7MGE total rebuild plz help!

[El_supracabra]

So I am a long time reader but brand new member of Supra forums. So Hello all!

I am a first time supra owner, and of course it blew the headgasket last fall. Its been in surgery every since. I have rebuilt SEVERAL chevy engines and 1 22RE toyota engine. but never a 7M.

My prob is this, the machine shop had to mill 7 thousandths off the block deck. didnt seem like much to worry about until i put the cometic MLS head gasket on and realized that there was a slight ridge from the block to the timing cover. I asked my machine shop what to do, they said just loosen the bolts on the timing cover and bolt the head down, (it will force it flush) and use a small dab of silicone on the joint. I did so, but now i am wondering about the seals on the crank (front main) and the countershaft seal. Wont this distort the seal with all that pressure pushing down on them? and cause a leak?

Has anyone had any problems with this? if so did you have to mill the timing cover? if so please help!

Thanks again!

[btwilson86]

Typically when you have the block machined, you would have the lower timing cover on so that it is machined with it. At this point, I'm not sure what to do. Loosening it up and then forcing the head down on it sounds like a recipe for disaster

[cre]

Originally Posted by btwilson86

Loosening it up and then forcing the head down on it sounds like a recipe for disaster

It is. It's a sloppy fix and I can't believe the shop recommended it. Whenever you have three mating surfaces you ALWAYS want the parallel surfaces machined together (like in this case).

Pull the plate and have it milled (you'll have to pull the head too). If it's cut a fraction lower, that's fine, use a thin bead of REALLY GOOD FIPG to ensure a proper seal (and don't forget to put the FIPG in the two places indicated in the TSRM). If the timing plate is cut a little lower it's not a huge deal. If it's cut any higher at all or a significant amount lower you're going to have trouble.

And find another shop.

[El_supracabra]

Thank you for your answer. I can't say that it is what I wanted to hear though. I have the engine almost completely assembled too....*sigh* looks like I will need to strip it back down to the bare block and take it back to the machine shop for them to mill that cover. THAT SUCKS!!!!

Wait a min. How can you "center" the cover on the front of the block if you don't have the crank/seal in it? Ugh this is becoming a serious headache.....

[El_supracabra]

well, i called the machine shop. My machinist "had never heard of this happening before" and has milled "hundreds of blocks, with this style timing cover". *rolls eyes*

So instead of completely tearing down my freshly rebuilt engine, i have decided to remove the head, loosen the bolts in the timing cover and "re-center" the timing cover on the seals. Then i used the step down measurement of a dial caliper to determine how much my timing cover was off. It measured EXACTLY .015" (i measured it 3 times) , well my machinist claims he only took .007" off the deck. Im not buying it.

so i am just taking my timing cover in, and having it milled down by .015"

do you think i should replace the front main and oil pump shaft seals? *they were new before I torqued the head down, but were slightly distorted by forcing the timing cover down*