Teamteets- thank goodness for people like you who take the time to document your experience, your video and posts along with a few other posts on here gave me the confidence to tackle this repair myself. I am one of the dummies who was completely unaware of this well known issue before buying my used 1997 445 almost 10 years ago and frankly I might have found out the hard way if it weren't for a failed crankcase gasket a month ago after i just started snowblowing (47" snow thrower attachment makes my 445 a year round machine here in CT) I stumbled upon this thread trying to understand how big of a Job it would be to just change the crankcase gasket without pulling the engine and sure enough when I opened her up...plastic! I am at 1069 hrs. So I'm certain this plastic wouldn't have lasted much longer. I had just had the head gaskets replaced a year ago by the pros so I didnt wanna touch them if I could avoid it. I replaced the cam gear, water pump, tappets, springs and obviously all the gaskets, o rings and oil seal easily with all the guidance (& parts lists) on here all while the engine was in place. Runs better than ever.
I thought I'd share in case it helps others ...i don't have one of those handy threaded attachments for my compressor that would allow me to pressurize the cylinders so I could replace valve springs so I used the rope trick. I carefully fed in about 9 or ten feet of clean thin rope (like clothesline) in through the sparkplug opening and then turned crankshaft until the rope was pressed up tight against the valves so I could compress the old springs to remove and press on the new ones. And then backed off the shaft and pulled out the rope VOILA! Oh and one other tip for those who might be making this repair with the engine in place...use Loctite hi tack gasket stick (looks like a big chapstick) to hold your gaskets in place especially that big crankcase gasket in place vertically as you slide the cover back on. Thanks for helping me thru this...first time i made such a repair.
I thought I'd share in case it helps others ...i don't have one of those handy threaded attachments for my compressor that would allow me to pressurize the cylinders so I could replace valve springs so I used the rope trick. I carefully fed in about 9 or ten feet of clean thin rope (like clothesline) in through the sparkplug opening and then turned crankshaft until the rope was pressed up tight against the valves so I could compress the old springs to remove and press on the new ones. And then backed off the shaft and pulled out the rope VOILA! Oh and one other tip for those who might be making this repair with the engine in place...use Loctite hi tack gasket stick (looks like a big chapstick) to hold your gaskets in place especially that big crankcase gasket in place vertically as you slide the cover back on. Thanks for helping me thru this...first time i made such a repair.
