Just went out to the garage and checked my 84 GTB, doesn't have anything there but a 8mm stud,...so it must be all good!
Missing the aluminum cover plate. It also has a rubber gasket that goes under the plate to seal out dirt and oil.
What would be the point of removing (and not replacing) that cover? ... other than to ruin my evening.
Whoever did the belt job probably did not put them back in...Careful of things that may fall in there like nuts/washers.
Your right Ken, went back to the garage and looked again, its the flywheel cover, probably left it off because its a PITA every belt change.
Wow, my cover is actually there. (I just checked.) It probably means that my belts have never been changed...
You should also be very careful not to allow any oil to fall in there when you're changing the filter. It will ruin the clutch disc.
Why would anyone remove this cover for a belt change? The belts are on the front of the engine. This plate is on the back.
I would guess since the opeing is there to view the timing marks on the flywheel, when the belts are changed this cover is usually removed to verify TDC of each cylinder bank.
Correct, it's the opposite end of the motor. But it's like my air box knurled wheel nuts, they rattle loose and fall off in the road, from all the vibration and the awesome Italian torque.... Put the new one on with a little Locktite........as noted dumping oil or bolts in there can cause heartache, but sometimes a handful of beach sand will get you home with a slipping clutch....
It's a small price to pay to replace the cover and gasket preventing anything from falling down in the bellhousing. Although the cover is in place on my car, I remember an earlier post by someone who said that although the oil filter is inverted and if left to cool down before removing, there is always the potential of some oil remaining in the filter when it's removed and dripping into the hole below. Even a small amount of oil can ruin a clutch disc.
I'm surprised no one mentioned baggies when as their favorite tool in an earlier poll. It's certainly one of mine!
I still have my original, but made a replacement out of clear plexiglass so you can actually look into that view port without taking off the cover.
When messing with the timing a couple of years ago I droped a nut down the hole and had to pull the bellhousing to retreive it. I not only recommend having the cover on in regular use, but also being really careful during service. That sorta sucked!
Even though my cover was on with the gasket, i managed to dump a quart of oil from the filter. Don't ask. Never did it before. The one time my filter did not drain back. Well, i saturated the disk and had to pull the bellhousing. Was a drag. As a side note, when i bought my last car, the disk was stuck to the flywheel (hadn't been driven in quite awhile), i was able to loosen the pressure plate and break the disk loose via the opening. That saved me a bellhousing RR.
