spark plugs.... Over thinking!

[scrap--metal]

Lets break this statement down a bit. In MY experience it takes an hour to to explain to the wife why I NEED to work on the truck. Another 30 minutes to explain what a manifold is and 15 minutes to drive to Circle K to pick up a 12 pack. 30 minutes to find the tools I need, and 10 minutes to get some tunes blasting. Piss break #1=5 minutes. Stare at the engine for 15 minutes wondering if/why I'm really going to do this. Remove air cleaner, throttle cable and PCV hose=15 minutes. Piss break #2=5 minutes. 20 minutes to find that damn offset 9/16" wrench for the dizzy hold down bracket. Remove dizzy and plug wires. Piss break #3=5 minutes. 10 minutes to find a suitable container to drain coolant in. Remove lower radiator hose to drain coolant. 30 seconds to watch the entire coolant miss the container and drain all over the driveway while trying to keep the dog away. 5 minutes to wash driveway down with garden hose. Beer break # 3 (Two beers to deal with aggravation)=20 minutes. Remove intake bolts and top radiator hose. 10 minutes trying to find a lip for flat blade screwdriver to pry against that wont break the manifold flange. Remove manifold and watch in horror as all kind of debris falls into the intake runners and lifters. Piss break #4+ 10 minutes. Spend the next 1 FULL hour scraping and cleaning the gasket surface and heads of all gasket material while sniffing the acetone fumes. Another 20 minutes trying to get the threads clean of the thread sealant using a wire brush. Piss break #5=10 minutes.
Ok were at the halfway point!
10 minutes to endure the pain in your ribs as you lay across the fenders to apply the PERFECT bead of RTV on the rear intake flange. 7 minutes (although less painful) for the front. 1 minute to position the manifold gaskets. 3 minutes to get the courage up and steady the hands in order to place the manifold in place as graceful as a swan and in one perfect motion so as not to screw up those pretty RTV beads of silicone. 20 minutes to repeat the last three steps because you blew it! Piss break #6=5 minutes. Second time is a success! 5 minutes to slam another beer before finger tightening the intake bolts. 30 minutes to reinstall the dizzy, wires, hoses, coolant and throttle linkage. Piss break #7=5 minutes. 10 minutes to final tighten the intake bolts now that the RTV has cured. Replace air cleaner. 20 minutes to throw all the tools haphazardly into the tool box. 5 minutes to scrub hands with GOJO and garden hose. Hands and nails still disgusting. Piss break #7=5 minutes. 5 more minutes staring at engine trying to get the courage up to start it up. Nerves kick and and require another beer/Piss break #8 =10 minutes.
Crank it over until it tries to start=1 minute and 36 seconds. No start! Stare at engine in disbelief=10 minutes. Realize I didn't make the dizzy when I pulled it. 2 more beers=20 minutes. Pull dizzy-find TDC-reinstall dizzy=42 minutes. Piss break #9=5 minutes. Stare at engine and say a prayer telling God you will change your ways if he allows it to start= 6 minutes.
Crank it over and she fires!!! Adjust timing and check for leaks=10 minutes. Tell God you were "just kidding"....have another beer=2 minutes.

So... @Bextreme04 telling him it "should only take about an hour" is not accurate or nice. People need to be told the truth and not have it sugarcoated. I'm not saying everyone has the same experience but I've had this same experience EVERY time I've done this at least three times.

So... @SirRobyn0 . Assuming you have a better way of doing things you should realistically plan on it requiring 6.46 hours of your time and at least 10-12 beers depending on your alcohol tolerance.

You all welcome.

Man, can I relate to this! I always wonder how people claim these jobs can be completed in a fraction of the time that's realistically required.

@SquareRoot forgot just a couple things though.
- You'll likely twist and destroy the hard fuel line to the carb when you remove it because the threaded fitting will be seized to the line.
- Your tube of RTV will be hard or there won't be enough to do a proper sized bead on the China wall after the first attempt.
- That little distributor gasket will get lost, ripped, or otherwise ruined. You'll make due and plan on replacing it at a later date.
- Your wife won't appreciate your "still disgusting" hands and nails, but that's okay. Another beer doesn't mind the embrace of your perpetually dirty hands.

