OMG what have I done. Milford II is only 30 days away.

On my return trip from Florida I used a qt of oil in 500 miles, not the usual 1500-2000 miles. Inspection reveals a leaking rear main seal.

Started the job yesterday. Raised the engine (quite a bit actually!) Removed the nasty old motor mounts (planned to replace anyway due to age) and put three 2x4 blocks in their place. Removed fuel pump permanently. Got the oil pan and oil pump out.

Found 2 more problems: cam chain is loose and crankshaft end play is waay too much. (No wonder the seal couldn't handle it.) Dang.

Decide to replace cam chain and sprockets. Removed stuff in front of engine (I was planning on a new water pump but not right now.) Took out the radiator (again, something I planned later) to get it flushed/re-cored?

Tomorrow I'll remove the timing cover and chain. Also the rear main bearing cap. This is also the location of the thrust bearing. I'll have to replace the bearing and seal I guess.

I was somewhat surprised, I assumed the bearings were OK based on the 60-80 psi oil pressure I usually see. I hope the thrust faces of the crank are OK or I'm really in deep. I may have to Plasti-gauge the others, too.

Here's what I have so far:





Underneath:



Here's some stuff I pulled: (missing from photo: starter, oil pan, oil pump, fuel pump, water pump, engine mounts, alternator)



Man, I'm getting too old for this. Once I get the chain and bearing cap off, hopefully I can begin the road to recovery. I'll send the radiator out tomorrow, get more parts, and clean and scrape for hours, if I can still move tomorrow. Soo much fun working under the coach... We'll have more pics then.

I was planning to get things right for Milford but didn't think I be going this far!

quote:

Originally posted by Steve VW:
OMG what have I done. Milford II is only 30 days away....

Man, I'm getting too old for this...

I was planning to get things right for Milford but didn't think I be going this far!

Oh my - what have you done indeed.

Well, I'm sure you wouldn't be taking all this stuff out if you didn't know what you were doing - right?

Good luck Steve!!!

Done these things many times before, usually out of vehicle and when much younger. Nothing I wouldn't have done sooner (or later) but it will be rockin for Milford.

Just hope the crank faces are OK or I'll have to pull tranny, drop crank. OMG

BTW boxtops are on the way, not too late I hope

quote:

Originally posted by Steve VW:
crankshaft end play is waay too much.

Check for a ballooned torque converter.

Also, high cooler line pressure can force the converter forward, putting stress on the thrust bearing. Shift kits are notorious for causing this with increased internal pressure.

There is a mod to restrict the converter feed passage in the front pump, but you need either the engine or trans out or the trans slid back far enough to remove the torque converter.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve VW:
Done these things many times before, usually out of vehicle and when much younger. Nothing I wouldn't have done sooner (or later) but it will be rockin for Milford.

Great to hear!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Steve VW:
BTW boxtops are on the way, not too late I hope

The last boxtop challenge is at the end of this month. After June 1st I'll still accept them and give em to the ladies who take over for the PTO, for next year.

Somewhere I heard, "It's always something!"

Bill h: what do I look for on the "ballooned" torque convertor? That's one I'm not familiar with. This is only the second V8 Chebbie I've owned and been intimate with, mostly other guys GM stuff, Fords and foreign stuff in the past. Most were manual trans.

As for cooler line pressure, do you mean back pressure, ie restricted line/cooler? I did change cooler in Florida, but the stacked plate design should be adequate for the flow. The GM lines are fairly small, 11/32 outside diameter. Maybe fatter lines needed?

Down to 38 again last night. I'll get back out there later this morning. Thanks for the input, guys.

Well, there's good news and there's bad news. Cam chain and gears are indeed worn out, but came out easily. (Haven't used my harmonic balancer puller for at least 20 years, glad I kept it) I will gladly replace the cheap OEM plastic cam gear with a real steel set. I did an Olds 455 rebuild and a 350 Chev hot rod in the early 80's, not much has changed. Except my age, strength, and back....

Took the radiator to a local radiator guy. New core will be done by Friday $600, about normal I think for a large complex radiator.

BAD news: It appears that some nasty grit lodged in the rear thrust face of the thrust bearing and wore the crankshaft face. Sh....t Still can't figure out how. I checked the service records I got with the coach (very few) and it appears the seal was changed previously by a "professional?" about 20,000 miles back. Not sure about the dirt but the gasket cement is messy and abundant, will make for tedious cleanup.

I will order a crank/bearing set today, among numerous other things. I'll have to pull the trans tomorrow. It will be a PITA dropping the crank from below, but less hassle than removing engine entirely, I hope.

Looks like the fat lady won't be singing for a while but the Milford deadline is still in sight. I'll be there if I'm not too crippled to drive when it's done!

Many photos to follow I'm sure... wow....

Have you priced a Goodwrench crate engine?

Now might be a good time to consider a stroker crank................

If I had known before I might have gone that route. Removing the engine is even more major... requires cross member and front end removal, exhaust removal, still have to split off the trans, engine out the bottom, raise vehicle,(or dig hole) etc.

Actually, compressions are good, top end seems OK. New crank runs $250, bearings $100 more, cam chain set $35, oil pump $90, gaskets etc about $100 more. This is way less than new engine and I'd still need the water pump, etc. (It's no more than the radiator will cost!)

If I had any brains I'd find some young mechanic to slave on this but I've got nothing better to do and at least it will be done right. Besides, we'd miss all the pictures!

Quite an undertaking, Steve.

WAaaayy more ambitious project than I would ever consider. know I would just end up breaking things and hurting myself too :^(

I started to re-ring the stbd engine this Spring to correct poor compression due to water ingestion. Turns out the water ingestion was not due to a poor head gasket but the reman engine was a dud that outlasted the warranty. I went the new engine route. Problem is that is the reverse rotation engine so more of the economy is extra stimulated.
Good luck

I'm not so sure I'd have done it myself if I'd known. Funny thing is I could afford to have it done, not like 30 yrs ago when it was DIY or no vehicle. I just don't know any RV wrenches I trust. (Thankfully I have a great airplane guy!) Besides, it HAS to be ready for Milford!

I didn't buy a new car until I was 40 yrs old, that's when most of my car work stopped. I still have my 94 Ranger (165,000 miles now), you may recall I killed the 02 in Canada last summer. I started working on it and the Barth after that.

Most of this stuff I wanted to do eventually but not at the same time and not now! Oh well, if you guys can put up with this old man's whining, we'll have a great project to document. It will be July by the time my hands are clean and healed!

ccc you just reminded me of another fun job. 427 Ford V8 in a twin engine 42 ft Chris Craft in 1979. It had 4 bbl, solid lifters, reverse rotation. Nobody wanted to work on it. I had to pull the heads to get it out the side door on a long single fork truck. (While the boat rocks at the dock...) Reverse rotation wasn't really that bad but scared the textbook guys I guess. Flip the pistons over, same crank, different cam, distributor/firing order and starter. Rest is the same. Needless to say I didn't have to work under it!

Good luck Steve, sure is quite an undertaking!

I also have a badly leaking rear main seal on my Cummins 5.9L. I was going to change it this week but I don't want to start something I can't finish before the GTG. I know it won't take long but the "while I am at it" syndrome will take over I am sure!

Also in my case I have a 700 lb transmission (MD3060) to muscle around, will NOT be easy trying to do this without removing all the cooling and electrical lines.

I will start this after we get back from the GTG, I will just carry a few gallons of oil!