Aargh! and other things from working inside the dash

I use lifting straps, but you surely have some chain lying around.

 

The chain I had, I can't find, and I don't remember if I gave it to the guy that bought my F4TE 351W when I sold it, or to the guy that bought my cherry picker when I sold it; I searched through my storage a few days ago without finding it.

 

Get a Clevis hook to use as an adapter for the the larger hook up on the lift.

 

You could always sacrifice a couple of wire coat hangers to tie it up

 

YEA thats it a Clevis (very smart answer ) why did i think of that

 

Or get a smaller hook for the lift, probably less expensive.

 

I'll keep both the clevis and the secondary hook in mind, otherwise, I'll just buy another chain.

 

So I went to Lowe's, and the largest clevises they had in stock, I couldn't guarantee they would fit over the hook, so I opted to buy a new hank of chain, and I'll just bolt it to the lifting plate. Problem solved.

 

Engine and trans are out. Pics to come later. Found some metal shavings and a metal piece on the back gallery, but I don't see any damage back on the block, the flexplate or the separator plate, so I'm currently puzzled. The rear main has been leaking but it's getting changed anyway. As soon as I get the engine on the stand, I'll pull the tin, front cover and manifolds.

 

Probably just your sidereal governor.
Those things break all the time.

 

Ha. Ha.

 

Pics to post up in a little while.

 

So, today's efforts--I finally got the engine and trans pulled. As you can see, it's a filth monster. The exhaust manifold is from the donor, as evidenced by the junk oxygen sensor plugging the bung.



Here's a partial shot of the boom and rigging in the garage. The chainfall's rated for 3 tons; however, I wouldn't want to test the boom and stanchion to that weight, no matter how close the load was to the stanchion. And yes, there will be a corner mancave, complete with bar, TV, stereo, etc.



You can see the size of the hook, and how I solved lifting everything out.



Here's a closer close-up of the oil dipstick and timing cover. On this 351W, it had EEC II carburetion, so there was a crank sensor (you can see the reluctor on the damper) with cast bracket. All I did was cut it off, then drilled the cast boss the approximate diameter of the aftermarket dipstick tube.

 

So I've been finally working on getting the tin, timing cover and manifolds removed to clean them up and install new gaskets and seals, especially the timing cover. I pulled the damper and then put it back on to the crank snout to take a look at the seal lip, and it does appear to be a couple RPH's less pressure at the 6:00 position, and attempting to roll the lip at 12:00. If the machinist had said "Don't use the locating dowels," I wouldn't have, so I'll be using John's method of setting the timing cover to make the seal cover uniformly. With the very small amount of change to make the seal cover better, I was originally concerned about the oil pan gaskets and front pan lip seal, but I think it should not be a problem. That is what black spooge RTV is for, is it not?

 

Yeah, when floating the cover, if it is high at noon, you need to take a close look at the curved area of the pan/cover interface when installing the oil pan. RTV will work in the flat areas on the sides, but not so well there. A strip of gasket material approx. the thickness of the amount raised installed between the gasket and the cover will ensure a good seal.
Doing it with the pan on can be done, but is a bit more complicated. You have it out, so do it the easy way. Anyway, a pan installed with the engine upside down is far less likely to leak from any point.

 

That is the plan, the pan will be the last to go on, in order to ensure the timing cover is good and set before attaching the pan.

 

Also:



These look a ton better. I'm sure part of it was getting the choke thermostat installed and properly set. These have about 7-8K miles on them. And when I pulled the timing cover and valve covers, cleanliness abounded.

 

Pulled the oil pan:



Very clean for 30+K miles and running too rich. There was only just a very tiny layer of schmutz, which you can see.



Banged on all the caps, no hollow sounds. Went ahead and pulled the rear main cap to replace the rear main seal, the babbitt on the bearing was still intact, with only the absolutely barest rotational wear and no thrust wear visible. Even when I went to retorque the cap, there just was the most minimal thrust on the crank. Thank God for newer oil formulas, because this rig sat for over a decade versus the time I drove it (to include the small amount of time Dale drove it).

 

The Gong Show was fun at the time, but a plastigauge is the go/nogo test.

 

I used Plastiguage when I built it, and it was in the sweet spot at that time, so with the very small amount of wear on the babbitt, I saw no need to do it again. The oil pressure comes on instantly on startup and the needle stays halfway, even on a hot day, so I see no reason to do or suspect anything. I'm just thrilled it's acting so good these many years later.