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1G About to do complete timing belt replacement, replace front seals as well?

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XC92

Proven Member
1,561
356
Jul 22, 2020
Queens, New_York
Self-explanatory. I'm about to replace the TB, BB & 3 accessory belts along with all the pulleys, tensioners and water pump. All OEM except the BB, which is Gates Racing, and WP, which is Aisin. OEM is pretty expensive and Aisin is not, but highly rated.

I'm using the upgraded OEM kevlar belt instead of the stock one. Probably unnecessary but it's just $20 more and you don't do this every day, and in case I ever try to boost the HP.

What I'm wondering is whether I should also replace all 5 main front engine seals, i.e. 2x cam & 1x crank, oil pump & BB, at least if they're not leaking or look bad, as relatively cheap insurance. I just replaced the rear seal when I took the trans out, although the stock one looked fine. I used Fel-Pro, not OEM.

If I do replace them, is it ok to go with National & Timken, or even Fel-Pro, since OEM is kind of pricey? Or is it OEM all the way? My car is stock, no mods, none foreseen any time soon (but as I said you never know).

And, anything else to replace while I'm at it? E.g. bearings, sprockets, spacers, harmonic balancer, bolts, etc.

Sorry if I've asked and been answered this before. I've done so much work on my Talon and asked so many questions, I've lost track.
 
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I've only had my DSM for like 17 years and about 100k miles but I'm not ready to give up on the balance shafts just yet. When I first got it, I melted down the engine (long story) and had it replaced by a "performance" shop. They completely mis-timed the BS and it (to me) was obvious - it shook so bad the transaxle-to-engine bolts eventually backed-out to the point I couldn't disengage the clutch. I retorqued the transaxle-engine bolts (replacing a few missing ones) and cut the BS belt at that point and ran for awhile without the front BS. That was also the point I decided to stop paying others to destroy my car, figuring I could do the same without paying for their labor. I replaced the BS belt (correctly timed) and the car ran SMOOTH for a few thousand miles until I suffered a catastrophic failure - the BS belt failed under full load climbing a hill at 7k RPM and 25psi boost. My amateur detective skills determined I had a camshaft seal leak that saturated the BS belt and caused the failure. I shattered the rings and piston lanyards on 3 of the 4 cylinders. I replaced the pistons, the camshaft seals, the head and gasket, bunch of other stuff, but kept the balance shafts functional. I have not regretted keeping the balance shafts functional, having experienced the vibration of the both mis-timing and absence of the front one. My suggestion would be to replace whatever seals you can easily access, especially the camshaft seals since gravity will just take their leakage and spread it about to everything below. Best of luck :)
 
I've only had my DSM for like 17 years and about 100k miles but I'm not ready to give up on the balance shafts just yet. When I first got it, I melted down the engine (long story) and had it replaced by a "performance" shop. They completely mis-timed the BS and it (to me) was obvious - it shook so bad the transaxle-to-engine bolts eventually backed-out to the point I couldn't disengage the clutch. I retorqued the transaxle-engine bolts (replacing a few missing ones) and cut the BS belt at that point and ran for awhile without the front BS. That was also the point I decided to stop paying others to destroy my car, figuring I could do the same without paying for their labor. I replaced the BS belt (correctly timed) and the car ran SMOOTH for a few thousand miles until I suffered a catastrophic failure - the BS belt failed under full load climbing a hill at 7k RPM and 25psi boost. My amateur detective skills determined I had a camshaft seal leak that saturated the BS belt and caused the failure. I shattered the rings and piston lanyards on 3 of the 4 cylinders. I replaced the pistons, the camshaft seals, the head and gasket, bunch of other stuff, but kept the balance shafts functional. I have not regretted keeping the balance shafts functional, having experienced the vibration of the both mis-timing and absence of the front one. My suggestion would be to replace whatever seals you can easily access, especially the camshaft seals since gravity will just take their leakage and spread it about to everything below. Best of luck :)
Thanks. I've had some sort of oil leak that I haven't yet determined the cause of, that if caused by one of the front seals I'll find out when I remove the TB covers to change it and everything else.