 

[SirRobyn0]

Ok, I'm 1/2 way though the project. Unlikely that I'll get to work on it again today as I have farm stuff to do.

Removal was routine. Nothing exciting or unexpected to report. Pics and additional comments will be across two posts.

Below 2 pics, just getting started.

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[SirRobyn0]

Below looking down the head at 1 & 3. Looks fine, gasket looks a little unhappy at the top of #1

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Below looking down at 5 & 7. Well it seems pretty obvious. Look at the build up on those valves! And that's after a heavy decarb treatment two weeks ago. To me it looks like the bottom of the runners is wet, and the gasket definitely was, but there was no obvious defect in the gasket. Also looks like there is a long term build up and trail down the left lower side of the intake runner on #7

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Below 6 & 8, looks like I did not take a picture of 2 & 4 but looks pretty similar to 6 & 8

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Below picture of the gasket at 5 & 7, no obvious defect in the gasket, but it is oily.

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So I'll get it back together, probably not today as I have farm stuff today. Maybe on Saturday, but I do have leave the farm for a bit so might not be until Sunday which is fine I guess. As long as it's back together by Monday so I can drive it and see what happens.

Finally I'm also working the manifold over to get the EGR passage clean. I can tell you have much fun that's been so far, stabbing away at the passage with wire and solvent. Currently soaking in solvent. The cross over passage is clean as is the passage leading up to the EGR all the issue is in the after EGR part.

 

[Rusty Nail]

I think you're on to something.

Lookit all the dark nasty chillin on the bolts in the second* pic.
There is no gasket material at the top of the ports left on the head...it's plain as day in the pictures posted. The lighter areas show and prove. *-edit- Is that camera flash?
Good job!

But dude that ship is nasty AF. I would add 1 qt dex to 4 qts motor oil. What brand of garbage to you put in that filthy crankcase anyway? cuz it aint Valvoline!

 

[Bextreme04]

Below looking down the head at 1 & 3. Looks fine, gasket looks a little unhappy at the top of #1

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Below looking down at 5 & 7. Well it seems pretty obvious. Look at the build up on those valves! And that's after a heavy decarb treatment two weeks ago. To me it looks like the bottom of the runners is wet, and the gasket definitely was, but there was no obvious defect in the gasket. Also looks like there is a long term build up and trail down the left lower side of the intake runner on #7

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Below 6 & 8, looks like I did not take a picture of 2 & 4 but looks pretty similar to 6 & 8

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Below picture of the gasket at 5 & 7, no obvious defect in the gasket, but it is oily.

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So I'll get it back together, probably not today as I have farm stuff today. Maybe on Saturday, but I do have leave the farm for a bit so might not be until Sunday which is fine I guess. As long as it's back together by Monday so I can drive it and see what happens.

Finally I'm also working the manifold over to get the EGR passage clean. I can tell you have much fun that's been so far, stabbing away at the passage with wire and solvent. Currently soaking in solvent. The cross over passage is clean as is the passage leading up to the EGR all the issue is in the after EGR part.

Wow, definitely vacuum leaks and pulling oil into those ports. I would bet it just had a few too many temperature cycles and the gaskets were just hard and done in. I have used the blue fel-pro intake gaskets a few times and had good luck with them sealing well. The o-ring style ones are good too.

 

[SirRobyn0]

Ok quick update. So I spent sometime this afternoon and got the EGR passages opened up as best I can. I don't wanna tell you how much time I spent with that. Then blew the solvent off, and cleaned up the gasket service both on the manifold and the heads. I'd planned to paint the intake and valve covers while they were off, but the can of GM blue on my shelf had lost it's pressure so no paint, but cleaned up. Put the gaskets on, did the silicone / RTV thing on the block ends. Gray right stuff of course. Installed the manifold and torqued it down. And that's where I had to leave off.

@Rusty Nail Yes, you are seeing camera flash, I was trying to be able to see the valves as well, and that required flash. On the first picture with the manifold off cylinder #1 in the upper right corner is missing some gasket, but it's not clear though. IDK what the former owner ran for oil, I've had the truck 4 years, I was running the bulk 10W30 at the shop. A bit before the first foul out (about 3K) I switched to running 15W40 oil, the stuff that is dual rated for diesel and gas. I liked running that stuff to be honest, the engine seemed to like it. I know your preference for Valvoline but I'm likely to go back to the 15W40. Yes, most everything inside the engine is black, but there is literally no buildup. Perhaps there was and the last 4 years of regular oil changes every 3K has cleaned that up.

