Lord Gruntfuttock Posted February 22, 2017 Author Share Posted February 22, 2017 Diff While motor's in shop I looked at diff. It's nothing special, the good old Borg Warner 75 single peeler (as they bloody well should be) - these are relatively light and strong enough if not abused, but has been leaking for a while. I've never played with diffs so fumbled my way through disassembly, pretty sure it's only leaking at pinion seal and oil's been carried over rest of diff, but I'll change the housing gasket as well. Jacked her up and pulled cover, should have done this after getting pinion nut off as it dripped stinky oil over me while I struggled under the thing, was wearing work polo too so gonna stink of diff oil for a while. At least I know there was some still innit... Man these things are tight (torque setting is a massive 265 ft/lbs) and working on axle stands there's no room to swing a breaker bar... After bashing, levering, swearing and heaving (and using a rattle impact gun that just made me deaf) eventually got it free by using giant wrench on the yoke (wedged against block of wood) and jacking the flex handle up. Went with a crack that had me shitting myself, but was able to get nut off ok... Of course I was in such a hurry to get things apart I hadn't read any procedure, so neglected to count threads exposed or see what torque was required to spin the yoke. So I spun nut back on and managed to rangi-spec a system that would let me use my inch-lb torque wrench on the 1/2" drive pinion socket, took around 64 in-lbs to rotate freely... Was pleased my baby puller got flange/yoke out ok. I did mark this so it can go back in right position at least... And success. levered out old seal, and the rubber was brittle as hell after 46 yrs, not much sealing happening there... A little concerned at the wear marks on the yoke shaft, but I'll clean that up a bit and see how it goes. I've ordered a new seal and cover gasket, and hopefully just doing the seal I'll be able to torque it back up to where it was before, so pre-load is thereabouts. Noticed the brake lines are looking a bit dubious too so will prob change these out as well... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Gruntfuttock Posted February 22, 2017 Author Share Posted February 22, 2017 Random bits I bought a bigger sway bar on tardme to see if it improves handling any, seems ok but was yellow, so stripped and painted in my favourite durepox black, along with a few other bits... Putting in new universals too, got them out by the 'bash with big socket over cap while resting on bits of wood' method - looks like not before time... While I was doing this I thought I'd paint the distributor, as OCD me don't like the red under the bonnet. Shouldn't be any electrical tracking dramas with epoxy, and hopefully it sticks well to the plastic. Just cleaned it with solvent, masked the connector turrets and shot it with a gloopy mess of paint (was down to last bit of tin and it had thickened to an almost jelly consistency)... Surprised it managed to spray at all, but came out tolerable - I'll just tell people it was an attempt at a wrinkle finish... 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Lord Gruntfuttock Posted February 25, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 25, 2017 Thought I'd have a crack at chucking the new springs in. Never done any suspension work before so playing it by ear. Pulled bump stop plate out inside guard and removed the shock. Things were really covered in crap, looked like decades of grease and dust had accumulated, and everything was pretty much seized when I had dug it out to get a spanner on it - one lower bolt sheared off the shock, then when I undid top bolts the thing didn't move upwards like I expected, guess shocks were well overdue for replacement... Spring pulled out no bother (scored set of compressors for $30) and rubber insulator on top looks ok... And I pulled the upper control arm out, this is after a clean, it was covered in around 10mm of dust coloured muck... And the spindle had issues with the o-rings, one end had bulged out, while the other had a section missing. This would explain why previous attempts at lubing had just pumped grease under the guard... And old vs new. new ones are Lovells lows, matching them with KYB shocks... I was hoping to just chuck the spring in and move onto replacing the rubber suspension bushes, but cleaning the pivot revealed some wear (potentially the source of my slight but annoying Falcon squeak) so looked at replacements... Upper ball joints were equally scruffy, so ordered new ones of those too. Under the crud in this pic is the lower ball joint, I suspect these are riveted in rather than bolted so will have to drill them out after I've cleaned up. The top joint resisted all my attempts at getting it out till I shot into supercheap and grabbed a $20 separator tool... and naturally the tie rod rubbers were also shagged... I looked at replacing the rubber on these but seems tie rod comes as a complete unit, so - have ordered: * new upper control arm pivot bushes * upper and lower ball joints * and inner and outer tie rod ends. More costs I hadn't intended, but might as well do it now... 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Gruntfuttock Posted February 27, 2017 Author Share Posted February 27, 2017 Much swearing later got driver's side completely out. Learnt for next side to get brake caliper bolts out while there are still bits holding it in place. Had to drill/chisel rivets off to get lower ball joint out, and hoping there's a press at work I can borrow to remove/fit control arm bush... And bits semi-cleaned up. More cleaning and lick of paint on the cards till parts arrive... Whole lotta nuthin under the front end now... 