I asked KDR for a quote on pulling the front cover to replace that damn leaking o-ring and front oil seal, he said $600! $75 an hour for 8 hours. I didnt realize pulling the front cover was an 8 hour job. I'm going to do it myself but its so damn cold and the car is pretty much stuck in the tiny garage until spring. I already have no AP, AC, PS, accesory bracket or fan.



Tell me if this is the right order and everything:

1) remove water pump and main pullies

2) drop oil pan

3) remove CAS

4) remove OMP and lines

5) remove alternator and bracket

6) remove water pump

7) remove oil line from oil cooler

8) remove front cover



All this just to replace one tiny o-ring?! The front seal is not even leaking unless it somehow is leaking into the front cover on the other side... I'm just going to replace it anyway. I'm talking about that o-ring that goes with the front cover gasket (mazdatrix has that S4 o-ring leak write up).



Here's the parts I have:

new front oil seal, o-ring, 79-85 front cover gasket, permatex ultra copper silicone RTV, RB main pulley, FC3S oil pellet



Do I need anything else? Do I have to have the clutch pushed in the whole time I'm doing this to avoid the bearing issue? I have Hylomar too... should I use that instead of the gasket maker or front cover gasket? What should I use to hold the o ring in place when putting the cover back on?



Thanks,

chris

well, isnt taking out the front cover the same process as rebuilding it?

you have it right except for step 6, you did that in step 1



mike

I think Mazdatrix suggests using a little bit of rtv to hold the 0-ring in place.

i did that on my TII jspec. i accidentally overtightened the rb oil cooler adapter and cracked the front cover. had to change the whole thing. oh boy was i mad. that only took about 3 hours. it wasn't bad at all. my friend mike helped. the hardest part is removing the oil pan

I think he just removes the pulleys in step 1, step 6 the actual pump comes off.

I think he just removes the pulleys in step 1, step 6 the actual pump comes off. [/quote]

ah i think you're right, my bad



mike

don't forget to keep teh clutch pressed down, and you will have to remove the eccentric shaft hub which the main pulley bolts onto, before the front cover will come out. That means removing the eccentric shaft bolt... breaker bar time, and like i said before... clutch pressed in the entire time.



if you have the cash you can take the opportunity to get the aluminum main pulley and install it when you put it back together. It replaces the steel hub and the main pulley part with one aluminum piece, it's pimpy.



also, if you havent done it yet... it's also a good opportunity to install the thermopellet plug which eliminates the restriction of oil flow to the front rotor during startup... they fail and can take motors with. It's a cheap plug from mazdatrix $20 if i remember correctly.



good luck, it's gotta be a pain to do with the motor in the car...t hose oil pan bolts are awfully close to the steering rack and crossmember.

yeah, thats what I meant, thanks for all the info guys.



So how do you feel about using the actual gasket rather than RTV? I was thinking gasket since the 79-85 one will hold that o-ring in place better.... or at least it looks that way

I don't remember the details, but aren't you supposed to be careful when you reassemble it so you don't mess up the thrust bearing?