...but not in the way you would think.



Our intrepid hero is braced for delivery of the newest member of the family - "Al", short for Albino (I think I've made my mind up what color it will be when done... we'll see).

I had the engine over the rear axle for the trip home, but the lift couldn't reach that far to pick it up off the bed. Taking my life into my own hands, I hooked up to the motor at the 1/2 ton mark on the lift, braced the vertical part of the lift against the bumper with some wood, and took only some of the weight of the engine off the bed. With this, I could block and tackle the engine toward the rear of the truck. Move the engine, pump the lift, repeat - until the engine was under the 1 ton mark on the lift.



This is where I was grateful I (1) have that slippery bed liner, and (2) put a very thick sheet of cardboard under the engine when we put it in the truck last weekend. The engine-slide plan worked quite well. No scars to share... sorry.

OK... so this is where things went sideways - literally. The lift is on asphalt, and I have to get it to the garage with a cement floor - meaning I get the dubious honor of traversing a seam in the ground with small steel wheels and 1100 pounds dangling in the air. Couple that with the dip in the asphalt just before the cement, and stuff is getting tippy without all six wheels sharing the load. I grab an eight-foot long 2X4 and pry the base of the lift forward, each pry strategically placed to prevent yet another rollover for the already traumatized engine.

I finally get the lift with the dangling engine on flat cement, and this is where I offer up advice for those who have never wheeled a 7.3L around on a lift: Sweep the floor. I don't care if it's just sand or a gum wrapper - it's Mount Everest to those wheels. It can be done, but many have died in the attempt.



While you're thinking "yeah... it's an engine on a lift", take note of the windshield bump ball... we'll get back to that.

Anyway... now I have a freaking 1/2-ton wind chime until I can get something under it. The junkyard "pallet" (I use that expression very loosely) barely survived just getting loaded in the truck, so that's a no go. I'm going to be wrenching, prying, and grinding in close proximity of this wrecking ball, so I need to build something a bit more substantial to park it on until I get a big engine stand. I also need it to ship off the old engine when I'm done. A few cuts of some lumber and a few spins of some deck screws and I'm feeling pretty secure.




Now we discuss that ball... just out of sight above the red heater hose. I was not inclined to move the engine again, so I just dealt with playing tether-ball with my head for a while. This is also where I mention I never want to work on an OBS 7.3L while it's in the truck. That valley completely blows with fuel pump, hoses, hose clamps, fuel bowl down deep, and the need to remove the spider for just about any work in the valley. All hail electric fuel pump.

Anyway, I get most of the attachments off the engine, with exception of items I don't have plugs for the holes left behind - I have a list for the store tomorrow. I also learned my "robust" stand needed just a little modification after hearing it creak when I move the engine away from that freaking ball.



So day one leaves me with a whole shelf of working OBS parts I have no use for, some rust removal experiments cookin' on the engine, old manifold bolts bathing in an ATF/acetone soup, and no injuries. Talk about knockin' on wood.

 

That's a great start

Tip: Engine Stand. You'll be able to get to so much more (including turn to side and upside down) and roll around on the garage floor. Under $100 most places

If you need rust removal, oxalic acid. Just don't breathe the vapors. I've used it on old motorcycle parts quite successfully, including chrome.

 

I like your fabrication skills with wood, throw some caster wheels under that engine stand and make it mobile.

Stinky is one nice looking truck for its age and kind of forgot how clean it actually is, I do believe it is completely worth your time to fix it.

And..... Noticed the white 97 on the valve covers was modified to 99, which answers a bunch of questions I didn't ask.

 

They started to write "99", but didn't finish. The 7 is over top of the circle for the 9.

As for the stand, there is a sequence to this - it's hard to pick up a big box in a truck with an engine in the back. Horrible Freight just opened a store in town - our first (more Walmartizing of my berg), so I'll see what they have. I also need to get some grade 8 bolts the right length to mount the engine on the stand. I can do a search if nobody has the bolt size right off the top of their head.

 

Rich, HF has a 2K lb stand for $139 (try to obtain a coupon) that should do the trick. Anything less and I'm afraid the weight will be rough on the lighter stuff-particularly since we're talking HF here. I've been around engine stands a bit, and the too cheap 750/1000lb stuff can barely handle an assembled small block.

