the keyword above is most, mine does not leak.

 

Nor does mine, oddly enough. We must have good Karma.

 

we either have good Karma, or a good Kar

 

I guess I am hoping for alot of BOTH to get this cat up and running. I will make some more progress this weekend.

 

Unfortunately, my mind was running in the same track as Doug's. Every sign of a neglected cooling system, overheating and a consequent blown head gasket. Not good, but sitting that way for years means the insiode of the engine is nigh on to hopeless. if ypou just have to have the oroginal block, it is going to mean six nw sleeves and a bunch of other stuff. i can see a seven grand bill if outsourced, mebbe half if you do the dissasembly and assembly and shop out the machine work. Just guessing on the costs. years ago, i was quoted something like that in about 2001 for my similar car. It isn't similar any more.

Removing the bonnett, top cross bar, radiator and conmdensor makes removing then engine trans as a unit doable. Use a strong cherry picker, the thigs are heavy. The clearance at the frot bumper is tight, so protect it as the engine comes out over it.

I placed a soft blanket on the roof and the inverted bonnett on it. It stayed that way for years til i fired it again!!

Don't waste time and energy on that lump, it's done for.

The car is well worth saving, one way or another. See my pics in the garage!!

New comer here.

Carl

 

 

 

I am just getting the hang of navigating Windows 7 and this site and a new to me desk top!!!''


I am way behind. You have visited David Boger and got another engine.

All Right!!!!

Carl

 

I was too, as soon as a bucket of water came out of the oil sump, I knew this was going to get ugly. I have been looking on line for rebuild parts, and machine work. My original plan was to keep this block and take my time tearing it down and reassembling it. Now, I don’t know. I think I will tear it down, and take it down to my machine shop for inspection. If the block does need sleeves – then the story of this heroic 4.2 comes to a close. If it can be bored, then maybe I will get a piece at a time completed as I can afford it. I saw one place in Texas that will rebuild the engine with various mods adding 50 plus horsepower – but the price tag – 15K. That’s not going to happen unless my quick pick hits tonight…

I finally got it out yesterday. I originally had no intention of pulling the trans. After I spoke with Dave, he reminded me it was only 4 more bolts to pull the trans intact with the 4.2. Then I remembered - it’s locked. How do I turn the flywheel to get the engine disconnected? So, I pulled the whole unit. And it was not difficult at all.

I had some problems getting the prop shaft disconnected – the way I had the car in the air, the wheels kept it from spinning, I had to lower it and move things around some. The manual tells me to prepare to lower the gearshift selector with the engine, but when I was underneath it was obvious that was not for my model – I just disconnected the linkage. I also noted my trans mount looks like it melted. It’s strange – the plastic/rubber looks like a candle with wax running down the side. I assume this was due to sitting for years soaked in engine oil and trans fluid? I don’t know if I need to change this or not.

The only minor casualty was the aux fan - the engine sump grabbed a hold of it when it swung, and bent the housing. It can be bent back - but I think I will probably do an upgrade on the cooling system anyway. My clutch is fine on the fan, but the blades are all cracked. I’m thinking electric fan mounted in the housing in place of the stock unit. One large and one small. I saw a guy on line did this with his 12cyl and it looked good. Anyway, the next step is to work on the inner wings - corrosion and years of crap is caked on everything. That will take me some time. I’m going to start with one corner, and work all the way around. Pull the harnesses away, remove the garbage, and reseal with hi-temp enamel. I would like to get this in near perfect condition for the donor engine before install. Once I have some cash on hand, I will take the trans down for service. Out of the car, you can see how truly tiny this trans is. I don’t think it should cost too much to open it up and put a re-build kit in. We shall see.

I really like the look of the older cam covers. I did some research into what it takes to polish the covers – and I am not equipped. I then looked at getting them powder coated – and that’s 250 bucks here locally – looks like that is out too – I need too many other parts. Probably just a good sand, clean, and engine enamel.

Also – note the bonnet on the roof on an old comforter – great minds think alike. I am limited on space in my little garage. I don’t trust putting it anywhere with the kids around, and I don’t want it damaged. On the roof, where I can keep an eye on it is the perfect solution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am still working on cleaning up the engine bay. This so far has been the most labor intensive. I have removed the harness's and the boxes. I am currently sanding all the old crud off. We have seen a large amount of rain, and I have been throwing some primer on the metal before I quit for the night. (So, ignore the runs - I will take all of that off before I am happy with the prep work.) Eventually, I have a quart of POR-15 - jet black - to cover the wings. With an engine enamel chaser - topcoat. I am hoping next weekend I can move on to other sections after application. I pulled the engine mounts off so I can just sit in the bay and work from there. I sanded off the majority of the prints on my right hand - so I am moving to a dremel tool. I should have worn gloves...

 

I found a mouse nest behind the vacuum can on the drivers wing. I ended up pulling the master and diaphram to access the whole area. Plus the master needs new seals anyway.

 

Great work going on there! As a suggestion, why not use epoxy primer (could have used that first) and then topcoat, or primer filler in between the epoxy and top coat. Save the POR-15 for the chassis or other bits you can't get all the rust off.

It might also be a good idea to pop the sump off (which you are going to do anyway) and remove some of the main bearing caps, thrust bearings and big end caps to check the condition of the bearings. If they are worn it's a good time to replace them, could be worth doing even if they look ok.

 

I bought an "Etching" primer that is supposed to be precursor for the POR-15. I figured I would hit it with the good stuff as I am concerned with some of the edges where the sheetmetal merges. I cant get them totally rust free without breaking welds - and I dont want to do this again. The rest of the car is actually in pretty good shape rust wise.

As far as the bearings - For this engine - do they need to be matched/measured to the crank? Or can you just buy a set of bearings - I see them on E-bay for about 100 bucks... I have to pull the sump anyway - the oil pan needs replacement. I plan on checking the oil pump and runners, and I assume I may need to look at the crank seals fore and aft.
I agree, NOW is the time to grab any easy bottom end work - but I have it on good authority that this engine is a good runner - I dont want to throw some bearing in and cause problems. You read the manual and it reccomends all of the lower end stuff be measured and matched. I would imagine any good manual will drive you in this direction.... but is this neccesary?

 

Matching means Std. .010, .020 .030 and so forth.

If the crank is as it left the factory, it is more likely than ot, std. Therefore, std bearings should fit just about right. The bearings may or may not bear the size.

The only real way to determine the crank pin journal diameter is with a micrometer and the skill to read it properly. it can also determne wear condition. Taper, egg shape. for example.

Odds are that the engine you got from David is healthy and not in need of rod or main bearings.

However, as long as the sump is off, a visual exam is wise. you can learn a lot by looking at the bearing and the journal. Scores, base metal showing, etc.

And, the junk in the sump. Dirt, congealed lube, and worst of all, tiny specs of bearing babbitt. OTH, a noce clen sump means good maintenance by the PO and lots of life ahead as is.


Great work on the detailing.

Carl

 

I will post some pics when I get there.