Matt Drayer's Journal

It's finally time to reassemble the engine. It's been sitting on its stand for long enough, and I've basically done everything I can at this point on the project to get the car ready for its reinstallation, so there's no other choice now but to put it back together.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intimidated about reassembly. I'm particularly anxious about getting the camshaft timing right. Not only is this a critical function of the engine, but getting it wrong isn't 100% evident until you actually start the engine -- that's when you determine if it all needs to be torn down again. Part of my anxiety stems from the fact that I didn't make any reference marks on the timing gear during disassembly, which was a total newbie mistake -- so this really feels like a gamble although I've been reading and watching as much as possible to increase my chances of getting it right.

I'm additionally terrified of oil leaks. The entire engine bay was absolutely coated when we brought the car home. It wasn't really clear where the leak was coming from because we couldn't get it running. The logical culprit was the timing cover, or maybe the cover's oil seal. But what if it was something else? Something more...structural?

I wish I'd tried a bit harder to start the car back on Day 1. Even if we got it running for just a few minutes it would have been good information to work with. However, I was excited to get into the project and I simply rolled up my sleeves and quickly got to work. Another newbie mistake. Life lessons!

<br/>Marblehead MG - Episode 30: Timing Chain and Cover