Engine side plates - Fastenings on engine side plates

J

julesridge

New Member
I'm trying to remove the side plate from the engine of my '76 2200tc (from the inlet and exhaust manifold side of the engine). I'm finding the rearmost of the three large bolts at the top of the plate (it has a head like a large slotted screw) a real pig to remove. Has anyone got any hints on how to do this - or even what tools to use (it's too large of any screvdriver, too small for a cro-bar). :angry:
 
I'm not 100% sure, but I don't recall any large slotted screws, just normal bolts. Mind you my side plates were replaced by flat steel items. This may sound silly but are you sure they aren't frost plugs or something?
 
Hi Jules,

I didn't find any troube removing these from my engine but my engine was out of the car.

I did have some difficulty getting the engine mount/bracket bolts out of the block. I tried big mole grip and in deseration I used a big monkey wrench and came off with virtually no effort although that bolt is now shot.

Colin
 
The Rovering Member said:
I was told that flat steel plates played havoc with the cooling. How are you finding them?
Click to expand...
No cooling trouble at all whether pottering about or driven hard. Runs a little hotter than normal when sitting in traffic in the summer, but certainly not enough to be of any concern and comes back down very quickly as soon as I'm on the move again.

But this engine always seemed to run a little warm even before the sideplates were replaced. I have moved the number plate over to the left so make sure full airflow gets to the radiators and oil cooler though.
 
Hi

I have recently removed the side plates from my S1 2000, a very worthwhile job, about 1 1/2" of crud & debris was removed!

I too had problems removing the third slotted thread bolt. I removed the retaining nut and ripped the side plate off (this was going to be replaced) the threaded section holds this in place. Once the side plate had been removed it was a simple matter to use mole grips to unscrew the slotted thread, which was now scrap.

I had a spare engine and the slotted thread was easily undone, so no problems there with a replacement. With new gaskets and side plates, all clean inside, should be ok for a number of years.

Oh yes, I had removed the engine from the car, so much easier than trying to faff about in the engine bay, allow a weekend for the work.

Good luck

Gary
 
Thanks very much chaps, that's very useful indeed. I should have said, but yes, the engine's out of the car and I have a spare (currently installed in the car...), so I shall tear off the sideplate and go from there - cheers.
 
To remove a jammed threaded stud.

1) screw on two nuts , turn them in opposite directions until they lock very tightly together and then use the rear most nut to unscrew the stud. Thicker nuts work best as they have more thread.

2) Buy a tool - stud extractors are not expensive - they slide over the stud and grip it using a cam - this can crush the thread but has the advantage of also working on plain sections of a stud. The stripped section can usually be "re-cut" by running a nut down it. Otherwise a die may be required.

3) If you can obtain a new stud - then spin a nut onto the old one and weld it in place - you now have a good purchase and the heat may well have loosened the stud... (works for broken bolts - stripped studs - just weld on a suitably sized nut)

4) In case you need to do the job again later smear a little copperslip onto the threads as you reassemble - this will help to prevent them binding and corroding again.

5) Pin holes in side panels can be effectively repaired using "plumbers lead" or "body solder" as used by traditional coachbuilders. Supplies are available from www.frost.co.uk
 
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