After my tail of woe regarding the piston and ring failure on my little B21 (See the Pre-war thread if interested) I want (no, need) to flush out the crankcase to make sure no debris remains - I DO NOT WANT TO BREAK THE BOTTOM END DOWN AT THIS POINT (which ultimately would be the ideal thing to do I suppose but it's not happening at the moment!).
So, to aid me in this task I have a couple of questions if I may?
1) Can the oil pump be removed and put back easily from the engine with it in the frame and, perhaps more importantly, what points do I need to look out for e.g. shaft, gear or whatever alignment, gaskets, bolts to remove or not remove etc etc?
2) I think (if my understanding of the Parts Book is correct) that in my engine the timing shaft/wheels/cams etc have a retaining/bearing plate underneath the outside case so can I just remove the timing side outside crankcase cover to clean/make sure no debris is lurking there whilst leaving the valve timing etc intact?
With the oil pump removed for separate cleaning, my plan is to flush the crankcase through with paraffin or similar and dry/clean out with compressed air to ensure any debris is released and expelled. Similarly, with the timing side cover removed that area will be similarly treated.
TIA
Alan