But whether or not they're leaking, I'll replace all 5 as cheap insurance (I recently realized that they weren't nearly as expensive as I thought).

And for now, and likely for some time to come, I'm keeping the BS in, at least until I do a lot more research into it. My rule is if in doubt, do as little as possible.

Still researching doing a TB replacement and looking at the FSM I just realized that if I'm replacing all 5 seals then I have to remove the camshaft sprockets, which from what I can tell means that I have to remove the valve cover.

And since it's had leaks in the past I need to replace that gasket along with the plug gaskets and semi-circular "packing" (how do they come up with these terms?), which I was going to eventually do anyway.

So, add a valve cover gasket kit to the list. Anything else "while I'm in there"?
 
Can’t recall if the 1/2 moon comes with the valve cover kit but that’s another seals to replace when you have the vc off. The CAS has an oring but you can always replace that later. If you do replace the CAS oring, it needs to be timed using a timing light. Be careful tightening the vc as they crack very easily. Using a nut driver helps.
Last timing job I couldn’t crack the cam gear bolts so I remove the cams with the camshafts to replace the seal.
 
How can one replace the camshaft seals w/o removing the sprocket bolts? Or did I misunderstand you?

And, I assume that unless one pulls the engine or uses some impact-rated 90 degree adapter or ratchet then there's no way to use an impact wrench to remove the cam or crank bolts, and you have to use a breaker bar, right?
 
For the cam gear bolt, you’ll need a breaker bar and a crescent wrench with a cheater pipe. If you can’t break it loose, you can remove the cam from the head and pull the seal out the other end. Make sense?

For the crank sprocket bolt - impact would be nice but if you don’t have one, you can use a breaker and bump the starter to break it loose.
 
So the old seals slide off the camshafts towards their right sides, and the new ones slide on the same way? I thought the actual cams would block them.

And I have an impact so I assume I can use that to remove the crank bolt through the hole in the body.

Getting it back on to proper torque spec, do I use the pry bar on flywheel teeth trick, or is there a better and safer way?

Or should I just use an impact? I could use my 1/4" impact driver so it doesn't overtorque. I think it's rated to ~140ft-lb.

And as for the oil pump & BS seals, also fairly easy or at least not requiring my taking off the front engine cover or dropping the pan?
 
The seal will slide off the cam shaft and you can put them on the same way if you can’t break the cam bolt (on the timing side) loose.

You can access the crank bolt when you remove the splash shield.

I use red loctite on the crank bolt and just let my 1/2” impact do the work.

For BS & oil pump seals, you don’t have to take the front cover off. To remove the front cover, oil pan and pick up must be removed so the drill method is prob the best option.
 
Thanks. So basically I'm covered on how to remove & replace all 5 seals. And with the cam seals either way there's no avoiding taking the valve cover off, right, and if I take it off, the gaskets should be replaced, right?

I realize that it's a moot question since I was going to replace them anyway due to a leak, just curious if it's necessary when there isn't a valve cover leak.

And, not to start a whole thing again, but only OEM, or is say Fel-Pro ok?
 
$7 & change on RockAuto for a wholesale closeout kit vs. ~$60 for all the OEM parts. So, yeah, looking to save a bit here.

It's not a critical part like the front and rear seals, I assume, since it's above the oil level, and much, much easier to replace if there's a leak. Right?

I wish the entire VFAQ was still accessible. Maybe it is and I just don't know where? It would save so man of these questions.

Well, that or hours of searching.
 
.It's not a critical part like the front and rear seals, I assume, since it's above the oil level, and much, much easier to replace if there's a leak. Right?

Valve cover gasket? Yes, it’s a simple job so yeah.

