No, not that type, ya perv. My FIL is in the hospital with some health issues and my bride wants to be there for him. Since we are down to one working vehicle, I need to run her over there. I decided to get up early and get some shop work done before I head across town. I actually managed to reach the shop at 7:45 with coffee in hand. So I need to pick a couple of quick items and get something accomplished.
I decide to finish cleaning the exhaust manifolds so i can shoot them with some paint. I go straight for the wire wheel on the drill and set the manifold up on the large aluminum step I use to reach the engine in the truck. It is about 24″ off the ground and with a moving blanket on it the manifold is stable and doesn’t move around too much. It also allows me to sit in a chair while working on it. Yes I know I am fat and could use the exercise, but I also know it is already 85º and 65% humidity and if I want to be able to work again this afternoon I better pace myself.
I finish the wire brushing and give the manifolds a quick under coat of 2000º paint. This is bear metal and I would really like to have the paint stick and stay. I have no idea why other than budget why they didn’t come this way from the factory. Anyway, while the first coat dries I get on to the next task.
I need to find the old distributor I replaced earlier. I spend about 15 minutes looking through various piles of old parts and bins that might hold useful stuff. No luck, then I think about the donor engine, I don’t even remember if it had a distributor. But I check the tub I put all it’s parts in and bingo. Not the same type of distributor but using some calipers I check the parts under to top on the shaft that will be used to create a seal inside the engine and to turn the oil pump. They all match so this is my new donor for the tool. I put it on the bench to work on and go shoot the top coat of silver 2000º paint on the exhaust manifolds. They look awesome!
If they manage to keep anything close to this look after getting hot I will be very pleased. Right now I have a cap on the pipe fitting that feeds up to the EGR valve. I was planning on blocking it off since it tends to clog the fuel injectors, but I don’t have anything to re-program the computer to ignore the EGR and I also hear that it lowers your MPG on the highway and I can use all the efficiency I can get. It also seems that if the injectors or more correctly “poppets” get clogged. A can of seafoam cleaner will easily fix the issue and clean the lower intake manifold passages at the same time. So I will try to clean up that pipe and attach it when the manifolds go back on.
The donor distributor needs a little work to become an oil pump primer tool. I need to remove the cap , rotor and pickups and possibly the top plate to be able to attach a drill to the top. And the bottom will only be able to run freely if the gears that mesh with the camshaft are ground off.
The gears ground off pretty easily and the shaft cleaned up well with the wire brush. I still need to removed the rest of the top but it looks like it is going to work fine for the job as oil pump primer.
I started on taking the power steering pump apart and looked down at the time. Two hours had already passed and I needed another coffee. I decide to call it a morning and head back up. It was productive and now I can see the finish line. Let me make a quick list of what is left to get Black Betty back on the road.
On the Underside of the truck:
- Connect the three flex plate to torque converter bolts
- install the bottom bell housing cover
- Install the bottom rods from the bell housing to the engine mounts.
- connect the O2sensor wiring.
- Install the starter motor and wiring
- install the upper bell housing bolts. (maybe easier from below)
From the topside:
- run the oil pump primer while rotating the engine by hand (making sure each of the lifters gets pumped up and has oil pushing out of the rockers.
- torque the vibration damper bolt to 70 ft lbs
- remove the antifreeze and the missing nut from the exhaust crossover pipe.
- remove rust from manifold bolts and paint bolt heads
- install the exhaust manifolds to the block.
- attach the manifolds to the exhaust pipes.
- Make sure all ground wires are mounted to the back of the engine.
- Attach the wiring harness to the firewall and inside the passenger side
- Install the distributor, wires and spark plugs
- install the wiring harness across the engine to the front cam shaft sensor
- install the temperature sensors on the heads
- Install the water temperature sensor into the intake manifold
- clean up and install the water neck and thermostat.
- install the harness connector for the knock sensor
- install the water pump hoses to the heater hoses.
- Install pcv valve and hosing
- Install vacuum lines
- Connect the harness to the injector block and other intake sensors
- Clean, paint and install the front pulley mounts.
- rebuild the power steering pump and install
- Clean and Paint the alternator (maybe)
- Install the AC compressor without connecting it (another project)
- Install the serpentine belt
- Install the fan and shroud
- install the top radiator hose
- Install the cold air intake
- Install the throttle cables
- Install the new cruise control cable and box
- Install the Battery
And that’s about it.