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Lord Gruntfuttock Posted March 7, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 7, 2017 And once again, I've started a small job that has grown. Pulled the passenger side out, bit more difficult as it's against the wall in the shed and I've got to wriggle into position (usually forgetting the important tool). More shock bolts sheared off, plus much hammering to get ball joints/tie rods out, more piles of muck to scrape off and tricky rivets to drill out, but got to a stage where I've got two piles of parts roughly cleaned... and a whole lot of bits to toss... Have ordered new brake pads & wheel bearings as well, plus brake shield gaskets and new grease caps (a surprising $5 delivery from a Mercury speciallist in th' States). I probably should remove the calipers and clean them up/replace seals etc while I'm at it but I may replace all brake lines later on so will do it then. Thought I'd try my blast cabinet with the new compressor (last one was painfully asthmatic/slow) so wrapped all engine parts in gladwrap and sealed in box before making things dusty... And it worked ok, still slowish but much better air delivery. I can't see myself hunched over for hours doing the control arms etc tho, so will prob get these professionally blasted... So aiming to press old bushings out and get parts blasted this week, ready for painting over the weekend. Then it's the fun stage, assembly. Will finish with pic of my apprentice - he's bloody useless. Gets covered in oil, chews stuff, widdles in the shop, scatters tools and generally gets in the way. Still good company tho... 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Gruntfuttock Posted March 7, 2017 Author Share Posted March 7, 2017 Success, coupla sockets, bit of scrap steel for a spacer/brace and into the shop press. Pump, pump, pu...BANG...! Fuck I love hydraulics... 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Lord Gruntfuttock Posted March 10, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 10, 2017 Heard back from machine shop this arvo, ring gap was way too big, and block is worn around 4 thou (I could feel a slight lip and expected as much) so they recommend reboring to 40 thou over, new pistons and bearings. I thought 0.030” over was about max for a thin-walled sbf, but apparently going + 0.040” is ok for a street motor. Plus it is only 0.005” (0.127m) larger each side than what it is now which puts it in perspective. Gave them the go-ahead to proceed, and I’ll drop off the gasket kit I already have to lower cost a smidgeon. If it wasn’t the original block I may have looked at other options, but the matching numbers thing makes decision easier, plus it’ll be nice to bolt everything up knowing it should be sweet underneath. Just more $$$ I’ll have to explain to wifey, who is losing her tolerance… Did some maths, and this will take it out to a 308 Ford, which will be a talking point I s'pose... 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Gruntfuttock Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 I'm a bit over cleaning dirty/rusty bits of metal. Got lots of little bits cleaned up and chucked some paint on them Sunday arvo... and went home at lunchtime today for another coat... Still got control arms to pick up from blasters to paint but getting closer to putting it back together... 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Gruntfuttock Posted March 16, 2017 Author Share Posted March 16, 2017 Got bits back from blasters. $30 to get these done, shit that's worth it to save a lot of time and effort (cheers Sievwright). Saw an XA shell on a rotisserie while there too... Bit of damage from someone's previous attempts to get rivets out by the look of it... So quick blat with the welder/grinder/drill at lunchtime, and ready for paint. Will try to get some on tonight... 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Gruntfuttock Posted March 16, 2017 Author Share Posted March 16, 2017 Took advantage of good weather to get couple of coats on after work. Think I'm learning. A thin first coat to get good coverage, then a thicker mix (less reducer) laid on a couple of hrs later for a smooth coat. Noticed surface was a bit rough from blasting medium so a very light sand before second spray and it looks pretty good... Going to whiskey festival tomorrow so weekend probably rooted regards assembly... And just received bill for engine work. Inspected, disassembled, block chemically cleaned & bored, conrods honed, journals ground/polished, and assembled with new pistons, rings, main and big end bearings. $1600 all up. Not too bad I reckon... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Gruntfuttock Posted March 19, 2017 Author Share Posted March 19, 2017 Managed to loosely assemble some bits while horribly hungover. That was it for the weekend... 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Lord Gruntfuttock Posted March 24, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 24, 2017 Picked up rebuilt short block today, always get a bit depressed about my shed when I see a nice clean workshop... Will be wrapped for a while as I'm trying to sort out the piles of shit in my shed, working on knowing where my tools are and having clean working areas before I get back into it... 