When you remove crank sprocket for the timing belt, there’s a plate that has the timing mark on it. It’s between the balancer belt sprocket and the timing belt sprocket. It has a key but can also be installed backwards. Just make sure it’s on the right way.
 
Ok, thanks. I think that about covers it unless you or someone can think of anything else. I still haven't ordered all of the parts and probably won't undertake it for 2-3 weeks so there's time to research all this and prep.
 
The oil pump sprocket can be out 180*. If you have the fsm, it’ll cover how to check that.

Here are a few tips:
Loosen the water pump pulley bolts before you remove the belts and tighten them down once you have the belts back on.

Don’t tighten down the power steering pump until you put the drivers side mount back in because it’s more difficult to get around the ps hose.

When it’s time to remove the engine mount, support the pan with a floor jack & 2x4.

When you set the tension on the tbelt, make sure the grenade pin for the hydraulic tensioner moves in and out freely. Slack on the tbelt should be on the tensioner side.
 
Thanks. I knew about the WP pulley bolts from a previous TB job on a different car. I'll make sure to watch out for the rest.

What I usually do is thoroughly research any non-trivial job and put together a detailed check list of steps to take and things to check, to avoid mess-ups, and print it out for use while doing the job. Helps a lot.
 
When you remove crank sprocket for the timing belt, there’s a plate that has the timing mark on it. It’s between the balancer belt sprocket and the timing belt sprocket. It has a key but can also be installed backwards. Just make sure it’s on the right way.
Mark the plate "out" or "in" when you remove it so you know you are putting it back together correctly. Piece of tape on it works then just peel it off.
 
a new(ish) valve cover gasket can be reused multiple times. You do not have to remove cams. The cams have a Hex (under the valve cover) cast in you can grab with a wrench then you can hold them still to get the gears off. Your choice. Either method works. I'm relatively certain you can get the cam gears off but I've always found it much easier to just remove the valve cover to do so. Also once the cover is off and the gears are off I just remove the first cam cap for easy seal replacement. The crank seal is easy, the other two are a little more challenging since you have to remove gears. For what it's worth unless the factory manual calls for Loctite etc generally I don't use it. I have never loctited a crank bolt and I've done dozens. I also do the final torque by getting the car on the ground completely buttoned up. Turn the wheels to the left, insert torque wrench (though the hole in the plastic if necessary), and put the car in 5th gear. I also do not use the square hole I use a socket. This is especially true with removing. I use a socket on an impact gun.
 
a new(ish) valve cover gasket can be reused multiple times. You do not have to remove cams. The cams have a Hex (under the valve cover) cast in you can grab with a wrench then you can hold them still to get the gears off. Your choice. Either method works. I'm relatively certain you can get the cam gears off but I've always found it much easier to just remove the valve cover to do so. Also once the cover is off and the gears are off I just remove the first cam cap for easy seal replacement. The crank seal is easy, the other two are a little more challenging since you have to remove gears. For what it's worth unless the factory manual calls for Loctite etc generally I don't use it. I have never loctited a crank bolt and I've done dozens. I also do the final torque by getting the car on the ground completely buttoned up. Turn the wheels to the left, insert torque wrench (though the hole in the plastic if necessary), and put the car in 5th gear. I also do not use the square hole I use a socket. This is especially true with removing. I use a socket on an impact gun.
Thanks. I think I have more than enough to go on (we'll put the whole balance shaft question aside for now as I decide what to do, although I'm guessing I'll leave it in).

And btw, doesn't either cam seal method require removing the valve cover, or is the hex cast to the left and outside the VC footprint so it can stay on if doing it that way?
 
As stated the hex is inside the valve cover. Although if my memory serves I have elevated the engine during a tbelt install and hit those bolts with an impact.
I also run balance shafts. The argument on the factory design etc isn't super valid as the factory built a 4g car with no shafts and the parts to do a BS delete are all OEM. (there are aftermarket ones you should not use). Like you said outside the scope of this discussion.
Plenty to read anyway. I run a 40k belt change interval and don't worry about it. I have gotten bit though. Recently my sons lancer broke a balance shaft belt and took out the tbelt. I should have known. The symptoms were there.
 
