Water Pocket Cover Gasket leak MCM 140 upper

[Alumarine]

Hi there. I have a slight leak in the water pocket cover gasket.

I thought I'd check to see if the Water Pocket Cover was leaking.
The cover does not look melted in any way.
I followed the instructions that achris mentioned in a previous post

"Remove the drive and separate the 2 halves. Rig up plugs and hoses and pressure test the water pocket cover.. Spray with soapy water around the edges of the cover... You see bubbles... you know the rest...."

Ok, I got bubbles. I didn't hook it up to an air supply, I just blew in it while plugging the outlet.
I have very, very tiny bubbles along one edge of the cover. I didn't notice them at first.

Knowing the danger involved, I carefully tried to loosen the bolts using a 3" long 1/4" drive.
3 of the bolts loosened easily and of course one didn't budge.

I've been doing the heating, banging and spaying with PB blaster - no luck.

I'm very tempted to just leave it alone and see what happens.

What do the more experienced think?

 

[Fun Times]

The cover could have a warp to it.

Was the engine overheating at any point? If so, what condition was the impeller?

 

[achris]

Any small leak now will become a big leak quite quickly. Fix it now, fix it later, but you will be fixing it....

At this point I would be removing the 3 screws that will come out, then going in with a 'hot spanner' (oxy torch), burning the rest of the cover away from the remaining screw, then heat and cool that puppy until it submits!

Chris.......

 

[Alumarine]

The cover could have a warp to it.

Was the engine overheating at any point? If so, what condition was the impeller?

I've only run it for about 5 minutes at WOT but it always stayed at 140.
Impeller is ready to be replaced but was fine.

 

[Alumarine]

Any small leak now will become a big leak quite quickly. Fix it now, fix it later, but you will be fixing it....

At this point I would be removing the 3 screws that will come out, then going in with a 'hot spanner' (oxy torch), burning the rest of the cover away from the remaining screw, then heat and cool that puppy until it submits!

Chris.......

I'm guessing the idea is that by removing the cover first it gives better access to the bolt threads and therefore greater chance of success?
How about using a sharp chisel to remove the cover (carefully) I'm doing this in my basement and only have propane and also don't need the fumes?

 

[achris]

I'm guessing the idea is that by removing the cover first it gives better access to the bolt threads and therefore greater chance of success?

Yep...

How about using a sharp chisel to remove the cover (carefully) I'm doing this in my basement and only have propane and also don't need the fumes?

Yes, that would work too...

 

[Alumarine]

Yep...



Yes, that would work too...

Thanks again, I'll proceed slowly and carefully.

 

[Alumarine]

Slight update. I've been working on it for a few minutes every day or so.
I've been spraying, beating and heating it.

Using my stubby 1/4" ratchet I can now turn the bolt about 40 degrees counter clockwise before it stops.
I've been twisting it back and forth occasionally and spraying etc.

Should I just keep doing that or at some point force the issue?

 

[achris]

If you're making progress, keep doing that.... If it's not keen to start moving more, yes, you going to need to push it...

 

[Alumarine]

If you're making progress, keep doing that.... If it's not keen to start moving more, yes, you going to need to push it...

Will do, thanks. It doesn't need to be done soon but I tend to lack patience.

 

[airshot]

Will do, thanks. It doesn't need to be done soon but I tend to lack patience.

Don't we all !!! I have a tendency to make more repairs than needed because of that...

 

[Alumarine]

Update, apparently there might be something to this patience thing!.

After 10 days of playing with it for 5 minutes here and there I got the bolt out.
I had the most luck by trying to turn the bolt shortly after heating the housing with a propane torch and spraying it with penetrating oil.
Each time I did that I could turn the bolt a few more degrees back and forth.

I'll run a bottom tap to clean the threads.
Thanks all for the help.

Here's a picture of how I tested the water pocket cover gasket.
I used a piece of inner tube, a large socket and a ratchet strap to clock off the water port. (the drives upside down)

 

[achris]

Great job... Well done... (And thanks for letting us know how you went and that nice little block-off trick. :thumb: )
I assume it holds pressure now...

Ah, one more thing. Bolt torque is 30-40 lb.in... (that's Inch, not Foot , about 3 lb. ft) and they want you to put a non-hardening sealer on them (like Permatex #2)

 

[Alumarine]

Great job... Well done... (And thanks for letting us know how you went and that nice little block-off trick. :thumb: )
I assume it holds pressure now...

Ah, one more thing. Bolt torque is 30-40 lb.in... (that's Inch, not Foot , about 3 lb. ft) and they want you to put a non-hardening sealer on them (like Permatex #2)

Thanks for the help. And thanks for the reminder it is INCH pounds.

Was trying to decide between Permatex #2 sealant or Permatex 133H Anti Sieze.
I contacted Permatex and they said it was suitable for Stainless bolts going into Aluminum.