Refreshing the engine (rebuild and aftermath)

[terrence]

Well, I have decided that the strange engine noises within the motor finally warrant a tear down. I am going to an engine builder to take care of the long block so my questions concern the rest of the engine. This van has never had overheating issues, so I am going to risk just flushing the radiator out really well and replacing every coolant line. I also am going to do the rear heater delete to save some headaches in the future. So here is what I am replacing:

radiator Hoses
coolant and vac lines
water pump
thermostat
alternator/power steering/AC belts
motor and transmission mounts
air/fuel/oil filters
spark plugs and wires
clutch kit
resurfacing the flywheel
alternator

Now my question is, what am I missing? I have combed thru a few of others users rebuild blogs/threads and I don't think I have overlooked anything. Or if anyone has any recommendations of stuff that should be done while the motor is out.

[Rufus]

Distributor cap and rotor.
Power steering pump pressure and return lines.
Rear differential oil.
Transmission oil.
Transmission input and output seals.
Rear Main Seal.
Power steering pump. (If it whines and leaks)
Radiator cap.
Fan clutch.

[timsrv]

I'm assuming you read my ENGINE OVERHAUL thread......That one outlines all the usual things (including rear heater delete). I put part numbers and links throughout that thread. Tim

[terrence]

Distributor cap and rotor.
Power steering pump pressure and return lines.
Rear differential oil.
Transmission oil.
Transmission input and output seals.
Rear Main Seal.
Power steering pump. (If it whines and leaks)
Radiator cap.
Fan clutch.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I'm assuming you read my ENGINE OVERHAUL thread......That one outlines all the usual things (including rear heater delete). I put part numbers and links throughout that thread. Tim

I did! It is a very helpful resource.




*Edit: found the part I was looking for..

[terrence]

New parts are starting to roll in and in the mean time I am trying to fix all the little things. But this poor van is such a turd. Somehow the previous owner sheered off the transmission fill plug and it had to be JB welded back into it. Here it is screwed all the way in:





And who knows how I am going to get this intake cleaned out. The entire lower and upper intake manifolds were covered in this black sludge that doesn't exactly just rinse out.

[Rufus]

You should look for a fire damage restoration company in your area that has a large ultrasonic cleaner. I had one ultrasonic ally clean all of my metal engine parts for my airplane. There is no chemicals (they use water), there is no loss of parent material (no sand blasting), and the parts came out spotless. I paid about $200 to have the crankcase halves, carburetor parts, cylinders, accessory cover, and a few other parts done. Great deal. It removes paint and everything. Even from the impossible to reach areas.

[timsrv]

I would also recommend having your injectors (especially the cold start injector) cleaned & tested. That residue looks suspiciously like the result of a leaky cold start injector. Tim

[terrence]

I would also recommend having your injectors (especially the cold start injector) cleaned & tested. That residue looks suspiciously like the result of a leaky cold start injector. Tim

I am going to just upgrade the injectors the the 4 port jams.

[terrence]

I finally got my motor back this week. Apparently the camshaft was shot so a new one had to be ordered and that was what was causing the "hold up". Anyway, it's all pretty and new looking:





And here it is before it went into the van. It's all bolted up in the van currently, still need to bolt up the transmission, fill fluids and all the other little things. Should be done next week!

[djshimon]

She's a beauty!

[timsrv]

I see the upper half of the intake is already "installed". Is it just temporarily sitting there, or actually bolted down? If bolted, how do you plan on hooking up injector connections? Did you make a removable injector harness? Tim

PS: Very nice looking engine! I like these type projects .

[terrence]

I see the upper half of the intake is already "installed". Is it just temporarily sitting there, or actually bolted down? If bolted, how do you plan on hooking up injector connections? Did you make a removable injector harness? Tim

PS: Very nice looking engine! I like these type projects .

I took inspiration from your injector harness and made one for my van. I'll take a better picture of it when I get out there and finish the install.

[timsrv]

I was wondering about that. Very cool! . When I build an engine I want it completed BEFORE installation. The removable harness connection here also serves to electrically access all injectors in the event of future troubleshooting. I have already used this once while I was troubleshooting a clogged injector (due to contamination in my fuel system). It was nice taking the guess work out of the troubleshooting. I mapped all injector pin locations prior to installing so I know where each pin on each injector is from my remote harness connectors . Tim

[Carbonized]

Sweet! Too nice to hide under the van. You need to make clear Lexan engine covers and keep pass. seat out!. Out of curiosity how much are you into it for? I'm looking at doing something like that after I'm done with the chassis

[Ian R.]

Awesome! I wish I had the space to pull the motor and send it out to rebuild. Would have saved me some $$$. What clutch kit did you go with?

[terrence]

I was wondering about that. Very cool! . When I build an engine I want it completed BEFORE installation. The removable harness connection here also serves to electrically access all injectors in the event of future troubleshooting. I have already used this once while I was troubleshooting a clogged injector (due to contamination in my fuel system). It was nice taking the guess work out of the troubleshooting. I mapped all injector pin locations prior to installing so I know where each pin on each injector is from my remote harness connectors . Tim

Yea, I wanted to completely assymble the motor before it went in so the harness was not an option for me. It was pretty simple, used a cheap 8 pin connector and my new injectors came with new plugs so I needed to replace them anyway.

Sweet! Too nice to hide under the van. You need to make clear Lexan engine covers and keep pass. seat out!. Out of curiosity how much are you into it for? I'm looking at doing something like that after I'm done with the chassis

Well, it was $850 for the rebuild plus an extra $240 for a new camshaft. It took much longer than expected but I really can't complain (so far) about the work. They removed broken studs, replaced everything, gave me a gasket set and a fresh coat of paint. That with fluids, and replacement parts I have about $2000 in this project.

Awesome! I wish I had the space to pull the motor and send it out to rebuild. Would have saved me some $$$. What clutch kit did you go with?

Exedy, I have used them in many other vehicles and love them.

[Carbonized]

Yes, you cannot really complain about the price. I don't know where in the US you are but here in Screwyouland $850.00 would barely cover the freeze plug and disposal fees. Looking at the last 2 pictures, your own elbow grease is definitely worth a "pretty penny" too! Great work, hope she runs a good as she looks for you! Yours is a lucky van!

[terrence]

Engine is all in and almost done. Got a timing issue or something, not starting. But something to tackle tomorrow.




Here is the 8 pin injector harness plug, along with one of many homemade cable straps. We figure that one of the previous owners pulled the head and just did a crap job putting it back together. Lot of missing parts and bolts.




Almost a van again!

[Ian R.]

Epic! She is a beaut!

[terrence]

Got it fired up finally. Ran like crap making an awful noise from the head. Sounded like a generator was running under the seat. Limped it home about 15 miles and let it sit over night. Fired it up the next morning and it ran as smooth and quite as could be. No idea what happened but it hasn't made noises in the last 40 miles I've put on it. Going to order an oil pressure and water temperature gauges just to keep an eye on things but, fingers crossed its good to go.