Removing cam cover on 330 GTC

remove the 2 knobs on each cam cover, screw in a longer screw with shims/washers below and try to use a hammer to knock on the shims/washers from below or use this:

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Did you remove the two bolts at the rear of the cover that hold it to the distributor drive? You may need to loosen all the distributor drive nuts a little to make clearance for the cover to come loose.

 

Dyke's suggestion is a good one--it's the number one mistake of the first time doers. After you remove the bolts and loosen the four nuts, tap the distributor back to break the seal between the distributor base and the cam covers (stuff a rag underneath to catch any oil spill).

Don't be fooled by those balls on the cam covers, it takes a lot more leverage to lift the covers off the heads. You may replace the balls with a pair of threaded "Ts"; they will give you greater leverage for pulling. If you cannot make the T's then get a pair of extra long 8mm bolts and bend them into "L's".

john

 

Jim: Pulling on the cam cover can be a road to lots of problems. Do it the old fashioned way. Use a very thin putty knife or pocket knife to work your way between the cover and the head at both the top and bottom of the front. You can tap the knife with a hammer to help it move into the gap. Be careful to not damage either the cover or head mating surface. Take your time and it will slowly began to move. Then just follow along the sides of the cover. Make sure you loosen the nuts on the chain covers, but DO NOT REMOVE them. The square cut O-ring between them sets in a groove in the chain cover and you want to keep it there until the cam cover is removed.

 

Loosening the 6 mm nuts on the distributor drive may require a little rework of your 10 mm wrench. Grinding the box end outside a bit smaller and putting a bend in the wrench to get around the casting will help. Ditto for tightening it. The original nuts were deeper to help this, but through the years these are often just regular depth nuts put there by careless techs.

 

Jim, Dyke's suggestion is how I do it. I have an old kitchen knife with the tip of the blade thinned. I insert the tip exactly in the middle of the old gasket and gently tap the blade in. Once you lift one corner of the cam cover just a couple of millimeters the battle is won. Good luck.

john

 

not really, if you go on one side too much the complete cover is canted to the 6 mm studs

 

You must be very careful when you put the cam cover back. You do not want to break that very long square "O-ring" that goes all the way around the chain cover continuing around the cover in front of the cam cover. As I understand it, you should make a thin rectangular brass sheet that is somewhat larger than the front of the cam cover. A half circle is to be cut out on its bottom that has a radius slightly smaller that the square rubber portion in that cover in front of the cam cover. Grease both sides of this sheet and place it behind the front cover checking that the square rubber is neatly tucked in its grove in the front cover. Then carefully replace the cam cover being sure that the brass sheet has not moved and that the square rubber remains inserted in the front cover. After the cam cover is seated, carefully remove the brass sheet.

 

so I also do this job, but not use brass, I use very thin stainless steel

 

How to put on these gasket is already widely discussed on this forum. There are several very good tips from Dyke, John, Romano and others. I tried to follow them and did it as following:
- thoroughly clean all surfaces
Trial fit:
- make sure that gaskets fit all studs
- make sure that square cutouts for square O- rings fit
- see that cutouts for camshafts at either end are done fitting tight
- loosen distributor drives and oil feed tubes
- fit gaskets lightly using loctite 518 on the corners and around o-ring.
- firsts fit chain covers, but do not tighten screws fully
- use lightly oiled shims as described above for fitting main cover, take care to not disturb o-ring
- fit main cover, again light use of Loctite 518 at corners and around o- rings
- tighten cam cover screws in a similar sequence to torquing a head. Use max 5 Nm.
- press chain covers to main cover flange and tighten
- tighten bolts for feed tubes and distributor drives
- let dry before starting or filling oil for a newly redone engine
I hope I did not forget anything... it is so much easier on my Austin Mini and Triumph...

 

Is your shim the thin sheet that I described? If so, should not there be some step in you list above to remove it?

 

Yes, it is and for sure must be removed as described by you. Most recommend using light engine oil instead of grease to wipe it with before usage.

 

You are probably correct about the light oil. It has been about 20 years since I removed the cam covers and I only remember that you needed to used some sort of lubrication.

 

As stated this is what I gathered out of the threads from the knowledgeable folk here on fchat as well as Tom Yangs just put together and repeated. Helped me a lot!

 

Yes, three-in-one oil or light engine oil on the shim. It also helps to coat the rear vertical surface of the cover so it slides easily down past the O-ring on the distributor drive.