timing chain cover saga, revisited...

Personally I wouldn't attempt to use RTV. Cast aluminum doesn't take kindly to bending although heat will warp it.

Yea, I'm not really keen on using RTV, but if it's a matter of getting it home from Mexico, I'd put up with some leakage and fix it when I got home. I wouldn't dream of suggesting it as a permanent solution.
 
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Here is my cover
There ya go... We can probably work with that.
 
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And this is my attempt to show the bend- finding something perfectly straight in Mexico is not easy (huhu) so that magazine page was the best I could do
We did, btw, verify the bend at the machine shop with both a flat metal table and metal straightedge
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Looks like a 68-69 cover to me.

The number appears to just be a casting number, but that doesn't surprise me. Google it and you come up with all sorts of used ones.
 
Definitely a 68-69 cover. If those are welds I see then that's how it got warped.
They are indeed welds. The first guy I took it to was supposed to fill a small pin hole. He then took it upon himself to add a ton of material all over, some of which spilled onto the mating surface of the water pump. Then he took it upon himself to grind it “flat” with a hand grinder. And did a hack job.
At that point it went to the machine shop to hav the water pump face surfaced.
I was really convinced the machine shop had bent the part with the clamp as BigJohn had thought but now maybe he would agree the heat from all the welding is the culprit. I hadn’t considered that until you mentioned it.
If you can see at all with my Mexican straightedge the amount of curve do you think it is crazy to mount that thing?
Btw, I do not need to put this back on in order to drive out of here. The car stays put until next Jan/Feb. I only wanted to bolt on as many parts as possible before leaving them in a not so safe storage situation. I figure bolted onto the car is best. I could pull the new timing chain back off and leave the cover off until next year if need be. Not the end of the world I just have to haul all the parts back home and then smuggle them back across the border into Mexico next year to avoid paying import tax.
 
Is it crazy to mount that thing?
Or better, is it crazy to mount that thing and not expect any leaks?
 
Is it crazy to mount that thing?
Or better, is it crazy to mount that thing and not expect any leaks?
It's not crazy to mount it to seal the front of the engine and protect those components from damage during storage, BUT it is (probably) crazy to mount a warped cover and expect to be able to seal it. Put a new one on next year when preparing the car for use.

Best wishes for future happy motoring.
 
They are indeed welds. The first guy I took it to was supposed to fill a small pin hole. He then took it upon himself to add a ton of material all over, some of which spilled onto the mating surface of the water pump. Then he took it upon himself to grind it “flat” with a hand grinder. And did a hack job.
At that point it went to the machine shop to hav the water pump face surfaced.
I was really convinced the machine shop had bent the part with the clamp as BigJohn had thought but now maybe he would agree the heat from all the welding is the culprit. I hadn’t considered that until you mentioned it.
If you can see at all with my Mexican straightedge the amount of curve do you think it is crazy to mount that thing?
Btw, I do not need to put this back on in order to drive out of here. The car stays put until next Jan/Feb. I only wanted to bolt on as many parts as possible before leaving them in a not so safe storage situation. I figure bolted onto the car is best. I could pull the new timing chain back off and leave the cover off until next year if need be. Not the end of the world I just have to haul all the parts back home and then smuggle them back across the border into Mexico next year to avoid paying import tax.
In that case, just bolt it on for now. Find another and use that.

Bet the welder kept screwing up and melting it rather than welding it.
 
Aluminum is very sensitive to heat. Just a single engine overheat is enough to warp most aluminum cylinder heads & that's way less heating than welding. Welding has to be done very carefully. Rosco, if you think that timing cover is might work, just try torquing it down on the block- bet it snaps outright.
 
And we're done. I will be pursuing a new cover. Gonna take this one with me, cover the motor with a garbage bag and tape up the openings to keep critters out and try to find a new one back home to match this one. Too complicated trying to get one down here (Mexico) and no urgency.
Thanks all for input and great advise. I'll be looking for a new cover if anyone has any leads.
 
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