Hi Bob,
Looking at the photo of the front seal from Bassett that you sent me, I
would say NO, you can’t. US cars, yes, you can change front seals with the
timing cover on. Jaguar 3.4L, cover off, pan off, everything in front of seal
off the crank, up to the oil slinger. With the rope seal, you can do what
Joel mentioned but with the Bassett seal it has to slide on the crank snout
& rests inside the groove of the cover & pan. So it is written, so it
shall be done. :-),
Hi Otto: Thinking through what you just said, your answer is obviously
correct. There is no way for the seal to pass by the front (outer) edge of
the seal cavity. Ok, let’s try something else. What if one were to remove
all bolts from the timing cover (without removing the head, which is what
we are hoping for). Do you think one could carefully pry the bottom of the
cover away from the front of the block to create any clearance. I know
there are dowels at the top and the big boss at the top for the sprocket hub
won’t allow much movement, but perhaps it moves enough?
Just a thought, and probably a bad one?!?! Bob McAnelly