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Gruntfuttock Posted March 26, 2017 Author Share Posted March 26, 2017 Shithole eh. Embarrassed to show this, sort of a legacy of working on umpteen projects when time poor, and... just not putting shit away... (not proud) Spent most of Fri evening and all Sat tidying up, took a load of junk to the tip, a fish bin of extra tools to charity shop, made drill holders, bought an extra 3 drawer chest, stored stuff logically - and actually have a bench again... and used said bench to have a go at setting up the upper control arms. It was a bitch, had to try to screw pivot caps in without binding up the coarse threaded bush, while keeping it centred. Eventually managed it by screwing each side in a third of a turn at a time, and levering the bush through its range of movement to make sure it was moving ok. Got there in the end though, had to press these splined bolts in once happy with it, so no going back... Also got to use my new (to me) vintage vice, an old Record 75 engineers model I'm very pleased with, I'll restore it when I get a chance... 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Gruntfuttock Posted April 10, 2017 Author Share Posted April 10, 2017 Been out of town at a wedding (best man duties) so no progress over the weekend. Tried a bit yesterday when I got back, my dust shield gaskets had arrived so put the steering knuckle together, then being hungover (and stupid) I installed a wheel bearing race the wrong way round in the rotor. Of course the taper meant there was no lip to tap it out, so - insert swear words here... New rotors on the way. Wouldn't mind so much but I had spent ages cleaning them up and painting them. On the bright side the ones I've ordered have races installed, so I can't fuck it up again... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Gruntfuttock Posted April 14, 2017 Author Share Posted April 14, 2017 So this happened today... That's gonna slow progress a bit. A bit pissed off cos wife and kids away and thought I'd have a real good run in the shed. A few weeks in a cast unfortunately (again)... [edit for reason] Punched something I shouldn't have (not angry - clumsy)... ooh just noticed I can see the metal splinter in my index fingie I picked up the other day. Should have got them to dig it out... 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Lord Gruntfuttock Posted April 15, 2020 Author Popular Post Share Posted April 15, 2020 So no progress for 3 yrs, yikes. Lockdown means I dug the engine out from the shed and chucked it on a stand in the house garage... Had it bored out 40 thou over and new pistons etc, was nervous it had rusted while sitting there wrapped in plastic, but was nice and oily, so looks good... But needed a paint, so masked things up... And hit it with the wire brush... And plugged threads with cloth and frost plugs with plasticene, could have just painted them but easy enough to mask now... And cos it's shitty today, sat paint cans in front of diesel heater while I took some healthy sustenance. Garage was a toasty 18 degrees, warm enough for paint to go off ok... Two coats of primer on... And first top coat. I just take these pics so I can remember what paint I used... 3 coats later, the plasticene has a nice shiny paint layer on it... Which is sooo satisfying to remove... And block successfully painted... 27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Lord Gruntfuttock Posted April 18, 2020 Author Popular Post Share Posted April 18, 2020 Spent ages looking for bits today, then remembered I had been clever and had labelled and boxed things up nicely... Checked torque on bottom end... And cleaned the timing cover and oil pump gasket surfaces... Struggled to get new crank seal in as I have nothing the right size to use as a driver, then realised gasket kit came with 2 types, so used wrong one as driver and pressed seal in with big vise and piece of wood. Can't do much more till I get some assembly lube so I can put cam in. When that's done I can really start bolting things back on... 23 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Lord Gruntfuttock Posted April 27, 2020 Author Popular Post Share Posted April 27, 2020 Massive progress today, painted the sump and water pump. Painted sump twice actually, as dropped it on the scody garage carpet just after finishing the top coat. There were some swears... 20 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Lord Gruntfuttock Posted June 15, 2020 Author Popular Post Share Posted June 15, 2020 Water pump was new not too many miles ago, and I was surprised at the corrosion considering I always run inhibitor in the coolant... Only really on the backing plate, inside seemed sweet... And I imagined a new pump would do the same pretty soon, so I cleaned it up and epoxied the plate while I was painting other stuff... Should hopefully stay a bit cleaner. Similarly cleaned up the sump and laid gasket on the block after installing the oil pump (that I'd messily primed beforehand)... And loosely buttoned up, will torque when the sealant has set a bit, didn't want to squeeze cork out... Used Permatex #2 sparingly on the timing cover gasket, looks ok (forgot to assembly-lube fuel pump eccentric but can get that through hole)... Coupldn't find a backing plate gasket in my new kit, but found one in the garage from previous builds. Assembled on dining room table in the sun for max danger while wife at netball... And pump on, so nice using new ARP bolt set. Looked at making up my own, but they're oddball lengths so this was easiest... And ready to start putting the top end on now, be nice to get it bolted up, always nervous when engines are left open too long (only been a few years)... 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Lord Gruntfuttock Posted July 18, 2020 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 18, 2020 More cleaning up bits, just scraped off any old gasket then some solvent and scotchbrite, messy but easy, also cleaned up any loose bits with cotton buds... shouted myself some new dowels and popped on the gaskets... and heads loosely in place, I'll torque em up and clean up the intake next... 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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