[ROVERNET - UK] Starter Woes/Weepy Engine Side Cover TC2000

[Vern Klukas]

I agree that doing it in car is tough, but doable.

New sideplates are readily available.

As for flat stainless plates, corrosion shouldn't be a problem, 
considering we all change our coolant regularly (nudge, nudge) and 
that is the only advantage to that approach given you can get new 
ones.

You'll need new gaskets as well, Ruth can advise on those.

If you can determine the weep's source, and it is just a pinhole or 
two, you can buy time by draining the coolant, cleaning a good sized 
patch around the pinholes really, really well, then applying 
something like JB Weld or gas tank patch putty over the entire 
cleaned area. It works OK, if you really only have a pinhole or two, 
they aren't real close to the plate's edge and the patch is at least 
a couple of inches in size. Oh, and when I say clean, I mean eat off 
it clean.

Yours
Vern




>It is possible to remove them with engine in situ.
>I have done it.
>It is Not easy!  Rover P6...
>If you have an engine lifter, go that way.
>The hardest part is removing the engine mount stud things.
>There is no easy way.  You have to put the 9/16 nuts back on with 
>washers for the large nuts to tighten against, and heave on the 
>large nuts.
>I didn't remove the oil pump, but that may have been a mistake.
>They can be welded up.  You will need to pull the left one too, and 
>remove all the sludge.
>Yes I have stainless ones on my car now.  They were made by Jimmy, 
>Royce's friend.
>Just flat plates with the holes drilled.  This increases the water 
>volume, which slows warmup.
>Always use a corrosion inhibitor in the water.
>
>PVS
>
>
>----- Original Message ----- From: <rwacek at comcast.net>
>To: <rovernet at lyris.ccdata.com>
>Sent: Saturday, December 22, 2007 2:48 PM
>Subject: [ROVERNET - UK] Starter Woes/Weepy Engine Side Cover TC2000
>
>>Season's Greetings Rovernetters.
>>
>>I'm the guy who lost his starter spring and nut down in the 
>>bellhousing. After hours of fishing for it I took Ruth's advice and 
>>drilled a hole in the bottom of the bellhousing (after finding a 
>>metal holesaw) just behind the flywheel. There the culprits were! 
>>Problem was the hole was 1 1/4 inch and the spring was about 1 3/8 
>>inch. So I drilled another one right next to the edge of the first 
>>one. I then rasped away the excess. I now have a rectangular hole 1 
>>1/4 inch by about 2 or 2 1/8 inches. It's rectangular but with 
>>rounded inside corners if you can imagine. I then obsessed about 
>>finding a rubber hole plug to fit. Googled "rubber hole plug" and 
>>went off in another universe. If I had just drilled a 1 1/2 hole to 
>>begin with it would have been a much easier task to find a plug. I 
>>know there is a plug somewhere in the world that will work. The 
>>biggest issue is the 3/16 inch thickness of the bellhousing. Anyway 
>>what I wound up doing was gluing a thin aluminum brake caliper silen
>>cer pa
>>d over the hole. It actually looks like it could be a factory 
>>cover. We'll see how long that will last
>>Meanwhile while I was under there I noticed that the RH engine 
>>sidecover was "wweping". The LH is OK. It looks like if I removed 
>>the RH engine support and then braced that side I could remove the 
>>sidecover although with inherent difficulty. Anyone done this? Then 
>>there would be the matter of finding another sidecover. Didn't I 
>>read years ago on this list about someone who had stainless ones 
>>fabricated? All advice would be massively appreciated.
>>
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>
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-- 
Vern Klukas                             I'm a little . . .
Inkspot Type & Design
vern at inkspotco.com