Pulling the engine tonight, anything I should know?

[Classicfordguy]

Well I took the truck to a guy whos been a ford diesel mechanic for 27 years and the moment he heard my knocking and all the blue smoke he said it was a cracked piston.

Im about to pull the engine tonight to find out what went wrong inside. Never pulled a diesel before is there anything I should know or any hints that will make this easier? Its a 94 x cab 7.3 turbo with AC and a surpentine belt setup, not v belts.

Thanks, wish me luck,

-Rob

 

[towcat]

I pull the radiator support on mime. Alot less stooping over and shorter lift out once disconnected.
Keep us posted.

 

[Dirtleg]

Well good luck. I think towcats advice is probably very sound. I just spent several hours under my hood and my back is killing me. Also, try to do all the under truck work before disconnecting any fuel or radiator connections. That way you won't have to lay in anything that gets on the ground underneath you.

 

[Classicfordguy]

I was wondering about that, are you talking about the piece of metal between the grill and the radiator that runs across the front of the truck and the hood bump stops are on or are you talking about the support under the radiator?

Right now the batteries are out, exhaust is off, coolant is drained, about to do starter and trans bolts and fan clutch.

Does the turbo have to come off before I pull? What about he hood?

-Rob

 

[Dirtleg]

Here is a picture of what he's referring to.
http://www.oilburners.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=19017&d=1202256881

It seems like alot of work but it will save you time in the long run. Makes getting the engine out easier for sure.

 

[icanfixall]

The turbo can stay on if you have a body lift or you lift the body 4 inches off the mounts. Otherwise it needs to come off. I did read where a member did leave the turbo on and turned the motor sideways to get it out. Sounds like a harder job to me...

 

[RLDSL]

Definitely pop the cab mounts off and jack the whole cab up at least 4, I've got mine blocked up 6 inches and it made pulling the engine with the turbo a breeze. With the radiator support out, , just lift the engine till it looked high enough to clear, put straps and blocks under the tranny to hold and one stiff yank and engine out, to need to tilt or anything, what a joy

 

[royzell]

'sorry to hijack a thread, but Dirtleg, do you have a pic of the orange/red truck with hood closed ? I'd like to see what the air scoop looks like.

All good stuff - I may be parting a truck soon and pulling the engine.

Thanks

 

[Classicfordguy]

Have the radiator out and everything unhooked, about to head out and do trans bolts and engine mounts and yank. Cannot get the fan clutch off, trying to turn it clockwise, reverse thread right? I made a huge wrench for when I did the water pump but I cant get it to budge.

-Rob

 

[towcat]

Have the radiator out and everything unhooked, about to head out and do trans bolts and engine mounts and yank. Cannot get the fan clutch off, trying to turn it clockwise, reverse thread right? I made a huge wrench for when I did the water pump but I cant get it to budge.

-Rob

you're turning it to the driver's side right? just checking.
I've had a few hard cases where they were seized up pretty good. I've taken a 2ft long punch and a 5lb sledge to the nut(driver side of the nut) and tapped on the edge/corner of the hex. Your amount of force needed may vary due to how badly its seized on.
good luck

 

[towcat]

'sorry to hijack a thread, but Dirtleg, do you have a pic of the orange/red truck with hood closed ? I'd like to see what the air scoop looks like.

The truck is Darrin Tosh's "big ed". do a search on it and you'll be bombarded with plenty of pics of his truck.

 

[Classicfordguy]

Engine is out, drilled two holes in a piece of bar and bolted it to the bulley to hold it. had to take the water pump off and a few pulleys. Kept the hood on, didnt lift the body at all.

Should I remove the spacer plate on the back of the engine before I put it on a stand?

What order do I need to take the stuff off in, to take the heads off does the front cover and injection pump have to come off?

-Rob

 

[towcat]

Engine is out, drilled two holes in a piece of bar and bolted it to the bulley to hold it. had to take the water pump off and a few pulleys. Kept the hood on, didnt lift the body at all.

Should I remove the spacer plate on the back of the engine before I put it on a stand?

What order do I need to take the stuff off in, to take the heads off does the front cover and injection pump have to come off?

-Rob

rob-
If your engine stand is for gassers, then pull the adapter.
if the stand is for diesels, then you have no worries.
injection pump needs to be pulled before the heads come off.
front cover is independant of the heads.
BE ABSOLUTELY RELIGIOUS in the untorque sequence of your head bolts. it is reverse of the torque sequence. !/4 turn on each bolt. Otherwise you will have cracked heads.

 

[Diesel JD]

+1 on the careful untorque sequence. That's the real important thing. Other than that everything just comes off about like you think it should. Just loosen the headbolts in the exact reverse of the torque sequence no more than 1/4 turn at a time until all the pressure is off of them and you can just back them out by hand.

 

[icanfixall]

When you get things all apart use a single edge razor blade and some Brake Cleaner to wash the head and block mating surfaces. That way no cleaning residue will be left behind causing a head gasket leak. Are you installing the ARP head studs? Now is a good time for that. They are around $350.00 for the set and are 1/2 by 7 inches long. Russ and I are running them without any problems..... Please... Post some pics of this cracked piston or whatever you find.