Question for the experienced. My Piston heads arrived today. I'm replacing the rod bearings and main bearings as well. i'm going to drop off the rods and new PistonHeads to be pressed. How important is it for me to keep the rods matched up with their previous cylinders? Critical, not important at all, or just a best practice?

 

Each rod is numbered 1-6 and they also have an arrow indicating which direction to face it. You should keep them together, but confirm that yours are numbered and you won't have to worry about it too much.

 

I'll admit that the rods are a bit dirty but I do not see that each is numbered outside of a common part number. As much as I can tell these are the original rods. There is a raised button on each rod. The buttons all face what would be the front of the engine so I am going to use that as my arrow and then I guess I will number punch all of them.

Thanks once again for the help.

 

Do not number punch anything. Look on the side where the cap meets the rod. You'll see a number.

 

Trozei with the Save! Thanks! Right where you said to look. A couple are pretty tough to read but I should be able to match them all up after I get them back from the machine shop.

 

I should've been more clear the first time. I remember my first time looking. I didn't find the numbers either.

 

Well it's finally time to start putting her back together again. PistonHeads are pressed on the rods, rings are installed, I've got the bearings, now I hope I have my bearings and get the job done right.

 

Hey Man. Enjoying your Thread. This may be an obvious question, but is the engine block still in the truck? Meaning, did you pull the rods out while the block was still in the truck?

Im trying to envision that, but am having some difficulty.

Craig

 

Thanks Patina. It's been an adventure and learning process. Hopefully people are getting some chuckles out of it and some other folks learning from it.

The engine is still in the truck. I will try and take a picture later today to post. I was originally chasing an exhaust leak and one thing led to another and here I am.

I downloaded a shop manual for the truck, which has been a big help. It's pretty straightforward. You remove the radiator, raise the engine an inch and insert blocks at the motor mounts. Then you can drop the oil pan and get at the underside.

With the help of good people like Trozei and Frenchtownflyer I am making my way through the rest. As good as the manual has been, the resources of FTE have been a bigger help.

 

Looking for some tips and tricks again. I want to prime my engine and I have read about using a spare distributor shaft in a drill as a tool. I don't have one. I went to the junkyard and they want to charge me $40 for just the shaft. That sounded a bit steep, so I'm looking for some other options.
I'll go back and bite the bullet if that is the only or best option. Thanks.

 

I've used these before for this purpose:

 

Thanks Ctubutis. I have one but don't know if it's long enough to reach. I'll check it out when I get home. Appreciate the help.

 

That is good, Chris!

 

It is just a quarter-inch-drive "speed wrench" and can be elongated by merely adding extensions.

I suggest using some duct tape to help secure the pieces together, especially to keep the socket on the end from falling into the engine should it become unattached for some reason.

Thanks, guys.

 

Thanks Ctubutis, but now I might be confused. Will the 1/4 drive engage the pump directly? or do I need to install a socket with the correct size head? Thanks for the assist.