87 savage wrote on 06/24/13 at 16:42:05:Winterwalker, yup you will have to drain the oil before pulling the stator cover. If he did remove the cover I would imagine he used a new cover gasket. If he didn't use sealer on both sides ( or neither side) you should be able to reuse it. If you do decide to pull the cover, the magnets on the rotor hang on like hell, so don't go nuts trying to pry it off with a screwdriver. Once you verify you have pulled ALL the bolts, you will have to rock the cover off the pins. If you have to stick something between the cover and the crankcase, use wood or plastic shims, it WILL come off.
Good luck
Thanks Savage! I would have hated to start cracking it open only to have oil pour out everwhere.
I'm not assuming anything in this case - a reliable mechanic very likely would have used a new gasket, but through my dealings with this guy, he's proven to be a total moron and has cut corners at every opportunity. So, I'm not betting on finding a shiny new gasket in there.
Thanks for the tip about the magnets!
Charon, Dave, y'all were absolutely right - the washer is installed on the gear that meshes with the starter. I was unable to move the gear in either direction by hand and I could actually feel the washer sitting on the starter side of the gear.
I'm beyond ticked off at this "mechanic" - this is only one of a ridiculous series of issues I've had with this guy. If he wasn't such a dofus I'd insist that he fix it at his cost.
If anyone in or around Boston is interested to know who the mechanic is in order to avoid the shop, PM me.
Anyway... I picked up a Clymer and as far as I can tell, taking the Stator cover off seems to require removing the drive belt and pulley - is that accurate, or is it possible to remove the stator cover without going through that?
Can anyone give me a ballpark estimate of how much time it will take to cary out this fix including breakdown and assembly time?
Thank you all so much! I've been pulling my hair out for over a month trying to troubleshoot this issue and getting no where until now!