on some of the bolts. ??? Which ones? (Thought I'd just do 'em all.)

Thanks for the tips.

Yes, I am taking pictures .. but will depend on someone else to publish them, as I don't know how.

Today, I got maybe two hours of work in, and have finished the "disassembly". The crankshaft pulley/balancer is removed, the front cover is removed. Shop towels are stuffed into place to prevent debris falling into oil pan. Once the water pump was removed ... most of the 'bad" work was done. I do not plan to remove the oil pan. But two oil pan screws had to be removed to release the front cover. The "hidden" socket screw is 6 mm BTW.

Tomorrow starts the clean-up and reassembly.

Are you planning on replacing the water pump?..............since you're there anyway.

It's always good when the disassembly goes well.

Yep, the old pump's got near 200 kmiles on it ... so I don't want to push it further.

I'm also replacing all "hard to reach" cooling hoses in the area.

It took me 8 hrs to get this far ... I don't know how good that is, but it's done.

.

Someone mentioned putting nylon thread wrap on some of the bolts. ??? Which ones? (Thought I'd just do 'em all.)

Thanks for the tips.


I think it's the top rear bolt that goes into the water jacket but I took your approch, I put a few wraps of teflon tape on the threads of all the studs then a light coat of teflon pipe sealer over the tape. I also covered the unthreaded part of the studs with antiseize compound so they would not seize to the cover.

I had a few that where very tight in the cover, just lucky they did not break off in the cover.

Well, I'm back on the road!

Have about 400miles pulling trailer since gasket replacement. So far ... so good (knock on wood!).

Before you pull the crank balancer all the way off make note of it's position (mine had a notch that I pointed straight up) then remove the cam sensor and note the position of the "vane" that spins under the cover.you also neeed to make a scribe a mark to line the sensor up with the timing cover.
I haven't removed the cam sensor. Pending nothing changed position on removal, wouldn't everything line up correctly once the front cover is mated back to the block? Or am I crazy ?
Also my Felpro gasket kit came with a new front seal for the crankshaft. Is this a no brainer as to whether I should change out the old one?
12Ounce, I'd really like to see those pictures.

I haven't removed the cam sensor. Pending nothing changed position on removal, wouldn't everything line up correctly once the front cover is mated back to the block? Or am I crazy ?
Also my Felpro gasket kit came with a new front seal for the crankshaft. Is this a no brainer as to whether I should change out the old one?

I do not know what year you have but on my 96 the cam sensor is on the top of the timing cover and is driven off the cam gear. I do not think you could pull the cover with it still in place and even if you could the gears are helical so the sensor would rotate. No way could you get it back in the right position.

Yes I would change the crank seal.

Good luck, It's a back breaking job but not to bad if you take your time.

95'spendstar,
You are welcome to the pictures ... the surest, and maybe the quickest, way is to send me a postal (snail mail) address in a private message .... keep in mind my Winnie is a "99 and the engine front has been rearranged a bit, but the info will probably still be beneficial.

:shakehead Welllll ! I've finally gotten to the job, thru the job and my last great act of defiance was to tighten the crank pully bolts and finally the crank balancer bolt with anticipation of loading up the fluids and turning the key butttttt... I twisted the head right off of one of the pully bolts so I figured I'd go with 3 bolts on the pully. Damn if I didn't strip a second bolt so now I'm looking at pulling the balancer off again and drilling out the headless bolt and finding all new bolts to put in this thing.
Any better ideas guys/gals? This is a 95 and I know these bolts are old but they sure didn't look soft and it didn't feel like I put that much torque on them.:banghead:

Guess you do not know your own strength. Is there a chance you can position the crank so you can drill the broken bolt out without removing the balancer. If so I would use a a left cut drill, there is a good chance the left cut drill will spin the broken stub out while you are drilling it.

It's a shame you got this far and ran into this at the end. How many hours do you have into this so far?

Kevin I'd say I've probably got around 25 hours on this thing and that includes dropping the Y pipe and pullng the oil pan off to look at the pick up tube (it was clean).
I think I'll go ahead and pull the balancer off and work on the headless bolt since that was one of the easier steps I'd dealt with the 1st time.
As someone mentioned earlier this is a beast of a job and your and everyone else's posts have been helpful but there is no replacement for experience and I believe I've learned alot about this particular excercise and am still learning.

Hours: 25
Parts: $15
Labour: $0
Frustration Level: Priceless

You may want to check a parts counter and see if the harmonic wheel has been upgraded to the later model design. My '99's harmonic balancer wheel came off and went back on as a one-piece unit.

[quote=kevink1955]I do not know what year you have but on my 96 the cam sensor is on the top of the timing cover and is driven off the cam gear. I do not think you could pull the cover with it still in place and even if you could the gears are helical so the sensor would rotate. No way could you get it back in the right position.

I removed the front cover with the cps attached, removed the oil pump and inspected and repacked it, cleaned the front cover along with the engine.
I placed the front cover along with the new gasket back in place and started bolting it back together with your quote in the back of my mind figuring I'd have to pull it all apart again to repair what ever damage I'd done to the timing chain area but to my surprise it started right up and the engine sounds good. Granted the creature hasn't been put on the road yet and I'm sure things could be alot different out there, but I'll find that out Saturday.

12ounce, I priced a harmonic balancer at the zone today and was quoted $123 but I didn't take a look at it. Are you saying that the newer ones have the serpentine pully already attached?

Anyway, thanks to all who contributed to this post. You all were very helpful and I could not have done this without you.

On my '99: I removed the single balancer bolt that attaches pulley (and balancer) to crankshaft .... and, using a puller, removed pulley and balancer assembly as one unit. This required removing the sub-frame bolts on the RH side and lowering the engine a bit. I don't remember if the pulley was separable or not (I'm going to look at my photos). EDIT UPDATE: After revewing my photos, I still don't know. I can see that the crankshaft position toothed-wheel is removable ...but not sure about belt pulley.

My pulley had a couple of "spoke-openings" that allowed inserting a 1/2" diameter rod ... thus locking pulley to engine-and-frame ... to allow easy torqueing/removal of the balancer-to-crankshaft bolt. Nothing else was required to prevent crankshaft from turning.

Glad it worked out, let us know how it goes after the test drive. It's been a long haul, good luck.

It's a tough job but at least the parts are cheap!!

Boy am I glad we have the 3.0L!

Great job fellas, I really respect your "I'm gonna do this if it kills me and save $1000" attitude!