Engine Removal Thread! (With humor and sadness)
#151
01-13-2018, 01:45 PM
Long day yesterday, ran into an issue on just about every task.
Started the day on my Dynatrac Free Spin Conversion Kit, with hubs. Installed new inner axle seals, and began on kit install. Removing old wheel bearing studs and moving them to new hub assemblies.
Before you ask why on earth I ponied up for this in the middle of this entire project, please know I already owned this kit.
About 2 months before I even bought this truck, I score my kit on a incredible local deal. Young military man had bought the kit for his truck and totalled it while waiting for it to arrive in Alaska. He tried multiple times to resell it on the local diesel page but no bites.
I really didn't have a reason to cough up the money until I decided that I was going to fix up my F250 or buy a different truck for the Baja.
In the end, I caught him on the day he went way down on the price because he was moving and didn't want to move the boxes.
He paid it around 2,800 for the kit shipped. He sold it to me for: 1500.
Love a deal!
Started the day on my Dynatrac Free Spin Conversion Kit, with hubs. Installed new inner axle seals, and began on kit install. Removing old wheel bearing studs and moving them to new hub assemblies.
Before you ask why on earth I ponied up for this in the middle of this entire project, please know I already owned this kit.
About 2 months before I even bought this truck, I score my kit on a incredible local deal. Young military man had bought the kit for his truck and totalled it while waiting for it to arrive in Alaska. He tried multiple times to resell it on the local diesel page but no bites.
I really didn't have a reason to cough up the money until I decided that I was going to fix up my F250 or buy a different truck for the Baja.
In the end, I caught him on the day he went way down on the price because he was moving and didn't want to move the boxes.
He paid it around 2,800 for the kit shipped. He sold it to me for: 1500.
Love a deal!
#152
01-13-2018, 01:49 PM
As I went through the day, I ran into multiple snags. My room mate is also putting the transmission back in his Duramax and was needing odds and ends, so had to make several frequent parts runs.
Time consuming but needed.
I almost had a meltdown though. I almost had enough and decided I need to find the owners of this truck who did such horrible things to it.
Basically, I found that one whole set of exhaust manifold bolts weren't factory.
No a big deal, but there were really difficult to drive in or out, so I just ordered two sets.
They arrive and I decide to work on that.
Well the new bolts wouldn't screw into the heads either. I damn near had the melt down of a century, thinking that the heads were cross threaded.
Turns out the bolts from Ford (mexico?) were cast pretty poorly.
I ended up running them through a dye to clean them up and they went in just fine. Picture of new and new after clean up.
Time consuming but needed.
I almost had a meltdown though. I almost had enough and decided I need to find the owners of this truck who did such horrible things to it.
Basically, I found that one whole set of exhaust manifold bolts weren't factory.
No a big deal, but there were really difficult to drive in or out, so I just ordered two sets.
They arrive and I decide to work on that.
Well the new bolts wouldn't screw into the heads either. I damn near had the melt down of a century, thinking that the heads were cross threaded.
Turns out the bolts from Ford (mexico?) were cast pretty poorly.
I ended up running them through a dye to clean them up and they went in just fine. Picture of new and new after clean up.
#153
01-13-2018, 01:54 PM
As night fell (6 pm), I opted to work in the garage and continue on the motor.
Started looking at the plumbing on my regulated return kit and learned that the kit shifts the entry and exit locations of fuel on the passenger side head.
Glad I caught this, as I had installed the higher flow Riffraff bolts.
It was a good catch but another hour of precious time lost in figuring something out.
Now that the exhaust was in, I decided to hang the oil pick up tube.
What a pain in the *** that became.
Google showed me thousands of people who had similar issues with the stick not going back in. And this should have been easy, considering I was outside of the truck.
This is not something I was going to let delay the whole project, so I took matters into my own hands.
Found an o-ring that works, trimmed the tube down, and sanded the overall diameter down slightly. Then coated the o-ring in a form a sealant and installed it, firmly.
Not proud of that, but damnit the dip stick tube cannot be the hold up of this project.
I may call around and see if one is available locally but so far all 7.3 things I've needed have been hard to find at dealerships.
Started looking at the plumbing on my regulated return kit and learned that the kit shifts the entry and exit locations of fuel on the passenger side head.
Glad I caught this, as I had installed the higher flow Riffraff bolts.
It was a good catch but another hour of precious time lost in figuring something out.
Now that the exhaust was in, I decided to hang the oil pick up tube.
What a pain in the *** that became.
Google showed me thousands of people who had similar issues with the stick not going back in. And this should have been easy, considering I was outside of the truck.
This is not something I was going to let delay the whole project, so I took matters into my own hands.
Found an o-ring that works, trimmed the tube down, and sanded the overall diameter down slightly. Then coated the o-ring in a form a sealant and installed it, firmly.
Not proud of that, but damnit the dip stick tube cannot be the hold up of this project.
I may call around and see if one is available locally but so far all 7.3 things I've needed have been hard to find at dealerships.
#154
01-13-2018, 02:03 PM
Now its midnight. The house is a sleep and I can't go full auto on anything too loud.
So....what should I concentrate on at midnight?
Ahhh yes, the 42 pin.
Walk out to truck and try the impact trick on the stuck pin. No luck.
That's it. I'm out of patience. Hand saw to the bolt and bring the engine side inside.
Put on noise cancelling head phones and turn up my favorite Pandora station.
Room mates are dead asleep, I'm silently pelvic thrusting my way around the garage. This is good. I love late nights.
