O man. Sorry to hear about that.
A couple of tips for ya:
- Take vehicle to a carwash and spend a few $ in cleaning the area well.
- Use a tread cleaner to clean out all bolt holes in block and in timing cover. A tap could work but the official tool (thread cleaner) does a much better job on cleaning those threads – which (in my opinion) is a REQUIREMENT on small blocks, and not something nice to do.
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One example (of many possible brands).
Because of the dissimilar metals used (aluminum, steel and iron) and the possibility of coolant seeping into the timing cover bolts, there is a high chance of corrosion that occurs in that area. With the corrosion, there is also a high potential of timing cover bolt breakage upon removal – which if that happens, is the start of a BAD DAY.
Once timing cover is off car, take a rifle bore cleaner (or something similar) and clean out those timing cover bolt holes really well – even if there is little sign of corrosion present (to prevent additional problems in the future).
Take a wire brush and clean any bolt that has signs of corrosion present – again, really well.
I don’t normally recommend using anti-seize compound for engine fasteners, but in this case, I highly encourage to add a good dab of anti-seize compound onto any bolts (threads) that will be touching aluminum and iron close to coolant. This will prevent those water pump/timing cover bolts from breaking off in the future. A little extra work WILL PAY OFF for future repairs. I can’t remember how many small blocks that I’ve had to work on with corroded timing cover bolts and/or broken bolts in that area (in the hundreds).
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- If you have the money, pick up this item and install. If will help more than you might ever know:
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Dodge 53021195aa ($49.50 US), as of today.
Mopar Performance P5007709 ($45ish)
Cloyes 9-5387
Melling BT428
Enginetech TT387
The above (bottom) three range between $20-30 (US) from Rockauto.com and about $45 from O’reilly auto parts.
- Once cover and water pump is bolted down, I like to take a can of engine spray paint and give a shot around the gasket areas. The gaskets do a good job, but paint also gives an extra protection layer to prevent future leaks. Note: this works better if surface was cleaned well before disassembly.
- The last thing is to feel the balancer hub after its removed. Sometimes the rubber from the seal can grove the hub. If it will catch a fingernail, get a balancer repair sleeve.
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This is a National 88218 (about $10, US) , but others make one as well. I think it is odd something as soft as rubber can wear out steel (or cast iron), but it does. This is cheap insurance over a likely oil leak area.
BudW