Well, first, my car's 29 years old, not 31, and the trans is 27 years old.
This is referencing this particular platform. Not your specific car. The technology didn't change. Yes, there were minute details, that were changed in those years, but nothing that changes the discussion.

Second, that's what I do, hash out minute details. I'm a details person, always have been, always will be. Annoys the hell out of some, I realize. That's their problem, not mine. It's how I do things and in my view why I tend to succeed at things I set out to succeed at. Not bragging, just stating fact.
The old "Can't see the forest for the trees" adage comes to mind here. This is pretty much summarizing my previous post.

If what you're really saying is don't do it here, that's not what this site is about, it's about getting max performance out of the platform and not is X name brand whatever better than Y name brand whatever, that's what that other, no longer very frequented DSM site is about, then I can respect that, if that's really the case, and I'll try to stop doing. But it goes against my nature.
Not at all. Questions that need to be asked,--should be asked. But it's also disrespectful to a certain point to lean on people for their experience to simply "appease" your need to question everything, then ask them to cite things to defend their answer. You seem like a guy who wants to attain knowledge--I admire that. At the same time, this forum is one of the best resources remaining in a condensed format. You're on here a lot (which is great), but between this site, and a simple Google search, you can find 90% of these questions answered. Saying this from a similar standpoint (I over-think everything--often at the expense of wasting said time accomplishing end goals). The information is out there and easily accessible. If you're interested in actually bringing a technical debate into the picture and "make your mark", do the research, then debate the results.

But when someone says "Do this", I want to know why. I'm not questioning their wisdom and expertise. I just literally want to know why. Again, that's how I am. I don't deal well with "Just do this, don't ask me why, I know what I'm doing". I need to know why, or else I'm just following a recipe without knowing what makes it work. I need to know what makes it work. No one's obliged to tell me why, of course, but if you don't even try, then I'm going to remain skeptical.
Once again--this falls on you. Not them. As I've said, I've had more experience with these cars than 99% of the people that work on them. That 1%, however, at this point is a LARGE number of people--so I'm not lumping myself into an "elite" crowd.. To this day, I read posts from people who have only had one or two of these cars, encountered an issue and in light of new products, or delving into theoretical theory, they make a new "case" to be explored. In fact, just last night, I had a customer/internet friend post something mentioning something about fluid hydraulics relating to the fuel systems on these cars. It was fantastic. Now I'm revisiting that topic and researching it again with a this updated information in mind.

Also, as I've stated many times before, I'm not looking to mod my car in any significant way. Yes, I've "upgraded" it, SS hoses to replace stock rubber ones, SBC S2 clutch to replace the stock one, K&N filter, CC clutch fork, etc. But I haven't really modded it in the sense of modifying a stock part, which deleting the balance shaft would be. Perhaps it really would be the smart thing to do.
The information is out there, and discussed in depth. You need to come to your own conclusions.

But I'm not about to do it without first knowing why. I literally haven't even thought about it. Yes, of course, I've heard about it, many times, but I always thought it was something that tuners did to improve performance, and I'm no tuner and likely never will be. I'm a regular driver who likes driving a stock performance car. If it's something you do to make the engine more reliable, I wasn't aware of that. So I've got some research to do.
See above response

As for my statement about "everyone", well, perhaps that was hyperbolic, but your saying that pretty much next to no one you know says that keeping the balance shaft is a good idea, well then please explain this:


He's one of the more respected trans rebuilders and overall DSM, EVO and performance car experts here, as I understand it. Yet he states that he no longer believes that it's a good idea to delete the balance shaft. He's one of the sources I was referring to in my statements above.
You can take it for what you want. I wasn't going to "name names", but your response absolutely supports what I said.

