45 Cam Cover being a bit dufficult to remove

[tracerbob]

1954 G motor that's been sitting in a garage for 20+ years and I'm doing a tear down to see if it's worth rebuilding. So far it looks promising but, the cam cover's really on there. How do I go about getting the cam cover off without doing any harm?

[Rubone]

Are you sure all the mounting screws are out, including the oil pump mounting bolt in the upper left side (there are 12 including the bolt)? There are three dowel pins which can be tight and rusty. Soak them with a good penetrant like Kroil. Gently tap through the generator hole(don't hit the slinger seal!)with a dowel or the like to break the seal of the gasket. And remember, heat is your friend, warm it all up with a heat gun or propane torch. If the top end is still on screw down all the tappet adjusters so there isn't pressure on the cams.

[tracerbob]

All the screws are out along with the lifter blocks. I'll try some heat around the dowel pins to get things circulating.

[BigLakeBob]

I saw a video from Dale Walksler, I believe, where he heats the entire engine on a hot plate before disassembling anything. Says he gets alot better results.

[Flathead fathead]

Kroil, heat, and small no-bounce rubber hammer. Don't try to pry it off! I've torn down several flathead motors and Kroil and patience always worked for me. Pour some Kroil down the tappet block holes, let it soak a little, then gently tap around the edges of the cam cover with something like big screw driver handle. I tore down a UL motor that had been stored in a damp basement since the 40s and that's what worked for me.

[T. Cotten]

As Rubone suggested, TracerBob...

First drift through the generator hole carefully with a wooden dowel.
Heatlamps really are useful. Then find any lip you can on the rear of the cover to apply the dowel.
(I'll have discounted cans of Kroil at Davenport.)

If no clearance at all is available, or just enough,.. I used some butter knives, cut and trimmed, to tap into the gasket to provide the widest possible leverage, avoiding damage to the machined gasket surface. Good ones have smooth taper from the blade to the handle, making them downright surgical.

They have seen extended duty beyond cam covers, of course!

Patience...

....Cotten

[tracerbob]

Well, I finally got the cover removed. I figured out that because of all the shafts and pins interfacing with the cover it has to come off evenly. If it's gets cocked over ever so slightly it gets stuck. So, I made me a "jacking plate" to help pull the cover off without buggering up the gasket surfaces. It presses on the number one cam. Now this device isn't supposed to be cranked down upon like a gear puller but used to keep a slight pressure on the cover while tapping on the generator side. I had the cover off in minutes. Below is a picture of the thing. Thank God for Solid Works.

[FNG1]

Hi Tracer, very clever. Would using a slide hammer in your adapter plate help? Nice job.

[tracerbob]

Not really. I think it would be overkill and pull the threads out of the cover. Gotta remember, they're only 1/4-24 and over 60 years old. This puller gently persuades the cover off by applying pressure to a stationary object, the #1 cam. No real torque is applied.

[T. Cotten]

Not really. I think it would be overkill and pull the threads out of the cover. Gotta remember, they're only 1/4-24 and over 60 years old. This puller gently persuades the cover off by applying pressure to a stationary object, the #1 cam. No real torque is applied.

I applaud your perseverance and patience, Tracerbob!

It certainly took too much time and resources, I know too well.

Think you will ever use it again?

....Cotten

[tracerbob]

Cotton,
I design tools and fixtures for a living and I love challenges so time and resources was never an issue. Turned into a fun little project. Will I ever use it again? Probably not but I have quite a collection of special tools bought and built that I've used only once that range from splitting Shovelhead cases to pulling super stuck seat posts out of frames. Now if I only had a lathe a TIG welder and a Bridgeport.........I'd be dangerous.

[T. Cotten]

I used to be dangerous, Tracerbob!

Got walls full of tools cobbled in a hurry for uses I cannot remember.

What's really bad is when you make a special tool, and then find one already on the wall when you hang it up.

If I didn't make a new tool every day, it was wasted. Now I'm lucky if I vacuum.

....Cotten