Community Forums

DeOrellana · 09-15-2016, 11:51 AM

So I did a little engine work today. I left the engine and transmission lying outside under a tarp until I could separate them and put them on pallets so I could put them in storage.

So I got my trusty back hoe and carried them over to a couple of pallets I put out.

On to the pallets it went. Not the prettiest thing to look at.

After a few choice words with rusted bolts, the engine was pretty much stripped of everything except the exhaust manifolds. The exhaust manifold bolt heads are too rusted to get any grip on. I'll have to take care of that indoors.

DeOrellana · 09-17-2016, 10:39 AM

The engine saga continues...

It's a nice sunny day so out I went to separate the engine and transmission. Taking the load off the connection between the two with the back hoe made short order of getting them separated.

I'm used to separating the transmission from the engine when the transmission is still in the car. This was much easier. Just a bit of lift on the back hoe and off the transmission came. No sweat!

And all I was left with now was a rusty engine.

With the transmission and all the ancillaries gone, it was time to get the engine into the shop.

The garage door to the shop feels really small when navigating a hoe with an engine attached. Not much room for error.

And there it is on a pallet in the shop ready for removing the exhaust manifolds.

Gordon Dewald · 09-17-2016, 10:43 AM

Erik - really like the photographs and the descriptors. Almost like being there and seeing it happen. Thanks.

DeOrellana · 09-17-2016, 10:46 AM

The paint on the lathe gearbox has dried enough to mount on the lathe.

It's heavy and awkward and not the easiest to maneuver when hanging from the engine hoist.

I sealed all of the edges of the gearbox mating surfaces with black oil resistant silicone. Somebody had previously shoved pieces of rubber in there, but I figured that silicone would be better at sealing it. After that, it was lowered into place.

The gearbox is snugged down with the polished bolts. Only one side of the gearbox is painted, and the cap for the main shaft I will paint after the gearbox is trued in place.

DeOrellana · 09-17-2016, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon Dewald

Erik - really like the photographs and the descriptors. Almost like being there and seeing it happen. Thanks.

You're welcome!

DeOrellana · 09-17-2016, 10:59 AM

My storage space is on the second story, and I have a ceiling hoist that lifts stuff to the storage space. Unfortunately it cannot lift a whole big block at once. :(

But I'm hoping that it can lift a short block...According to the internet, a short block 454 weighs about 280 lbs, and my hoist can lift about 330 lbs. I'll have to try it and see.

That will also give me a good idea of what the inside of the engine looks like. It ran fairly well, but it did use a bit of coolant.

The exhaust bolts were quite the chore to get off. Some of the heads had rusted round so you couldn't get any tool on them. The ones furthest out I could cut with an angle grinder, but the ones in the center turned out to give me some grief. I ended up welding rebar to the bolts and using a pipe wrench to break them loose. This involved hitting the end of the rebar with a mallet, trying to break the bolt loose, hitting it again, etc. I have been going out and spraying with penetrating oil every now and then over the summer, but they were stuck. Fortunately they all finally broke loose.

Note that the top one and the one on the bottom are twisted once complete turn before the bolt gave.

DeOrellana · 09-17-2016, 12:16 PM

The continued dismantling of the engine went fairly easy.

All of the bolts for the intake manifold came undone without any problems.

At least the inside of the engine looked good.

Once the intake was removed along with the valve covers, all of the push rods and rockers were removed and placed in order for placement in individual plastic bags so I know their order later.

The head bolts gave me a worry. They looked like the exhaust bolts did, and I was afraid that some of them would need to be welded.

As it turned out, this is the only one that gave me any real trouble. It's hard to see in the picture, but the bottom of the bolt head is rusted away so you can't get a socket to grip.

I ended up grinding down the head of the bolt flush with the head. I couldn't find any other cutting implement that could fit in the recess except for the die grinder. After a while of grinding and little sharp metal cuttings everywhere the head came loose.

The left bank had surprisingly little wear on the cylinder walls, and all of the pistons looked good.

Guess I know where my coolant has been going!

spinroch · 09-17-2016, 03:58 PM

Erik: This is my first post since joining irv2. I have read every post in your amazing renovation thread. I must say, I am MORE than impressed! Please tell us more about yourself and where you got some of your experience that taught you to do this incredible work. I have gut rehabbed rvs myself, but you Rule!

r___r · 09-17-2016, 06:13 PM

Your doing such a great job with the lathe, I am eager to see what you'll do with the engine, next.

