The other wife

[CrackedDSM]

I'll have to measure mine tomorrow and you can tell me how they stack up to OEMs. I didnt think to check before I chucked the last set I had.

Quick comparison pic for ya of my arps and an OEM flywheel bolt. ARP is left and OEM is right.

 

[curt-s]

Quick comparison pic for ya of my arps and an OEM flywheel bolt. ARP is left and OEM is right.

View attachment 731813

Ah ok, I have the longer flywheel bolts (ARP-203-2801) which necessitates the use of the AT spacer plate otherwise they bottom out in the crank.

 

[curt-s]

Machine shop that I had do balancing and double checking of measurements called.

PTW clearances 0.0038-0.004. Good.
Main clearance, requested a line hone. Got 0.002 +/- 0.0001 with a 0.0014 center somehow.
Rods clearance, requested 0.002. Got 0.003.

Un-fckking-believeable.

Rods are basically as-is, no fixing this. Not going to have them press out anything. Running 10w40, perhaps it won't be so bad.
But a line hone that now has to be redone? Jesus.

 

[curt-s]

Now I'm at a loss as what to do. 0.003 is within the service limit and I'm pretty sure it's going to be gigantic uphill battle trying to get the shop to reimburse me not only for the price I paid for the rods but also foot the bill for new ones at retail since I bought them from RTM during their (unfortunate) sale.. but is 0.003 too much for a weekend/summer fun car.

I just wanted a touch, not a frickin sledge hammer.

 

[curt-s]

I'm going to pick up my order from the border tomorrow which includes a set of king xp rod bearings in std size, maybe I'll get lucky.

 

[curt-s]

Nope, a couple tenths tighter but still min. 0.0028. those rods are done and now I'm in the situation of having to get them to likely replace them because I don't think they're fixable (ie. Grinding down the body and cap then reboring the big end).
Shop #1 wants to get the rods back from shop #2 to verify themselves. Understandable, but I think this whole situation is going to FK me in the end.

And if it goes that way... Well, I'm not taking it lightly.


Let's see, this is my experience with shops in this city over the years:

Shop A: media blasted my head which caused overspray all over cam journals. Also blasted the deck and told me it'll seal fine. Had to pay for a resurface from a different place.

Shop B: cut my valve seats with a bent pilot. Told me they double check their work valve by valve. Resultant valves couldn't hold chocolate cake from seeping past the valve seat. Called them on it, they replaced the pilot and recut but the valve interface was still slim. Nevertheless, they sealed after some lapping.

Shop C: somehow line honed my mains with a tight center only. Also bored out big ends of new rods one thou too large.

 

[curt-s]

Got my block, flywheel, pistons, and a set of bearings back.

The rest is at shop #1 until tomorrow, when they're going to be offered the chance to make it right, and I'm not accepting them offering to try to fix it by grinding the rod and caps down to be able to rehone the big ends.
Turns out they couldn't even install the girdle the right direction when the instructions are there.

Spent about an hour getting that rear balance shaft bearing out. The right tool for the job would have made it easier but my bearing race installer set was just slightly too big and I didn't want to grind it smaller.

So hammer and a long screwdriver, carefully working around the edge until she finally gave loose.

 

[curt-s]

Got my crank and bearings back from shop #1 and settled the grievance to enough satisfaction as I could get. Chalking the rest up to life lesson and moving on. I'm weeks behind as it is.
Ordered new set of rods and supertech performance intake valve guides for good measure as they're older than the exhaust guides, I'm pretty sure. The heads getting a valve job so I want them on-hand just in case.

Next up, clean the ever living shit out of the crank inside.. have a dozen cans of brake cleaner (non chlorinated is all we can get).


Edit:
Yikes.

 

[curt-s]

Clean behind your balls, everyone.
Also, wear eye protection. Got a tiny little droplet of brake cleaner in the eye and even after a good flush it's annoying as f..

A bit more than one can so far.

I think the big chunks are moly from the head install a couple years back, but lots of debris.

 

[curt-s]

So this one journal, #1 main, has a radial scratch that can juuust catch a fingernail. It's the only one.
I'm not cutting the crank and it seems wasteful to junk it.

Not sure when it showed up.. possible during balancing, unlikely during the polish

I think I'll just send it. The rest of the surfaces are nice and clean.

My reasoning? The upper bearing shells have a much, much bigger groove in them. As long as there's no burrs outwards, I'm sure it's fine.

 

[curt-s]

Another view

 

[curt-s]

Whelp, replacement Eagle rods have arrived.
Also going to change out guides and get some new valves and keepers. Nothing fancy, just some GSCs.

Finally addressing my aluminum door handles which somehow went orange over the years.

And cleaned and painted a thing

 

[curt-s]

Turned out not too bad. My memory is fuzzy but I think it's 3 colour 4 clear on passenger side, and 4/4 on drivers. Been wanting to do this for a while but actually driving the car always took precedence..

 

[SixBolt_16G]

Turned out not too bad. My memory is fuzzy but I think it's 3 colour 4 clear on passenger side, and 4/4 on drivers. Been wanting to do this for a while but actually driving the car always took precedence..