The engine looks very good BTW!

 

I scored a NAPA engine stand when it was half price. Had 2 7.3's on it and it's current resident is a 5.9 Cummins. I got the stand for less than 150 bucks.


Getting the bolts to mount the engine to the stand is a WHOLE other story!!

 

Seeing all of these rebuild threads makes me want to pull my engine just so I can paint it...

 

Two things:

1. I've heard the best thing to do is to remove the plate and mount the engine. You then lift the engine/plate assembly and slide the mounting plate (pivot post and all) back into the pivot bushing. I need to grease the holy hell out of the pivot anyway, so this is my plan.
2. My search revealed 12mm bolts 5" long (assuming spacers come with the stand). Is this correct?

 

That turbo looks brand new.

 

I wish I was there to help out with your rebuild Rich! you should have my email, so you can always PM or send an email if you ever want my assistance with the technical side or something! can't wait to see more!

 

1. That's what I did.


2. That size sounds about right. I had to go up to a bolt supplier in Baltimore to get them. no one local to me carried them.

 

I didn't have anywhere near the time on the engine yesterday that I did Saturday. Half my day was filling the list I made on day 1 - Harbor Freight got a taste of the Buck$Zooka treatment. I took careful measurements of the floor model engine stand at HF ($112 with the 20%-off internet coupon), but uncrating the one I bought demonstrated the differences in measurements - and I'm not sure it will work well with my engine lift. For $212 for a lift and a stand that handles the weight of a 7.3L, I'll figure it out.

By the end of day 2, I just dropped the wrench and went in the house for supper and rest - no cleanup and no pictures. Many of the tools scattered about the garage are needed at work, so I'll be cleaning the garage (a little) in the wee hours. The sleeping neighbors will appreciate that garage surrounding my project about now.

Much of what I had to buy was cleaning tools and supplies - and plugs/caps to keep nasty stuff out off the engine innards. I went to three hardware stores to acquire 4 hardened metric bolts to mount the engine to the stand. Numbers time!
The bolt that fits where the transmission connects is a 12 mm with 1.75 threads.
The depth on some of the holes read 30mm, while some of the others (maybe dirty?) read as low as 28 mm.
In place of "grade" (like 5 or 8), metric bolts use "classes". Class 8.8 is a standard bolt (numbers are a formula in tensile and shear strength), class 10.9 would be akin to a grade 5, and class 12.9 would be akin to a grade 8. The numbers are usually stamped right on the head.
For those looking to buy bolts for a stand, measure the spacers on the engine stand mounts and add 25 mm length (1 inch) to get your bolt length. Better too long than too short - washers and cutting are options. 90 mm length was on the verge for me, so I bought 100 mm bolts.

I spent the rest of the day removing the items in the valley, and some of the stuff I soaked in ATF/acetone the day before. The ups and turbo came right off without incident. It took longer to keep dirt/grime out of the newly-opened holes and cover them up than it did to expose the holes by removing parts.

 

As for the stuff attached to the engine, everything works (couldn't test the A/C compressor, but I see no reason why it wouldn't work). I have everything needed to convert an engine to OBS style, except the full wiring harness - they hacked some key stuff off. The turbo blades look a tiny bit rough, but should still give full boost. That fuel pump was a bugger to pull out, now I need a 7/8" plug to fill the hole for the pump actuator (cam below looks perfect).

 

Just a quick little correction on the metric vs standard bolt thing:
Class 8.8 = Grade 5
Class 10.9 = Grade 8
Class 12.9 = A little stronger then SAE Grade 8

https://www.boltdepot.com/fastener-i...ade-chart.aspx

I used the Google unit converter, to compare the listed strengths in the above link (SAE PSI vs Metric Mpa), and they match up as shown at the top of this post.

 

OK... thank you for preventing me from leading people astray. That 12.9 is more than a little stronger than 10.9 - 12.9 is a 20% increase in strength.

It was still a bugger to get those 12 mm 1.75 by 100 mm bolts off-the-shelf, I didn't see that coming.