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A tale of my woes

Old Jun 6, 2010 | 09:27 AM
  #21  
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After you pull the heads isn't it just a matter of dropping the oil pan and taking the piston loose then pull it out, hone the cylinder wall and snap on some new rings then re-assemble?
 
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Old Jun 6, 2010 | 09:47 AM
  #22  
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yes. its not the cleanest and most convenient working area, but you can do the rings, piston, rod bearing that way.

edit - by the way, your other compression's are great. is there any way that your leak down can be in the heads or head gasket into the oil tubes?
 

Last edited by dhvaughan; Jun 6, 2010 at 09:49 AM.
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Old Jun 7, 2010 | 04:53 PM
  #23  
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I'm feeling optimistic it is not the heads or the head gaskets. although I am feeling a little concerned about the previous owners mechanical ability.

As I was pulling off the kegger, the bolts closest to cylinder 6 (the one that was getting coolant into it) were almost FINGER TIGHT!!

once I had the kegger off I pulled the plenum pan and the 3 bolts on the back side of the kegger were FINGER TIGHT. The plenum gasket was intact, but the amount of oil on the pan was scary! I took some pics and will post them in a bit.

I am still going to take the heads off and have them checked out at a machine shop, I figure i'm this deep into the engine, might as well keep going all the way.
 
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Old Jun 7, 2010 | 04:55 PM
  #24  
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^^ Welcome to the world of used vehicles and having bought one from the infamous "Previous Owner".
 
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Old Jun 7, 2010 | 07:28 PM
  #25  
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Heres some pics of what I found...


lots of room to work







My plenum pan






Does this look like a intake leak?


 
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Old Jun 7, 2010 | 08:19 PM
  #26  
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Compared to when my engine was dismantled, yours is very clean.
 
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Old Jun 7, 2010 | 08:45 PM
  #27  
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Don't forget to remove that chunk of old gasket lying on the side of the #2 intake pushrod! It looks like your cooling system could stand some de-scaling and flushing, too.

Edited to add: I mention the piece of gasket only because it's hiding in a place that's hard to see if you're directly in front of or above the valley, not to suggest that you lack attention to detail.
 
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Old Jun 7, 2010 | 09:43 PM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by calgaryman
Last night I decided to adjust the steering wheel as it sits a little crooked. I got it all adjusted and it was sitting straight I was tightening the collar bolts and the ratchet slips off the bolt and wacks me in the forehead. Blood start pouring out like a garden hose. The wife was saying I needed to get stitches but I had a bottle of crazy glue on my work bench. Couple of drops and the cut was fixed. Back out to the garage I go and finish up the job. Piece of cake...

Morning time comes. Looking all over the house for the keys. CRAP! forgot them in the truck last night! Go outside and truck is still there. Phew... go to start it and battery was dead. No biggie, my own fault. Grab the charger and put it on the truck. Run back into the house for a few minutes and putt around. Come back out 10 minutes later. Fired right up. Walk around to the front to take the cables off. WTF!!! Huge, I MEAN HUGE cloud of white smoke coming from the tail pipe. Right away I knew.... f$%K! Turn the truck off and pull the oil dip stick, sure enough filled to the top with coolant.

Me and the neighbour will prob pull the heads off this weekend and have a look. I suspect cracked heads. Right now I am on the fence what I want to do at this point.

There is 270,000 KM (167000 mi) I had low compression in one cylinder I had it chalked up as a bad ring, but at this point I don’t know if that was the case.

Debating if I should just
A) find a donor engine from a wrecked truck for under $500 and swap it in.
B) Pull the heads to see where it is leaking from. Repair if gaskets.

Not sure if it will be worth replacing the heads on this engine if the rings are indeed gone.
what kind of wrench did you use to turn that sleeve under your truck? my steering wheel is sitting crooked still. i have shot some pb blaster onto the sleeve and the two bolts. i just cant figure out what wrench to use. i have yet to try a pipe wrench but most other wrenches i cant get a grip or leverage on it. any ideas man? and sorry to hear you got hit in the head and your motor issue.
 
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Old Jun 7, 2010 | 09:52 PM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by truegent81
what kind of wrench did you use to turn that sleeve under your truck? my steering wheel is sitting crooked still. i have shot some pb blaster onto the sleeve and the two bolts. i just cant figure out what wrench to use. i have yet to try a pipe wrench but most other wrenches i cant get a grip or leverage on it. any ideas man? and sorry to hear you got hit in the head and your motor issue.
Pipe wrench works great. That's what I use.
 
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Old Jun 7, 2010 | 09:55 PM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by truegent81
what kind of wrench did you use to turn that sleeve under your truck? my steering wheel is sitting crooked still. i have shot some pb blaster onto the sleeve and the two bolts. i just cant figure out what wrench to use. i have yet to try a pipe wrench but most other wrenches i cant get a grip or leverage on it. any ideas man? and sorry to hear you got hit in the head and your motor issue.
The wrench I hit myself with was when I was trying to loosen the 2 collar locking bolts. I was pulling down and it slipped off the bolt and wacked me in the head.

Once you loosen those two bolts use a flat blade screwdriver and put it in the small gap. I have found when you use a wrench, like a pipe wrench, you end up "squeezing" the collar and making it more difficult on yourself.
 
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