View attachment 735652

View attachment 735653

Looks great... i did mine a couple of years ago, but now have to take the door apart again because someone at the tire shop tried to put the key in and the cylinder slid out of the holder and into the door.

 

[curt-s]

I hope this is the last parts order..

Ferrea 6000 I/E valves
GSC guides (w/ depth stoppers) and keepers
Some valve spring shims (just in case)
New OEM tensioner and idler pulleys. I remember when these were a lot cheaper

Also snagged a used set of BC101 cams.

 

[CrackedDSM]

I hope this is the last parts order..

Ferrea 6000 I/E valves
GSC guides (w/ depth stoppers) and keepers
Some valve spring shims (just in case)
New OEM tensioner and idler pulleys. I remember when these were a lot cheaper

Also snagged a used set of BC101 cams.

I know the cams you got and the guy you bought them from. He’s good peoples.


Sincerely hope this is it and it all comes together from here brotha!

 

[curt-s]

I know the cams you got and the guy you bought them from. He’s good peoples.


Sincerely hope this is it and it all comes together from here brotha!

I'd you're talking about jersygsx, yeah, I've bought a few things from him. Good people's indeed. It's a trip to the border each time but luckily I'm only an hour and a bit away.

Unless you mean the original owner, if it's not him..

 

[CrackedDSM]

I'd you're talking about jersygsx, yeah, I've bought a few things from him. Good people's indeed. It's a trip to the border each time but luckily I'm only an hour and a bit away.

Yessir. Mr Gavio himself.

He also loooooves when you reuse his pictures from his for sale ads. Don’t you @jersygsx .

 

[curt-s]

Replaced:

- passenger side trans seal as the old one was pretty knackered. Drivers side looks good.
- pivot ball.. one of the POs shimmed it with a nylon washer. Ball has some wear but nothing crazy. replacing anyway but keeping the old
- cleaned and resealed trans breather bulb

Definitely want to give the trans exterior and bellhousing a cleaning, though.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

If you've got the time and patience, use some quality oven cleaner and a handheld brass wire brush. That was my method on the last two transmissions I built, and it really brings the aluminum back to a day 1 finish. Alternatively I've used basic degreaser and a soft scrub brush, which is fine if the trans is just greasy/dirty but does nothing for corrosion or tarnish like I see on your case.

 

[curt-s]

If you've got the time and patience, use some quality oven cleaner and a handheld brass wire brush. That was my method on the last two transmissions I built, and it really brings the aluminum back to a day 1 finish. Alternatively I've used basic degreaser and a soft scrub brush, which is fine if the trans is just greasy/dirty but does nothing for corrosion or tarnish like I see on your case.

I've apparently got nothing but time.. everything is back at the machine shop yet again since I need the new rods checked and I never got a spec sheet originally. They're also checking that scratch in the crank and if it can be worked out -- provided there's enough material on that journal and my bearing clearances play nice.

Somewhere between the two shops (as one picked up from the other after the rods fiasco), one set of main bearings and a set of king xp rod bearings also went missing. Fun times.

Oven cleaner, huh.. we don't have many versions of those up here and I thought what we had didn't play the best with aluminium. Are we talking about Easy-Off stuff here?

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

NON ACIDIC oven cleaner, to be more specific. You aren't trying to dissolve the transmission . I can usually get it on the shelf at my local Lowe's hardware store, but I'm not sure what's available to you.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Don’t use it inside either. Shit is caustic AF to the lungs.

 

[curt-s]

Don’t use it inside either. Shit is caustic AF to the lungs.

I'm gonna have to wheel it to the driveway anyway as it's likely to make a big mess. Then I can clean it right on the granite rock and kill weeds at the same time.

I'm just finding it a little hard to stay motivated. I'm 6 weeks behind schedule and I don't have any answers as to when they're going to finish. I was reserving a lot of sanity for being able to get behind the wheel this summer and that's totally in jeopardy

The cylinder head hasn't even been started yet and I dont pick up the valvetrain stuff from the border until next weekend.

It's my fault for trusting the wrong people.

 

[CrackedDSM]

I'm gonna have to wheel it to the driveway anyway as it's likely to make a big mess. Then I can clean it right on the granite rock and kill weeds at the same time.

I'm just finding it a little hard to stay motivated. I'm 6 weeks behind schedule and I don't have any answers as to when they're going to finish. I was reserving a lot of sanity for being able to get behind the wheel this summer and that's totally in jeopardy

The cylinder head hasn't even been started yet and I dont pick up the valvetrain stuff from the border until next weekend.

It's my fault for trusting the wrong people.

Trust me, if anyone can relate to that its me. I was there, and best thing I did was just chilled out a bit. I took a step back, and enjoyed doing other things for a little while. Forcing something is a great way to BREAK something. Take that as literal or figurative as you like, but I live by it.


It'll be worth it in the end, but yeah. Nothing wrong with taking a breather and just getting the motivation back.