I don't make stuff up out of thin air, especially on matters in which I have no special expertise. I refer to actual experts, especially when they explain things in some details. Plus, I took enough advanced math and physics and engineering courses way back when to know that Nth order harmonics can be bad if not countered, so his argument sounds plausible to me. Isn't that why DSMs have harmonic balancers?
No. It's not. Mitsubishi put them into the cars to enhance "regular driver comfort". The 4G engine was developed well before DSMs came into the scene, in SOHC head version. Then there were 2.0 DOHC versions in the late 80's (See E39A cars). There was also the 4G61 DOHC engine which is where the "Stub Shaft" we all use came from. They (Mitsubishi) removed it from these cars. It falls under the same category of the later style 3-4 hubs and sleeves in the transmission. Their goal wasn't "peak performance and longevity". It was "Make people comfortable, sell cars, and have them not die within the warranty period--otherwise, if they fail, that's fine--we'll sell parts/repairs". They didn't sit down to add complexity/costs to build "race engines" for people 30 years later.

Isn't the 4G63 considered to be one of the best inline 4's ever made? If so, then why would its designers mess up this aspect of it so badly? Didn't they do massive QA before putting it in production cars, and test for such failures? Or do these failures take years to develop in ways that QA tests can't detect, or perhaps mostly on cars that have been modded or driven in ways mine that hasn't and likely never will be? I don't race, track, launch, mod or do any of that stuff, nor am I likely to ever do so. So perhaps the delete doesn't apply to me?
Now you're delving into the pit that encompasses German car forums. This is one of the things that pushed me away from those cars/forums for years. The 'ol---"Well BMW engineers are smarter than me! Don't argue with them! Use OEM parts for EVERYTHING.". This is one of the biggest killers of critical thinking and a cheap cop-out. Those engineers were NOT hired to "make the best car ever"--but to simply design something that sells, at a profit, utilizing the price points that are inflicted upon them by the "bean counters". Prime example for the above is those groups saying "Use Bosch Plugs! It's what the BMW engineers suggest--so they're the best!". I've used NGK plugs for decades on said cars---I won't touch Bosch crap if I can help it. Now, newer BMWs use NGK plugs on the newer cars and have back-dated the service parts for older cars to NGKs in some cases. Don't fall into the "factory engineer's said---" trap. Factory engineers are served a raw deal. They're hamstrung by dollars and business agreements. Why do most of he other "greatest" 4 cylinders out there *NOT* use balance shafts? SR20DET. 2ZZ-GE. B-series... Why did Mitsubishi not use balance shafts on the successor of the 4G? (4B11)
 
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To go one step further on @DSSA exceptionally informative replies, they sell everything you need and I highly recommend you purchase from them and support the wisdom being shared here. https://jnztuning.com/product/timing-belt-kit-dsm-gvr4-6-bolt-build-your-own/
I recent ordered around $350 from JNZ so no need to convince me there. But I've already purchased most but not all of the TB-associated parts, some in that JNZ order in fact, so I'm good. Still compiling a final list of parts I'll need and it's almost locked down.

As stated the hex is inside the valve cover. Although if my memory serves I have elevated the engine during a tbelt install and hit those bolts with an impact.
I also run balance shafts. The argument on the factory design etc isn't super valid as the factory built a 4g car with no shafts and the parts to do a BS delete are all OEM. (there are aftermarket ones you should not use). Like you said outside the scope of this discussion.
Plenty to read anyway. I run a 40k belt change interval and don't worry about it. I have gotten bit though. Recently my sons lancer broke a balance shaft belt and took out the tbelt. I should have known. The symptoms were there.
Did you ever figure out why the BSB broke, e.g. oil, water, inferior belt, etc.?

As for the delete, not to get into that whole discussion that I said I wanted to put to the side, but why did you decide not to do it? Again, not looking to debate one way or another or ask you or others to do so, or asking you to "defend" this decision, just curious why. It might help inform my own decision regarding what I end up doing there. The more individual data I have, the more useful.

