Tough Day, but progress
I got lucky once today. There was just enough threads left in the busted crankshaft to screw in the old Harmonic Balancer 19mm bolt. I could turn the motor from the front like you are supposed to. Problem solved.
But I have to say, this is one tough bucket of rust to work on. I seriously thought about giving up and sending it all to the heap. I am calmer now and will keep trudging on...but seriously, I thought trucks were supposed to have all this extra room to work. That's what my pickup truck buddies told me. I guess they never had an explorer. You can get your hands on stuff, but no room to turn a wrench. OMG.
Most of the stuff was routine enough, but here is what I struggled with (as I cursed the Ford designers for squeezing a french engine into an American truck). I will leave all the questions till the end of the post.
Top Bolt on Starter - Wow. Another wobble needed and fishing around blind. Better clearance with a qurter inch drive, but no leverage. Finally got it with the 3/8 and the wobble. Set it aside as advised by others, but it is in the way to get the TC bolts off (see below).
Starter wire loam stuck to the block Can't get it out. Some kind of tape/plastic tee thing. They are all over the place but this one you can't get a hold of, too tight.
Spark Plug on #3 cylinder. Lots of crushed and cut fingers. Finally realized you need to jack it up, remove the tire and splash guard and it was still a PITA. Had to cut the wire so I could rotate the boot as it was stuck from never being changed. Glad I am trashing the motor as the electrode was almost gone.
Whats up with that clunky PS/AC mounting casting. Lots of crap to deal with.
Book says can't undo the fuel line spring lock coupling without a special tool. What crap. Guess I'll leave that till last.
Exhaust.....need I say more. Why would you design everything to require wobbles. Recipe for disaster which it appears everyone has experienced. The last guy must have busted them as there were 2 different bolt sizes, 12mm and 13mm rounded off of course. I thike he just threw in some hardware store bolts. I got the 13 off, but the 12's are like one ball of rust. They will never come off. I thought these are suposed to be studs with nuts, not bolts. The Mustang motor has studs like I would expect.
Flex to TC bolts. No clearance. Can only get 1 or 2 clicks on the ratchet before hitting the drive shaft. Might have more room if I totally removed the starter instead of laying it off to the side. Also, no room for the ratchet head. It hits the bell housing and the socket is not square. Another wobble?????? crap. I got two off, but I'm stuck on the third. Worked on it for 30 minutes.
Well even with all the busted knuckles and swearing, I made good progress today. Can't wait to get this thing out and start building up the Mustang motor. All that I see left before attaching the crane is:
1. Last 2 Flex/TC nuts
2. Last 3 Exhaust bolts (not nuts-see above)
3. Starter Wire loam
4. Fuel lines
3. Engine to Tranny bolts
Sorry for the ramble. It was a tough day. (Not sure I like working on Fords....my first one). I'll post a new comment with questions to avoid a busy thread. Once I get this pig out, I'll start putting up some pictures and comments about the Ex vs Mustang motor.
Rydrew55