SM IE: More work on the primary timing chain

I call my friend Philippe for help to remove the engine and gearbox. They came out without too much trouble. I just thought I could let the first exhaust pipes in place but we had to remove the right side pipe, this part was quite difficult.

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Here is the drivetrain immediately after its removal

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The engine bay is suddenly empty

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I put the drivetrain in a more convenient location, but space is limited anyway

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That’s how it looks, and that’s because of this limited space that I didn’t initially want to remove the engine

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Overview of the cleaning work ahead!

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On the left side, the transmission grease is everywhere, I obviously made a mistake somewhere with the transmission boot

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Now that the drivetrain is out, I need to find a way to remove the water pump cover.

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The idea is to drill and tap both cover “handles” and use them as an extractor

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My father had two taps modified (flat end) and has special extraction parts made, here on the upper right, to screw them inside the handles

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I had to cut the cover to make space for drilling and taping. Once done, I screw in, both handles bend but the cover doesn’t seem to move

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So I have to create more extraction points. I start from the bottom part, which I think is the most stuck portion

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It still doesn’t move, so I drill and tap more points

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I now go on with the top part, because it still doesn’t move

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5 extraction points are still not enough, I even broke the tap I did on the top, because I didn’t make it very well

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So I drill once again to get a sixth extraction point…

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… and this time, it works…

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… and this f…..g cover finally comes out. I lost a huge amount of time because of it

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I then go on with the removal of the water pump turbine, with the original extractor that I could borough. Thank you Claude

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It is of course very good for this special job (because the extraction points are not at a regular angle)

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The turbine comes out quite easily

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Finally, here is what I wanted to see for a long time! It seems in very good shape

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Here is the inside of the timing cover, with the oil pump

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The oil pan is clean

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The tensioner still seems in one piece, this is not always the case with SMs

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The limiter also seems in one piece

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I’m surprised to find a “thin” oil pump axle, I was expecting the reinforced one, I’ll replace it but for the moment I cannot remove it (one new part difficult to remove 😉