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Lord of the Rings: Part 2
Getting Started

By Eric Seeger

Getting started:

I have never done anything like this before, so tearing down an engine was an entirely new experience. And if you've seen the picture of my garage, you know that I do not own an engine lift or engine stand. So everything was done with the engine still resting inside the wagon.

As you start going through the prep work, be sure to spray lots of WD-40-type breaker fluid on each of the engine's head bolts. Remember, there are 33 of these threaded bastards on every 226 engine. It only takes one broken head bolt to ruin your day. So keep going back over these bolts with the rust remover whenever you get a chance.

To make removing the bolts easier, you should clear out the workspace under the hood as well as possible. That will allow ample room for a socket wrench and breaker bar to turn.

First, remove the hood. Don't ask why, just do it. Your skull will thank you later.

Next, disconnect the leads on your battery.

Drain all the engine's fluids first. The coolant can be drained via the radiator. Leave the drain plug out of the pan. You want the engine to drain out as well as possible, because you will eventually be laying under there. More oil in the bucket means less oil will later be on you.

Remove the radiator. This is probably a good time to buy new radiator hoses. The metal wire inside my wagon's radiator hoses were rusted out and broken. You will need 1.5-inch, flexible radiator hose to replace the old stuff. The bottom piece is about 12 inches long and the upper hose is about 9 inches long. It's important to remove the radiator because it constricts the length of a breaker bar used to remove headbolts, and it will save you from scraping knuckle whenever turning the engine by hand. With that said, it's probably worth your time to pull the cooling fan, too.

Next, remove anything that will get in the way of your ratchet as you undo the head bolts. This includes spark plugs, plug wires, etc. Undo the two bolts that hold down the foot of the distributor. Remove the entire distributor. If you have a strong magnet, pull out the shaft that runs from the distributor to the oil pump. Do it now, otherwise you might forget about it and accidentally the shaft later while lifting the cylinder head. Next, remove the two bolts that hold the water neck in place. Remove the water neck itself. Remove the ignition coil and make careful note as to which wires led to go to which lead.

Remove the throttle linkage. You can also opt to pull the carburetor off, but that's entirely up to you. It might be helpful when comes time to work on some of the rearmost head bolts.

Finally, start carefully removing the head bolts. I used a ratchet with a 3/8-inch drive and an 18-inch breaker bar made of 1-inch galvanized steel pipe. I found it in the scrap area of Home Depot's plumbing department. It only cost me 50 cents but saved my ass. If I had it to do all over again, I would've bought a second, longer piece for the really tough bolts and a shorter piece for the really secluded bolts. Just make sure the breaker bar you use fits the ratchet's handle snuggly. You don't want it too sloppy because it might slip.

To crank the engine by hand you will need a 1-5/32-inch socket for your 1/2-inch drive ratchet. I suggest buying either a deep socket or using an extension. Otherwise you will be constantly banging knuckles on the water pump.

Now that you have cleared you workspace in the engine bay, it's time to start tearing up some engine!

TO BE CONTINUED...