2.3L timing chain cover

[jefranz]

I'm trying to replace my head gasket and the manual says" losen the timing chain cover but don't remove it. I don't see any way to do this unless I remove the passenger side motor mount. Has anybody replaced their head gasket and dealt with the timing chain cover?

[4kQuad]

I can't help...But if you goto msn.com and in the (search box) type quad 4 you will get some sites. I've looked at a few of them..there is some good help there.

[DominionTuner]

You don't need to remove the mount, you need to remove the passanger side front tire and pull the inner fender trim out. Still a tight area to work in but that is how you get the entire cover.

[wu_sword]

It is a lot easier to do if you remove your motor mount. It only takes a few minutes to do and will safe you a lot of time.

[chico]

strip it down its easy to work as then so you can see what you are doing

[Solarboy]

You might be able to loosen it enough without taking off that top mount, but the working room is terrible. Just getting under that big plate to access the zillion or so cover bolts/nuts would be a pain. Most of the mount comes off pretty easy, it's those three big bolts that will test your sanity...you pretty much have to jack the engine up from the lower right mount area to get clearance to do it. The bolts are torqued to "as hard as you can get 'em, then half a turn" or some such nonsense...and breaking them loose is tough. If you have a lot of miles, you might consider doing the timing chain r/r if it needs it, and when you are in that far, the condition of the chain is easy to see. A new tensioner is a good idea, at minimum, if you have higher miliage. Give your waterpump a turn at this time, too...should be a little stiff, but smooth. I feel for ya...I've been in there, and I'm still recovering.