NC_John
Full Access Member
Well, after replacing every seal in my engine EXCEPT the front (timing) cover, it finally started leaking. I was getting a single drop of oil overnight on the floor in the garage and it was coming from the front cover. Since I have a zero tolerance for leaks I had to fix it. We're driving down to South FL to spend Christmas with my parents and I didn't want the embarassment of the truck spotting his driveway either.
The job was a much bigger pain in the ass than it needed to be. My mechanic buddy told me I wouldn't need any special tools even though the GM service manual said I would. The book was right. I couldn't get the right fan clutch tool to get the fan clutch off the water pump pulley. I finally just gave it a couple hard whacks with a hammer and broke it loose. I broke a socket trying to get the crank bolt loose- I ended up going out, buying an impact gun and zapped it off. I had to then use a puller to get the bottom pulley off the crank (got a loaner from auto zone). The pulley was so tight on the crank I was nervous I was going to break their tool and have to pay for it.
When I was getting the old crank seal off the timing cover I broke the cover.... The seal (original) was seized onto the cover and while I was trying to gently tap it out the little aluminum lip that seats the seal broke off. The fastest place to get a new cover was right from my local GM dealer- $77 (almost $100 list) and it came with new bolts, gasket and the main seal already installed..... The bugger was it took 2 days to get between ordering and pickup. I had also already spent $39 on a felpro gasket set for the old cover that since I already opened, I could not return. Bummer....
The last issue was getting the crank pulley back on- the installer tool I borrowed from autozone wasn't long enough - the threads for the main crank bolt are extremely deep into the crank and the tool couldn't reach. I hated to do it but ended up using a piece of 2x4 and a ball pein hammer to drive it back on. Then when it was on far enough, I used the old bolt and the impact gun to press the pulley all the way on. (I broke a huge screwdriver I was using to keep the pulley from turning when I tried to tighten it back on with hand tools)
Since the water pump was off and looked original, I replaced it with a new one and put a pair of new rad hoses on. Some new dexcool and DI water (refilling was no problem, no issues with air pockets or burping the system) and I'm good to go.
If I was going to do it again, I wouldn't dick around trying to find the specialty tools (wasted hours) though the puller is required. Get a three-jaw. The pulley on the 02 does not have tapped holes for any other type of puller. I'd probably order a new timing cover prior to starting the job and have an impact gun ready. The manual says to install a new crankshaft/pully bolt ($4 at the dealer) so get that prior to starting as well. With that, its a pretty easy afternoon job instead of a multi-day ordeal.... Sometimes the simplest jobs are the worst......
The job was a much bigger pain in the ass than it needed to be. My mechanic buddy told me I wouldn't need any special tools even though the GM service manual said I would. The book was right. I couldn't get the right fan clutch tool to get the fan clutch off the water pump pulley. I finally just gave it a couple hard whacks with a hammer and broke it loose. I broke a socket trying to get the crank bolt loose- I ended up going out, buying an impact gun and zapped it off. I had to then use a puller to get the bottom pulley off the crank (got a loaner from auto zone). The pulley was so tight on the crank I was nervous I was going to break their tool and have to pay for it.
When I was getting the old crank seal off the timing cover I broke the cover.... The seal (original) was seized onto the cover and while I was trying to gently tap it out the little aluminum lip that seats the seal broke off. The fastest place to get a new cover was right from my local GM dealer- $77 (almost $100 list) and it came with new bolts, gasket and the main seal already installed..... The bugger was it took 2 days to get between ordering and pickup. I had also already spent $39 on a felpro gasket set for the old cover that since I already opened, I could not return. Bummer....
The last issue was getting the crank pulley back on- the installer tool I borrowed from autozone wasn't long enough - the threads for the main crank bolt are extremely deep into the crank and the tool couldn't reach. I hated to do it but ended up using a piece of 2x4 and a ball pein hammer to drive it back on. Then when it was on far enough, I used the old bolt and the impact gun to press the pulley all the way on. (I broke a huge screwdriver I was using to keep the pulley from turning when I tried to tighten it back on with hand tools)
Since the water pump was off and looked original, I replaced it with a new one and put a pair of new rad hoses on. Some new dexcool and DI water (refilling was no problem, no issues with air pockets or burping the system) and I'm good to go.
If I was going to do it again, I wouldn't dick around trying to find the specialty tools (wasted hours) though the puller is required. Get a three-jaw. The pulley on the 02 does not have tapped holes for any other type of puller. I'd probably order a new timing cover prior to starting the job and have an impact gun ready. The manual says to install a new crankshaft/pully bolt ($4 at the dealer) so get that prior to starting as well. With that, its a pretty easy afternoon job instead of a multi-day ordeal.... Sometimes the simplest jobs are the worst......
