Have a leak from the crank seal in the timing cover (and probably the gasket) which has been there since purchase of the GT (12 months). Took a look a few months ago when I had the rad out and thought it was a bit hard to do in the car so left it . Now starting to get a bit more severe and Max is marking his territory wherever he goes !

Is it a job I can do without taking the engine out ?
Any tricks of the trade (only easy peasie ones !)
Would prefer to avoid engine out as all the ancilliaries make things a bit more difficult - oil cooler, brake servo, air horn etc.

Thoughts?

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'78 1275 LS (Under Repair, Dependant #1's car)
'72 GT Powered Clubman (Mine)... Under (re) construction

Can be done in situ. Radiator off, harmonic balancer out, timing cover off. Need to be mindful of the timing marks so that you put it back together again properly aligned. I've done it before in my early years of mini ownership.

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

Need to jack under the sump at radiator side, remove engine mount & bracket.
To undo the crank bolt, remove starter then put a bearing shell into the ring gear teeth to lock rotation. Or get someone to hold it with a bloody big screwdriver in the teeth. Crank bolt hex size is 1-5/16" A/F (=33mm, near enough).

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Awesome. Thanks guys.
Now I need to find a motor to strip for a bearing shell

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'78 1275 LS (Under Repair, Dependant #1's car)
'72 GT Powered Clubman (Mine)... Under (re) construction

I use something like this...
http://www.somerfordmini.co.uk/eshop/in ... ts_id=7332

Bolts in - so will not slip .....
Reckon should be easy enough to make up something with angle iron to do same.

But I'm sure others can supply a bearing shell....

the job also requires a seal line up tool but in my experience there isn't a lot of movement on the cover bolts...

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....you just lost him his insurance bonus!

997

Could just use the balancer as its own..

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1963 Morris 850 Smoke Grey
1963 Morris 850 Shadow Blue
1965 Morris Mini Smooth Van
1966 Morris Mini Van
1969 Morris Mini Deluxe Resto
5/72 Clubman Gt

The doubled over side of an exhaust clamp works really well too.

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1963 Morris 850

I use a large socket wedged between 2 flywheel gear teeth and the housing where the starter motor came out.
When you refit the timing cover with a new seal, it is possible that the seal is not perfectly centred around the crankshaft.
To avoid another leak, get it centred:
Once you have gasket compound (of your choice) on the timing cover gasket and some grease on the seal, set the cover into position with some setscrews in place to hold it approximately.
As Scoop said, fit the harmonic balancer into the seal to centre the seal (and timing cover) around it.
Add all the 1/4 and 5/16 setscrews and gradually tighten (don't over-tighten, they are just over finger tight!) before the gasket cement has set.
Tighten flywheel bolt - they can come lose!

Timing cover gasket replaced and seal installed.
As per discussions above. Removed radiator (Had a bit of an issue removing bottom hose, put it on too well earlier in the year !)
then accessed the front pulley bolt. Removed starter motor.
Used a 2 inch SS clamp to chock the flywheel (Easier for me than finding a bearing shell !)




Signs of a leak, although not as much oil as I have been seeing lower down. Seal was well worn and hard.

Then removed the timing cover. Keep an eye on the location of 5/16 and 3/8 bolts. Different lengths !

Pressed out the seal using patented 32mm and 65mm poly fittings in the vice !
Knocked the new one back in, re fitted the timing cover with gasket, greased the seal, aligned the gover and tightened it all up. Was a bit worried I hadn't put enough gasket goo on but it seems to be holding.

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'78 1275 LS (Under Repair, Dependant #1's car)
'72 GT Powered Clubman (Mine)... Under (re) construction

Test drove and was confident I had it sorted.

Wrong !
Still lots of oil leaking.

Cleaned up with degreaser and the Gerni and then went for a long drive ( ) just to check for leaks .

Back in the driveway took another look and the timing cover/seal all seems to be holding well. However, still lots of oil.

Another inspection and the spin on filter housing appears to be leaking at the connection to the block. wtf

So, stripped it down and there was a weird setup of gaskets and spacers:



Looks like cartridge type gasket and adapter plate fitted to spin on mount. Heaps of oil leaking from the bottom.

So stripped it down and cleaned it up. Turfed the spacer and gaskets and installed housing with appropriate gasket straight to the block.

Time for another drive

No more leaks from this spot. Much drier underneath. No guarantee I have them all (In fact I'm sure I haven't) but the worst ones are sorted.

Very satisfying. Plus another drive just for sh1ts and giggles to check for leaks.

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'78 1275 LS (Under Repair, Dependant #1's car)
'72 GT Powered Clubman (Mine)... Under (re) construction

So in summary. Timing cover and seal can indeed be attended to with the engine in the car. Not too difficult, just the usual radiator pain

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'78 1275 LS (Under Repair, Dependant #1's car)
'72 GT Powered Clubman (Mine)... Under (re) construction

Did you remove the passenger side engine mount and then jack that end of the engine up to remove the radiator.
This way is a 5 minute job, yes, really

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Find a job you love and you will never have to go to work !

Yep, Ive done it a few times now. Its all good. Agree its a 5 min job. I just had an issue removing the clamp and bottom hose. Stubbornly trying to drain the rad via the bottom hose. In the end I relented and just pulled the hoses at the top and pulled the rad out with coolant !

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'78 1275 LS (Under Repair, Dependant #1's car)
'72 GT Powered Clubman (Mine)... Under (re) construction