Removing GT4 cam covers?

I'm doing the cam belts on my 75 GT4. I got started this weekend, and after removing the rear air pump, etc. on the rear cam cover, find that cam cover hits the RR frame area by the spring before it pulls fully clear of the three mounting studs. I double-nutted and removed one stud, but the other two don't have enough threads to double-nut. I'll look for a stud puller and hope that'll do it.

Anyone have tips on this? Why isn't there enough room to remove the cam cover from the engine? Did a PO install too-long studs, or maybe is my engine sitting too far to the right? Can I loosen the motor mounts and jack the engine up, pushing it a bit left to make clearance? The fouling frame pieces angle outward, so if the engine goes up, it will automatically make more clearance from the cam cover.

Thanks for any advice.

Andrew Watry
Berkeley, CA

 

What I meant, and failed to say properly, was I'm talking about cam BELT covers, not cam covers per se. Sorry for the confusion.

Andrew

 

It's not the air pump studs that are the problem, but the belt cover studs. They're so long the cover won't come off all the way before hitting the frame. I tried a Snap-On wedge-type stud extractor, but can grab only about 1/2" of the stud, and they wouldn't come out.

Andrew

 

I'll try to get some pics. 1/2" of the stud sticks out of the belt cover, so you couldn't cut off much without going below the head of the nut, when installed. I think there's more of the stud still down in the well of the hole when pulled out as far as it goes before it hits the frame. The stud bosses cast into the covers are really deep.

Andrew

 

Here are six pics, some showing the cover in the "installed" position, with the protrusion of the studs from the cover, and the cover in the "removed" position as far as it will go, hitting the frame. The studs I'm talking about are the three 10mm studs (17mm nuts) that hold the belt cover to the block. NOT the air pump studs. I got those out OK double-nutting.

As I said, I got the rear-most cover stud off double-nutting, but the two forward ones were quite resistant to a stud remover, and I don't want to break them off. I can't see how to proceed other than lifting the engine and shifting it left a bit. The frame rail the cover hits is not removable.

Andrew Watry
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Here are a few [poor] pics of the car before I dove in. Car had full engine, trans rebuild 2500 miles ago, but alas, it was in the early 90s and the PO never drove it. So I'm doing the belts prospectively after have put 600-700 miles on the car and deciding it wasn't worth the risk.

I can see the WP is weeping slightly, so that'll need attending also, and I'll replace the tensioner bearings if needed when I'm in there. I'm experienced on Alfas, Fiats, MGs, VWs, but new to Ferraris. I'm lucky to be in Berkeley, where there is Patrick Ottis, Norman Racing, Jaan Hjorth, Glenn Oliveria, and others who are very experienced and helpful on these cars.

Andrew
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Success update! I got the covers off! On the rear bank, there's just not nearly enough clearance to pull the belt cover off its studs. So I pulled the cover as far off as it would go (see pics above), which exposes the bottom unthreaded part of the studs where they go into the block, and grabbed and removed each one with big big vice grips. Luckily they came out OK. Even with that, I still had to jack up the engine a bit to get the belt cover to clear the cam pulleys, due to frame interference. Scary stuff.

The front bank cover basically fell off once I got all the AC stuff out of the way and the long water pipe, all of which is a chore in itself. All this would be a lot easier if Ferrari had used bolts instead of studs to mount everything. Leaving the studs in place, cam belts on a GT4 almost becomes an engine-out job. At least I didn't have to pull out the right side gas tank.

I could see the WP was weeping, so I removed that too and will replace it. The belt tensioners I'll check, and presume to change as long as I'm in here; I've got about 12 hours in already and not one of those hours was fun. Having a hoist would help some, but I'm working in a home garage.

The AC belt tensioner pulley bearing doesn't seem real free, so I may change that too.

I'm beginning to appreciate how this can quickly get to be a $3000-5000 job even with nothing really "wrong." I do not work as fast as a pro and this is my first Ferrari, but I'm experienced on Italian cars and have pretty much all the regular tools needed; at Calif Ferrari labor rates, I've got the equivalent of $1200 in labor already spent just to get access to the belts. What will I do with all the money I save?

Andrew Watry