[flash]

i hate jack stands, and have had a car fall on me by somebody applying side load to the car (he leaned on it while i was under it) - so, i am resultantly nervous about being under there at all - i have also had a transmission fall on my hand, severing the retractor tendons, all as a result of trying to manhandle something heavy from underneath the car - that stuff just scares the bejeezus out of me



but lifting the car on the hoist is the part that really scares me - i've had that get unbalanced and swing and come crashing down too



certainly i've done all of the above a number of times without incident - having a shop, you do that - but, i've also had things happen, and i'd like not to see that happen to somebody else - so, as a site operator, i cannot recommend such inherently potentially dangerous activity



whichever way anybody goes, extreme caution needs to be taken - that engine weighs more than an NFL linebacker, and is not easy to move when it starts going a direction you don't want it to

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[AJG]

[quote name='flash' timestamp='1311783677' post='113297']

i hate jack stands, and have had a car fall on me by somebody applying side load to the car (he leaned on it while i was under it) - so, i am resultantly nervous about being under there at all - i have also had a transmission fall on my hand, severing the retractor tendons, all as a result of trying to manhandle something heavy from underneath the car - that stuff just scares the bejeezus out of me



but lifting the car on the hoist is the part that really scares me - i've had that get unbalanced and swing and come crashing down too



certainly i've done all of the above a number of times without incident - having a shop, you do that - but, i've also had things happen, and i'd like not to see that happen to somebody else - so, as a site operator, i cannot recommend such inherently potentially dangerous activity



whichever way anybody goes, extreme caution needs to be taken - that engine weighs more than an NFL linebacker, and is not easy to move when it starts going a direction you don't want it to

[/quote]

I hope everyone pay's serious attention to Flash's experience. having even a quarter the weight of your car on some part of your body will definitely not be nice. To lift out the top seems the logical way to go. There are lifting chain ratchets that when two or more are slung from a hook can raise or lower its end to manipulate the load irrespective of the hook. Their used a lot by machine tool movers who use slings in the main and these ratchet chain blocks to level the load. Probably could be hired for a day or two to remove engine then again whenever it suits to replace.

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[Lear35A]

I've taken mine out twice and put it back twice from the top with an engine hoist and a floor jack...alone.

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[Cloud9...68]

"I've taken mine out twice and put it back twice from the top with an engine hoist and a floor jack...alone."





Where's the "I am not worthy!" emoticon when you need it?

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[Lear35A]

Actually I'm probably an idiot for doing all this work. I'm just saying don't listen to someone who says you must take it out the bottom. I am sure it worked that way on the assembly line 17 years ago, but it's not the only way.

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[Cloud9...68]

"Actually I'm probably an idiot for doing all this work."





I resemble that comment . Yeah, when I think of the bazillion things that can not only go wrong with a home engine rebuild, but catastrophically so, I often think I've completely taken leave of my senses.



Fair warning: I plan to take pictures at every step of the reassembly that has me even remotely unsure of something, and ask for your confirmation that I'm doing it right. Then, when I have the bottom end put together, I'm seriously considering hauling the beast to a reputable machine shop to have the block decked, not only to confirm that everything is square, flat, and centered (and correct it if it's not), but to confirm the studs are OK, and to give everything a once-over to make sure I didn't do anything stupid. Any other checks you'd recommend I do, based on your experience? Thanks, and again, best of luck with firing it up.

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[Lear35A]

Every step of the way make sure the crank is turning smoothly. If it ever doesn't, stop immediately and figure out why. I'll be glad to comment any time. For free, so be careful. That could be what it's worth.

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[Ryan]

Plus, when you work on the engine with it in the car, you always end up with dents in the tops of your fenders. (damn soft fenders)

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[Scott Collins]

OK - here we go -



Engine staying in the car.  First, compression test, on warmed up engine.  Results (cylinders, from front to rear)



1.  184, 2.  170, 3.  160, 4.  187



Now pulling it all off.  About 1/3 of the way.  Going to try to leave the header on the head - we shall see.  



-Scott

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[Lear35A]

Good luck. Pulling the block out later with the head off isn't a problem if that becomes necessary. Never tried pulling the head with the headers on. I'm very interested to hear how that goes. For sure it will be ackward.

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[Cloud9...68]

Is that the way the manual recommends doing it?

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[jfrahm]

Double post

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[jfrahm]

Try and clean the engine as much as possible to avoid dumping crud into the cylinders when the head comes off. Crud likes to hide around and between the intake ports and drop into the bores when the head comes off.

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[Scott Collins]

I'll be cleaning things up as much as possible when I pull the head. I don't know about the manual, but it was suggested to me that it's possible to keep the header on, so we'll see.

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[Scott Collins]

Here are some pics of the tear-down, performed with a big assist from Pete Fitzpatrick of RS Barn. Pic #1 shows the cams being secured for safe removal - they come out as a unit, with vario-cam and chain.



Pic #2 has cams removed and lifters still in.



Pic #3 is removal of head nuts. They take about 150lbs to get loose. I used a long ratchet with an extension for even more leverage. The shoulders felt that one.



Pic #4 shows what 20 years and 91k miles looks like with the head and intake removed. Clearly gunk on the cylinders, and more on #3. Lots of cleanup to do.



Pic #5 shows original and new water pumps. Note the metal impeller on the new pump - it's going back to Paragon.



Pic #6-7 show lifters and cams and other hardware. Lifters must be reinstalled in same order and positions.



I'll get some close-ups of the head gasket, which left chunks in my hands upon removal. It was probably a matter of weeks before it blew entirely.

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[Cloud9...68]

Congrats on getting the head off. Why are you sending the new water pump back to Paragon?

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[Scott Collins]

different casting # and different style impeller. have to measre other dimensions but believe there are differences that will cause problems

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[banditsc]

Another issue with the metal impeller is a failure mode of the rebuilds is for the bearing to fail and the impeller to shift forward. When that happens you have a big metal impeller grinding it's way into your block. At that point your block is pretty much toast. It's been a problem in the 928 space, they finally got the major water pumper re-builder Laasco to switch back to plastic impellers. Someone also worked out a way to fix the blocks by mounting a insert onto the block to fix all the damage.

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[Scott Collins]

interesting...



I knew Paragon was sending me a remanufactured pump, but thought it would be identical. Still, excellent vendor.

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[Scott Collins]

   



Here are the three water pumps. Top is the original, with composite impeller, at center is the remanufactured pump, with metal impeller, and at bottom is the new pump (Laso), with metal impeller in a similar design as the original.



   



Here you can see the original head gasket, and the new "wide-fire" gasket. Pieces of the old gasket were just flaking off all over the place.

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