To get the timing cover off I pulled the starter motor out just far enough to reveal the ring gear. You don't need to remove the exhaust manifold for this as you only need to pull the starter enough to get something in one of the holes in the ring gear to jam it so you can undo and re-tighten the starter dog on the crank pulley.
Someone had previously knocked the heads off the crank seal mud plate rivets and pried it away in order to fit a new front crank seal without removing the timing cover. This is why the mud plate was spinning loose on the crank shaft behind the pulley.
I drifted out the remains of the old rivets and tapped new M4 threads in their place so anyone can now replace the front crank seal without removing the timing cover, but also still secure a mud plate properly to protect the seal. I fit a new seal while I was here.
I fit the new water pump at the same time the timing cover went back on and so I've left things much better than how I found them. I'll get the rad installed with new hoses soon and fill her up with some new coolant and start her up to see if everything is water tight now and if the new thermostat is working properly.
 |
| Jamming the starter ring gear |
 |
| Under the timing cover |
 |
| Tapping M4 threads for new mud plate fixings |
 |
| Back together.. |
