Correction I have front timing chain cover off, its the back of the cover that I am having problems with. Is it possible there are some bolts under the exhaust manifold that are hidden?.....The repair books don't show or tell allot........
Are you referring to the timing chain housing? If so that is a major undertaking to get off. The cam housing gets involved.
yep I am aware of that.........what I started out to do was replace the lifters.....
I was just working on that job myself on a 2.3 liter 1995 engine. There are the three waterpump bolts on the upper left side of the timing housing. There are bolts pointing to the front of the car that go through the oil pan area into the bottom left of the timing housing. There are also bolts located in the lower right of the housing which are aimed at a side-way direction.
Use a bright light that you move around as you look for fasteners. Wipe all areas clean of grease first. If the housing does not remove easily then look again for fasteners coming from the side angles. I actually broke my timing housing in half trying to pry it off with some bolts left unremoved. The timing housing is about $1000.00 to buy new. What is the chance of spending 6 hours removing one from a junkyard?
The thing that makes this job a nightmare is that there is little room to put your hands and wrench between the engine and the inner fender (not removable) of the car. But, removing the engine would still be much more work in the long run. It would be faster to work with the engine in place and to raise the engine as high as possible with the floor jack. Make sure the lower engine bushing support bolt is removed so the engine can raise up out of the vehicle higher.
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