I am glad I didn't take the bosses advice. He suggested cutting the pipe with the sawzall, since there was little chance of the nuts coming off........

I got out from under the truck rather quickly. Somehow, I missed hitting my head on the lift arm or front tire.......

BTW, the C6 is actually longer than the NV4500, by about 1.5".....

 

So you can set the engine back 1 1/2"?

 

It needs to be set back about 2", in order to leave room for the fan.
Will have to get a different slip yoke, as the output shaft is much larger diameter. But, the driveshaft length will be right at the same.

Oddly enough, the block mounting bosses for the mounts is right where they need to be, in order to sit on the 6 cyl or diesel frame plates, and position the engine where it needs to be......

 

Sounds like it won't be too difficult to get it situated. Just be careful - it is even heavier.

 

Gotta get the engine bay cleaned up, and flop the carpet over to the pass side floor board, so I can cut the hole in the center. Then, I plan to stuff engine and trans in as a unit, if possible. It may require removing the front bumper and/or hood though.

Top tip for everyone. The engine will come out rather easy, with the core support removed. Only has to go up high enough for the pan to clear the crossmember, before it can start moving forward. It does have to go a bit higher, with the front bumper still in place. The pic of the engine hanging on the cherry picker, that's as high as it went. MUCH steadier when kept down that low.

 

Today was one of those days where you're busy on the project most of the day, but don't seem to accomplish much.
I pressure washed the engine bay and front frame section. Over the years, it has had several power steering hose issues, which caused oil to coat the frame/crossmember, followed by dust/dirt/gravel getting imbedded into the oil. In some areas, it was over 1/2" thick, on both sides......

I found the brake line that runs across the backside of the crossmember, on it's way to the pass front wheel. I knew it was there, somewhere....... Under almost an inch thick layer of crud.

I spent an hour blasting the worst of the crud off, then let it dry out a bit. Then soaked the area with oven cleaner. After allowing it soak in pretty good, I fired up the pressure washer again. This time, I found bare metal. No chance the front section of frame was gonna rust, given how well it was protected under that layer of oil mud.....

I bet I washed off close to 100 LBS of crud. And ended up wearing a couple LBS of it along the way.......

Ordered, and picked up, the rear brake cables. Been meaning to do that since 1997..... Now that I am swapping from an auto to manual trans, I figure it might be a good idea to have an operational park brake.......
No clue what happened to the old cables, as they were gone when I bought the truck.

 

I have weeks like that where I'm busy but with little to show for it. But having a clean engine bay to work in will be a huge boon.

 

Completely forgot to mention this earlier, but I found a loose rivet in the process of cleaning the frame. The pass side radius arm bracket, lowest hole. Looks like it was not swedged properly when the truck was built. I can wiggle and turn it by hand.

Rag joint seems ok, just a bit oily. There might be a little play in the steering gearbox, but very little. The joint on the bottom of the pitman arm is a bit loose.
I checked all around the steering box, and found no signs of cracks or loose bolts, but that rivet/bolt looking thing on the underside seems like it may be a hair loose. Will have to investigate further.....

I did find a nice little groove worn in the front of the crossmember, where the PS return line had once been rubbing on it. Might 'splain why that return line leaked like a banshee a few years back...... Had the shorter loop style line on it. Has an even shorter loop now, as I cut the return line near the gearbox and ran it straight to the pump when that original line went to pouring out the fluid.
Just another "quick fix" that worked so well, I never bothered to re-do it. Will do something with it before finishing up the swap.

 

Did you pull the steering box? I'd really recommend doing that as the crack on my frame wasn't visible with the box on. But, I think you can just loosen it enough to get it away from the frame and use a strong light.

Have fun with that Huck bolt.

 

No, I didn't pull the box. Just looked it over with a very strong light. I had already planned to loosen it, so I could clean between it and the frame a bit better. Although, I can at least now tell what is frame, and what is steering box, and the tie rods aren't 1.5" OD.........

 

The tie rods aren't 1.5"? Are they smaller? I have some extras if you need them.

 

How hard is it to replace the steering box? Mine leaks from the inner bottom seal, but not any worse then she drips oil, and I figured with motor out, it would be easier to remove

 

With the engine out, it's super easy to swap out the steering box. 3 bolts where it meets the frame, a small 12 point bolt where the column comes in (under that plastic cover) and the steering linkage. Most replacement boxes do not come with a pitman arm, since it's a "non wear" item. Removing it requires a big socket and impact, along with a special tool for pulling it off (available at most parts stores in their "loaner/rental" tools).

 

I'll say again, when you pull the box do a really good job of inspecting the frame - especially at the back edge of the box. The box has little feet that surround the bolt holes and that focuses all of the stress in a very small area, and causes the frame to crack on many trucks - even those that have not seen abuse or even big tires, much less lift kits.

 

Should I go ahead and do the Saginaw upgrade? How much is involved with that? I haven't really looked because I've never had an issue but since it will be very easily accessible and I might do it if I have the cash.