I recent ordered around $350 from JNZ so no need to convince me there. But I've already purchased most but not all of the TB-associated parts, some in that JNZ order in fact, so I'm good. Still compiling a final list of parts I'll need and it's almost locked down.
Well I've never particularly cared for that old adage, or the related "Stuck in the weeds". There's a time for details and a time for big picture. One doesn't preclude or prevent the other. Big picture is meaningless without details and details need big picture to make sense. Ying, yang, that whole thing.

As for asking vs. searching, I get it, nearly all of this has been covered already. But going through old discussions, no matter how useful, has its limits. It's why good college classes tend to have lecture and recitation sections. The lecture is to get the details, and the recitation is to ask questions and have discussions so you can internalize the details and truly understand them.

People always have questions, and discussions with real people tend to be more effective in understanding certain topics than just reading about them (just as experience is the best teacher). Not everything is a rehash for some, especially newbies. I'm guessing that you tend to agree with this in general but if I've been abusing this then apologies, I'll try not to do it in the future.

And as for Jack's article on why not to delete, I'm not going to ask you to explain why you disagree since you've already done so and it's probably something you'd rather not get into for other reasons, but if I did a search going back several years, would I find discussions where that article or ones like it were fiercely debated, that would perhaps better inform me about this whole issue?
 
Did you ever figure out why the BSB broke, e.g. oil, water, inferior belt, etc.?

As for the delete, not to get into that whole discussion that I said I wanted to put to the side, but why did you decide not to do it? Again, not looking to debate one way or another or ask you or others to do so, or asking you to "defend" this decision, just curious why. It might help inform my own decision regarding what I end up doing there. The more individual data I have, the more useful.
For starters, it's quite a pita to do with the motor in the car. Two there was no evidence of anything on the motor that went wrong, 3 I don't care for daily drivers without balance shafts.
That all being said I did not find anything wrong with the main timing belt or the balance shaft belt, no contamination, no weird marks. nothing. I personally did the install 5 years ago and it had 50k on it. Well below the service interval and it's also a nonturbo car. On my personal turbo car just to rule out crap like this I do a service change at 40k. or 5 years. My talon currently has gates on it. It will not soon. I do not have any objective data to support any brand over another only the same anecdotal things we see here. Nothing real scientific. Even so, I am likely going to install an OEM belt maybe even an evo belt just because I can. Cost isn't an issue. Even the most basic repair like on this lancer was 600$. The $ for repair alone keeps me from installing something cheap even worse if I had aftermarket cams, valves, machine work, etc. I have also only used OEM or aisin hydraulic tensioners. I've also only used OEM or gates pulleys and if I remember the gates kits came with name-brand stuff, or at least the last kits I did had them. Who knows now. If I have to pay for OEM I will do so. I want the OEM NTK, NTN, or KOYO stuff. I would likely also trust timkin. I am by no means a bearing expert I've just seen these brands have been around many many years and stuff I've purchased for many different cars are these brands.
 
