Disassembling the engine & transmission on the pickup tailgate...
We lost the starter - the housing is broken almost all the way through, right at the flange
Probably broken off when the engine slipped in the pickup bed the other night.
Started unbolting the transmission at the bellhousing - oops, those are bolts with the heads
inside the bellhousing - I guess the bellhousing has to come off first.
Unbolted the bellhousing & pulled it off.
Condition of things -
surface rust on the face of the flywheel and the pressure plate - not too surprising
chips out of the thin lip around the edge of the flywheel - can't figure that out
some teeth chipped on the flywheel
(the rear of the teeh is ground off - wonder why they did that?)
lots of oil inside the bellhousing - rear main seal must have been bad
clutch fork boot shot
pressure plate and throwout bearing don't look too bad
Removed transmission from bellhousing.
Removed flywheel bolts - but the flywheel doesn't pull right off. Some oil & gentle tapping?
May wait until crank is dropped to remove the flywheel.
Hauled everything into the garage to get it out of the weather.
Can't put the engine on the stand yet because the bellhousing-block bolts aren't long enough
for the stand brackets.
September 4
Removed flywheel to put engine on stand - took only a little tapping.
This engine can't be attached to the engine stand - it's too small! The block doesn't flare out to
accept the bellhousing, it uses an intermediate plate instead. So the boltholes in the block are
too close together.
September 5
The oil pump is definitely in the way of the crankshaft and definitely stuck. Been putting penetrating
oil around where it goes into the block and banging upward on the poor oil pump body, but no
movement. I wonder if the aluminum is corroded in the iron.
Pulled off oil filter mount.
September 6
Finally got impatient and took a pipe wrench to the oil pump (gently). It began to move, and
repeated banging, twisting, and oiling, got it out. Embarrassing pipe wrench and hammer marks
remain on the aluminum pump body.
Loosened the front pulley bolt while everything was still tight. Pulley and balancer don't come off
with light tapping.
Removed all main bearing caps and rod bearing caps. Rod bolts are full diameter about 1/16" beyond
the rod end before they neck down and then become threaded, so the rod cap has to come straight off
for that distance before it can be easily lifted off. Unfortunately two of the rod ends are down inside
the crankcase and are not accessible to tapping a wedge in from both sides. Had to drive the inside rod
cap bolt down to where the full-diameter part had receded into the rod end.
A little tapping and lifting, and the crankshaft is out! Replaced all bearing caps so as to keep inserts
matched.
Rods do not move on wrist pins.
Uh oh... the main bearing webs are so wide that the pistons won't come out the bottom of the block. So
all 4 of them have to go out through the top - even those that are at the bottom of a rust-encrusted
cylinder wall.
Sat the block up on blocks and started scraping at the cylinder walls. They turn out to be not as bad as
they looked - the 1/4" thick crust was soft and scraped off easily. In fact, after scraping, the
narrowest remaining part of the cylinder may be the ridge at the top.
Scraped off the top of the block and wiped oil on it - looks almost presentable!
Filled all cylinders with 1/4" of penetrating oil. Waiting to see the level drop and oil appear underneath...
September 12
Tried banging on pistons with a block of wood and a hammer - got two of them to move about a
millimeter.
September 13
Banged some more - no visible change. Two of the pistons are near the top - those were the ones that
moved. The other two are near the bottom, and it's harder to see if they're moving.
various dates - I've been getting some parts from folks in Germany, usually either because I don't have any
part numbers to call in to the dealer, or because they're not available. So far, I have one brand new
front turn signal lens, a new clutch disk, and two good rear turn signal assemblies.
September 20
All pistons out! Turns out I was wrong about the movement I thought I saw on the 12. Because when
they broke loose, I could definitely tell. Scraped the remaining rust ridge out, turned the block upside
down, and started whacking (with a hammer and a wood block). Three of them weren't too bad, but
the 4th was tough. When it was out, I could see that penetrating oil hadn't made it below the rings.
Looks like there are some scores in both piston and cylinder wall now.
September 21
Cleaned & bagged all main caps, bolts, and inserts; rod caps and inserts; head bolts. Cleaned pistons,
mostly. On 2 of them, the second ring is well stuck in the groove; in all 4, the bottom ring is stuck
(I think - or maybe they're supposed to stay tight?) The block is easy to pick up now.