I took off the timing cover again to finaly fix that leaking (or lately non existent) oil seal and its pretty scarry. The oil seal popped out of its groove, there was no slinger there to protect it from the timing gears, so it got chewed up, at some stage it has sliced a wedge through the timing cover too. So the cover has a big hole in it, the oil seal is chewed up, but most importantly a half of it (half of the metal core) is missing. It does not appear to be jammed under the chain.

Maybe it departed through that cut in the cover? Anyway I'm gonna have to take the timing gears and chain off and investigate further. Any suggestions anyone? (though by the time anyone reads this I'd have already be done probably),

How do I go about reassembling the timing gears - just mark them in relation to one another and then return them to that position and allign the key?

Ok well I'd probably need a puller to take the cam timing gear off. Had a look at the chain though and it seems to move a lot, ie its not streched on the two gears but there's some slack that allows approx 1.5cm of sideways movement on the front and approx 1cm at the back. I still dont have a dig. camera but I've tried to draw the movement.



Is this normal or is the brand new chain buggered. And where could the rast of the oil sela have gone?

The 2 gears and chain slide off together.
Your cam has an offset key put in it by me, to get the cam timing spot on-don't take it out or turn it around.
Assemble the new chain on the sprockets and make sure the timing marks line up before fitting- put a ruler across the sprocket centres to make sure.

Your duplex chain was a UK one, they are a bit slack to begin with. The German Jwis ones are better but cost ~$60 or so.

What is `chewed up' the sprocket, backplate, or timing cover? You post is not real clear.
Backplate has a hole in it, that is normal.

Unless something is broken, I'd leave it assembled- just get another cover, slinger & seal.

Remains of seal are now in your oil. Do an oil change....

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Slinger Very Very Sorry Mate..
Mental Note to all....please do not forget to put one on

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Stop Licking the Dog...I Don't Care Who Started It

Wow, Scary.

I reckon if I potentially found I had lost a steel ring in the sump I woulda run inside and hid behind the couch.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

yea sorry, I was hiding behind the couch so the post is not real clear


Doc, the oil seal was chewed up, and I could only account for exactly half of the metal part of the seal - there is a vertical slice approx 5cm in lenght on the front of the timing cover.

There is no sign of the remainder of the seal anywhere around the chain. The chain seems ok, and the timing gears too are not noticeably damaged. The cam timing wheel (larger one) wouldn't budge, even though the crank side one was sliding out easily.

The german chain was impossible to find, I did want to get one. However even with the english one is this movement excesive and means the chan is damaged?
(imagine the chain moving left and right at the point where its stretched in space between the two wheels) of approx 1 cm on the firewall side (ie the chain can be pushed in and then puled approx 1cm to the firewall) and approx 1.5cm on the other side.

Chain has probably shredded the metal of the seal into fine bits.. Don't worry about it, it will be on the sump plug magnet by now.
Do an oil change (& filter) as I said.
You can fit a new chain if you think it needs it, but as I said, most chains now are a bit loose when bought. They bend sideways...
Nothing like the quality of the nice Renolds chain we had 30 years ago.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Thanks doc, I was waiting for you to say that - gonna reassemble it all tonight (oil slinger and new timing cover in this time). Oh btw whats the torque setting for the camshaft timing gear bolt? About 50 + loctite?

What I suspect might have happened is that the half oil seal exited the timing cover at that hole that it cut - as unlikey as it sounds - the cut in the cover is just big enougn to have let it out. Lucky we dont use fiber timing gears ala Escort I guess.

Nothing in my manual about cam nut torque. 45-50lb/ft will be fine. Use some Loctite 642 or similar on the thread, I haven't used the metal lock washers for years.

No way the seal bit would have gone thru that hole in 1 piece- odds of that are like Powerball..
If it did it's mashed potato by now!

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Now I get it - we are talking about 2 different things. You think I'm talkingabout the round holes in the plate that sits between the timing gears and the engine or the hole where the crank exits the cover and the pulley enters?

What I mean is that there was a long cut through the chromed timing chain cover about 10 cm from the crank pulley as if something scratched along it at great velocity from the inside and possibly exited.

OK.... unless there is obvious damage to sprockets or chain, there's no problem. Put a new chain on it if you want.....
When getting another cover consider a Clubbie one- they have timing marks on the front.. like mine. Makes it easier to use the timing light to check advance, particularly if your flywheel is lightened and has no marks!

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Too late, just finnished - slinger, new cover, 16 blade fan (the smooth side facing the engine right?) rad back on. Oil out, strained it - some metal but not nearly all of the missing half oil seal. New oil in. - Gonna grab some sleep then will warm the new oil up and change it again and change the oil filter - hopefuly should be ok.

still couldnt get that bloody detent spring cover off.

Now you tell me!
I spent last night in the garage sandblasting, rubbing back and painting my non-clubbie timing cover getting ready for the rebuild. Didn't think about the timing mark issue on the flywheel.
Kevin.

If you want to set it at full advance, at 4500 rpm like I do, screw a bit of sheet metal to the front engine plate bolt, and put the mark on there.
Glad to hear today it's going again..

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

still leaking a bit of oil , might leak even more from that hole I'm gonna bash in with a hammer if she ain't gonna stop torturing me.

might be that the bolts for the bottom of the timing cover are a bit too long and dont go screw all the way down, and anyway its just a tiny trickle compared to the approx 4 littres in 20 minutes I had before.