@Bextreme04 I'm installing the blue fel-pro gaskets. The thing that gets me is the brown trail from the gasket area down to the #7 valve, not to mention all that build up, but that brown trail is sure telling to me.

The truth will be in the next few hundred miles, after I get the needed work done.

Oh, I have decided to replace the water pump this weekend as it started making some noise, and has bearing play, so hoping to do that while the coolant is drained anyway.

 

[SquareRoot]

The big question... Have you exceeded one hour yet in this effort? More importantly, how many beers?

 

[SirRobyn0]

The big question... Have you exceeded one hour yet in this effort? More importantly, how many beers?

I was wondering if you'd ask.

So actually I kept pretty good track this morning. I actually beat Eric's time estimate of one hour, assuming that one hour is each direction (ie on or off). Not counting any kind of prep time, getting tools out, ect. I checked my watch after I'd drained the coolant, but before I'd removed anything. Going by that it took 55 minutes for me to have it off the motor. But I spent 2 hours this morning working on the project and about 1 1/2 hours this afternoon. I did not really keep specific track of time on the EGR passage cleaning but it took a good bit of work to get that crap out, probably about 1/2 hour this morning and about an hour this afternoon.

Zero beers, but there was alcohol involved. So the morning session started at 8AM when I was finished with the early farm stuff, went directly from bird coops too truck. The afternoon session I had iced tea with a couple fingers of Whiskey in it. Typically I prefer Whiskey straight, but if I took the bottle out to the truck....

 

[Rusty Nail]

Uhh
That's it? Youre gonna put it together like THAT!?

Come on man...think of all the eyeballs watchin!
You got some kind of good spray paint layin around....dude you gotta hit it with the somethin - if only for posterites' sake!
And the lulz!
And all the eyeballs!
Dude!

Youre gonna stand there - being an auto mechanic - and not scrape that crap off the valves?
And use the shop vac...? Seriously?
While we're all watchin.
It's not just me..surely not.

 

[Grit dog]

Yup looks like an old Chevy. Anything else wouldn’t still be running!
But the ice tea and whiskey has my attention!

 

[SirRobyn0]

Uhh
That's it? Youre gonna put it together like THAT!?

Come on man...think of all the eyeballs watchin!
You got some kind of good spray paint layin around....dude you gotta hit it with the somethin - if only for posterites' sake!
And the lulz!
And all the eyeballs!
Dude!

Youre gonna stand there - being an auto mechanic - and not scrape that crap off the valves?
And use the shop vac...? Seriously?
While we're all watchin.
It's not just me..surely not.

Now wait a minute. I never said I didn't clean off the valves, or vacuum all the crap out of the engine. I actually didn't say if I did or didn't, you jumped to the conclusion that I did not. I'm sorry I failed to itemize every moment of the job, for ya lol.

I've cleaned up all the parts, inside and out. I'd rather see clean and worn paint than to open the hood and see the wrong color, but that's me. If it really bothers me I'll paint the parts on the engine later, with the correct color.

 

[SirRobyn0]

Yup looks like an old Chevy. Anything else wouldn’t still be running!
But the ice tea and whiskey has my attention!

Ya, isn''t all the build up on the valves impressive! Bet that was the idle miss after pulling a hill.

It's a good drink I don't have much anymore so it was a real treat for me.

 

[Rusty Nail]

I was hoping maybe youd pull out a safety yellow or perhaps an oil based chestnut for kicks.
A little coyote brown would be right at home in there..

 

[Octane]

And then the next day I'm so sore and "stove" up I can't move for 3 days without pain.lol
An excellent description of what the repair is like.

 

[SirRobyn0]

I was hoping maybe youd pull out a safety yellow or perhaps an oil based chestnut for kicks.
A little coyote brown would be right at home in there..

You remember what AMC engine blue looks like? Actually I think they used two blue colors, one was dark kind of like the darker Ford blue, the other one is a lighter blue, but it's a bold kind of metallic color. Anyhow the lighter blue, it's just a hideous color for engine paint.