Rich

DeOrellana · 09-18-2016, 02:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by r___r

Your doing such a great job with the lathe, I am eager to see what you'll do with the engine, next.

Rich

Thanks Rich! The engine is going in storage until I decide what to do with it. I don't need an engine for a while, and should anything happen to it I'd rather it happen before I rebuild it. I'm not even sure I'll reuse the engine, as you might have read some posts back.

So covered in storage oil and into a plastic bag it goes...

DeOrellana · 09-18-2016, 03:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spinroch

Erik: This is my first post since joining irv2. I have read every post in your amazing renovation thread. I must say, I am MORE than impressed! Please tell us more about yourself and where you got some of your experience that taught you to do this incredible work. I have gut rehabbed rvs myself, but you Rule!

Welcome to iRV2!

This is my first RV renovation, but I've been working on vehicles and other stuff ever since I can remember. Cars, tractors, trucks, and whatever else came across my path. No formal training, just hands on experience and a love for all kinds of technologies. No one in my family worked on any kind of technical stuff when I was growing up, so I had to teach myself. I ended up building myself my first computer when I was a kid back in the late 70's. You couldn't buy them back then, so I built my own so I could learn programming.

I did work as a part time mechanic for a short while in college, but that's it for any kind of work in the field. I would bring my tools and work on cars at peoples homes.

I mostly work as a software architect designing safety critical systems, and I chair a couple of international industry standardization efforts. In my spare time I teach programming, electronics and mechatronics using the hands-on method to kids (my "kids" are 8 to 67, mostly young girls and older men) in my local small country town here in Sweden.

Not sure what else I can tell you about me, but that's it in a nut shell.

greggshere · 09-18-2016, 07:17 AM

Erik you sound like an awesome guy and role model. I wish you were my neighbor, as we sound very similar in our likes and experiences. I don't teach though or act as a role model. I admire your drive and capabilities.

GlennLever · 09-18-2016, 07:49 AM

I typed my fingers away, did not realize the question you posed to me on the fan was not in your thread, I didn't want you to miss the responce so here is a link to what I said. http://www.irv2.com/forums/f65/thoug...ml#post3258868

Engines...

Guess where this engine came from? It came out of a....wait for it... a Motor Home.

It is a Gen V.

Oil tip

First step was to wash all the outside of the engine and try to get it to look as nice as the inside of the engine (with the intake and valve covers off it looked like a new engine inside).

Out came the power washer. It always seems like I am using this thing in weather that I am afraid that it will freeze in (read that as it was cold).

In this case it was also in the dark (the snow blower was just in the way so it was moved outside)

It is "basically stock", this will be my wife's Gasser when done. It does not look to bad when cleaned up.

Oh, one more thing, it will have an electric fan

DeOrellana · 09-18-2016, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlennLever

I typed my fingers away, did not realize the question you posed to me on the fan was not in your thread, I didn't want you to miss the responce so here is a link to what I said. http://www.irv2.com/forums/f65/thoug...ml#post3258868

Engines...

Guess where this engine came from? It came out of a....wait for it... a Motor Home.

It is a Gen V.

Oil tip

First step was to wash all the outside of the engine and try to get it to look as nice as the inside of the engine (with the intake and valve covers off it looked like a new engine inside).

Out came the power washer. It always seems like I am using this thing in weather that I am afraid that it will freeze in (read that as it was cold).

In this case it was also in the dark (the snow blower was just in the way so it was moved outside)

It is "basically stock", this will be my wife's Gasser when done. It does not look to bad when cleaned up.

Oh, one more thing, it will have an electric fan

Looks fantastic! I love looking at other people's projects and getting inspired (read "want to do that too!"), don't you?

And thanks for the oil info on the Gen V. I have a Gen V in my 'Burb.

I can certainly sympathize with pressure washing outside in the fall and winter. We swap on the winter tires on our cars in the late fall, and that also means pressure washing them before storage. Brrr! And I never get to it on a warm day - it seems it doesn't become a priority until it's freezing out.