Greg, here are a few of the answers you might be looking for;
- How hard is it to remove the crank pulley bolt? I was going to
put the car in fourth and use an impact wrench or breaker bar.
Are their any special tricks of which I should be aware?
>> pretty hard, you are on the right track though. A good impact wrench can
do it, I have always resorted to a big breaker bar banging against the frame
to remove them.
- Should I remove the timing chain cover to change the seal or
do it with the cover in place? I thought I'd remove the cover,
since it looks like the gasket is weeping slightly. I figured
a fresh gasket's always a good thing.
>> Don't have a choice on that one. The seal is fitted from the inside of
the cover so it has to come off. replacing the gasket at that point is a
given.
- If I take the cover off, should I do anything with the timing
chain and tensioner? The car has 59k miles. The PO rebuilt
the engine in the last 20k, but wasn't sure if he replaced the
chain and tensioner. Is the 1300 an interference engine? How
do I evaluate the chain and tensioner? How much play is OK?
>> I would probably replace them both, unless you have actual knowledge it
was just done with in the past year or so I would go ahead and do it. You
are talking $20 for all the parts and it will probably take out some slack
and improve performance anyhow. The tensioner if it has any grooves needs
replacing, as for the chain there is a great diagram in the haynes manual
that shows this, but I believe if it has a 1/2 of slack is considered bad.
personally, I would replace this and be done with it.
- Before I removed the pump, I flushed the cooling system with
clean water, and left the block drain open. Will this leave
any residual water in the block that could freeze, causing
damage, or am I safe? It's getting cold here in MA, USA.
We just got our first road salting Sat night (blech).
>> I would be afraid to leave the engine this way. you are probably OK, but
there is no way of getting all the water out. maybe try blowing compressed
air through it. any water left in a small area of the engine or head will
crack it.
Hope I helped,
Patrick Bowen
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