For starters, it's quite a pita to do with the motor in the car. Two there was no evidence of anything on the motor that went wrong, 3 I don't care for daily drivers without balance shafts.
That all being said I did not find anything wrong with the main timing belt or the balance shaft belt, no contamination, no weird marks. nothing. I personally did the install 5 years ago and it had 50k on it. Well below the service interval and it's also a nonturbo car. On my personal turbo car just to rule out crap like this I do a service change at 40k. or 5 years. My talon currently has gates on it. It will not soon. I do not have any objective data to support any brand over another only the same anecdotal things we see here. Nothing real scientific. Even so, I am likely going to install an OEM belt maybe even an evo belt just because I can. Cost isn't an issue. Even the most basic repair like on this lancer was 600$. The $ for repair alone keeps me from installing something cheap even worse if I had aftermarket cams, valves, machine work, etc. I have also only used OEM or aisin hydraulic tensioners. I've also only used OEM or gates pulleys and if I remember the gates kits came with name-brand stuff, or at least the last kits I did had them. Who knows now. If I have to pay for OEM I will do so. I want the OEM NTK, NTN, or KOYO stuff. I would likely also trust timkin. I am by no means a bearing expert I've just seen these brands have been around many many years and stuff I've purchased for many different cars are these brands.
To my surprise I'm finding that OEM isn't necessarily that much more expensive if you look around, even from site vendors, or if you're willing to wait on an Amayama order. And of course for critical parts like tensioners, belts, bearings, etc., it's basically a moot issue unless the OEM part is MUCH more expensive and there are excellent non-OEM alternatives, like with the water pump (and, I also found a while back, the TOB, which I got for just over $20 at RA for an NSK, which I believe is an OEM source), or when OEM is actually cheaper, like with kevlar belts. It's really a matter of how much time you want to put into researching OEM vs. non-OEM for any given part, and one's budget situation.

Anyway, thanks for the info (yours and others). Very helpful. I'll do some more research into the historical debate between delete vs. keep, and spare everyone the further rehash and face palms. And putting aside the BS issue, as I stated above I'm more or less going with your approach to parts, OEM for nearly everything TB-related except the WP (Aisin) and BSB (Gates racing). Meaning, TB (OEM EVO, not that much more), pulleys, HT, seals. I'm assuming that the bearings are all good so no need to replace those. Oh, and probably a Fel-Pro valve cover gasket kit. Not a super-critical part and easy to replace.

Btw the trans rebuild is running great. Not that many miles and none highway or above 50mph yet (playing it safe for now), but no issues other than the usual occasional blocking that IIRC has always been an issue with this trans from day one, due to its design, and a very slight oil leak that I'm going to look into right now (basically a very thin film of fresh oil on the bottom of the case, that I'm hoping is overflow from slightly overfilling the case with oil). I'm actually quite shocked that it worked out so well. Hopefully it stays working well.
 
a new(ish) valve cover gasket can be reused multiple times. You do not have to remove cams. The cams have a Hex (under the valve cover) cast in you can grab with a wrench then you can hold them still to get the gears off. Your choice. Either method works. I'm relatively certain you can get the cam gears off but I've always found it much easier to just remove the valve cover to do so. Also once the cover is off and the gears are off I just remove the first cam cap for easy seal replacement. The crank seal is easy, the other two are a little more challenging since you have to remove gears. For what it's worth unless the factory manual calls for Loctite etc generally I don't use it. I have never loctited a crank bolt and I've done dozens. I also do the final torque by getting the car on the ground completely buttoned up. Turn the wheels to the left, insert torque wrench (though the hole in the plastic if necessary), and put the car in 5th gear. I also do not use the square hole I use a socket. This is especially true with removing. I use a socket on an impact gun.
When I finished up with the TB job I used this method to try to torque down the crank bolt but it didn't work as the crank still rotated. In fact it sounded and felt like I could have broken something in the trans, t-case or axles if I continued so I stopped.

However I went from my memory of your advice and put the car in 1st, not 5th. Was that why it didn't work and putting it in 5th would have prevented rotation? I ended up just using a 300ft-lb impact wrench, which is what I've done on several other cars with auto trans, so it's on tight. But for future reference, 5th gear will do the trick?
 
When I finished up with the TB job I used this method to try to torque down the crank bolt but it didn't work as the crank still rotated. In fact it sounded and felt like I could have broken something in the trans, t-case or axles if I continued so I stopped.

However I went from my memory of your advice and put the car in 1st, not 5th. Was that why it didn't work and putting it in 5th would have prevented rotation? I ended up just using a 300ft-lb impact wrench, which is what I've done on several other cars with auto trans, so it's on tight. But for future reference, 5th gear will do the trick?
Yes I use 5th gear and I do it with car on the ground so nothing can move
 
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