Went one wire at a time, cleaning them and double checking insert location, actually felt pretty solid about this. Pull the wiring loom back a bit to make it easier to have wires to both pins at once. Took a bit of time to pull the oil soaks wiring wrap off and electrical tape where needed as well.
Then installed the engine harness as much as I could on the motor.
3 am. Time for bed.
3:30 am, not asleep, laying in bed. Hear the garage door open and bind on the locking mechanism.
Hear the alarm beginning to count down.
Put on jeans, grab the XD .45. Girlfriend wakes up, looks at me like perhaps I have finally had it with the 7.3. I tell her the situation and she just goes back to bed like "ok".
Anyways, as I had suspected, the garage door button has gotten stuck in the open position, allowed it to random try to open on its own.
Didn't shoot anybody. Went to bed.
11 am here, sun is up and I'm late to work. Going to find coffee and get to cracking.
Falcons game will be played in the garage on my computer today. Sorry boys, love em but can't waste 3 hours of day light.
So....what should I concentrate on at midnight?
Ahhh yes, the 42 pin.
Walk out to truck and try the impact trick on the stuck pin. No luck.
That's it. I'm out of patience. Hand saw to the bolt and bring the engine side inside.
Put on noise cancelling head phones and turn up my favorite Pandora station.
Room mates are dead asleep, I'm silently pelvic thrusting my way around the garage. This is good. I love late nights.
Went one wire at a time, cleaning them and double checking insert location, actually felt pretty solid about this. Pull the wiring loom back a bit to make it easier to have wires to both pins at once. Took a bit of time to pull the oil soaks wiring wrap off and electrical tape where needed as well.
Then installed the engine harness as much as I could on the motor.
3 am. Time for bed.
3:30 am, not asleep, laying in bed. Hear the garage door open and bind on the locking mechanism.
Hear the alarm beginning to count down.
Put on jeans, grab the XD .45. Girlfriend wakes up, looks at me like perhaps I have finally had it with the 7.3. I tell her the situation and she just goes back to bed like "ok".
Anyways, as I had suspected, the garage door button has gotten stuck in the open position, allowed it to random try to open on its own.
Didn't shoot anybody. Went to bed.
11 am here, sun is up and I'm late to work. Going to find coffee and get to cracking.
Falcons game will be played in the garage on my computer today. Sorry boys, love em but can't waste 3 hours of day light.
#155
01-13-2018, 02:04 PM
Long day yesterday, ran into an issue on just about every task.
Started the day on my Dynatrac Free Spin Conversion Kit, with hubs. Installed new inner axle seals, and began on kit install. Removing old wheel bearing studs and moving them to new hub assemblies.
Before you ask why on earth I ponied up for this in the middle of this entire project, please know I already owned this kit.
About 2 months before I even bought this truck, I score my kit on a incredible local deal. Young military man had bought the kit for his truck and totalled it while waiting for it to arrive in Alaska. He tried multiple times to resell it on the local diesel page but no bites.
I really didn't have a reason to cough up the money until I decided that I was going to fix up my F250 or buy a different truck for the Baja.
In the end, I caught him on the day he went way down on the price because he was moving and didn't want to move the boxes.
He paid it around 2,800 for the kit shipped. He sold it to me for: 1500.
Love a deal!
Started the day on my Dynatrac Free Spin Conversion Kit, with hubs. Installed new inner axle seals, and began on kit install. Removing old wheel bearing studs and moving them to new hub assemblies.
Before you ask why on earth I ponied up for this in the middle of this entire project, please know I already owned this kit.
About 2 months before I even bought this truck, I score my kit on a incredible local deal. Young military man had bought the kit for his truck and totalled it while waiting for it to arrive in Alaska. He tried multiple times to resell it on the local diesel page but no bites.
I really didn't have a reason to cough up the money until I decided that I was going to fix up my F250 or buy a different truck for the Baja.
In the end, I caught him on the day he went way down on the price because he was moving and didn't want to move the boxes.
He paid it around 2,800 for the kit shipped. He sold it to me for: 1500.
Love a deal!
If the guy you bought if from really did pay $2800 shipped, then you should have the Dynatrac locking hubs. If it has Warns, that kit is only about $1800 new.
Also, did you check to make sure you have the correct wheel lugs ( coarse vs fine), as the kit can be bought both ways? Not a big deal if you need to change them, but it would suck to figure it out later just as you are planning on bolting the wheels on.
#156
01-13-2018, 02:14 PM
I did the Spyntec conversion myself, a few months ago. I paid $1550, from Diesel Power Products. The spindle design is slightly different then the Dynatrac, but it does the same thing. I got the kit with Mile Marker hubs. Some people don't like them, but there fine for my needs. I didn't want to pay the premium for the Warn hubs.
If the guy you bought if from really did pay $2800 shipped, then you should have the Dynatrac locking hubs. If it has Warns, that kit is only about $1800 new.
Also, did you check to make sure you have the correct wheel lugs ( coarse vs fine), as the kit can be bought both ways? Not a big deal if you need to change them, but it would suck to figure it out later just as you are planning on bolting the wheels on.
If the guy you bought if from really did pay $2800 shipped, then you should have the Dynatrac locking hubs. If it has Warns, that kit is only about $1800 new.
Also, did you check to make sure you have the correct wheel lugs ( coarse vs fine), as the kit can be bought both ways? Not a big deal if you need to change them, but it would suck to figure it out later just as you are planning on bolting the wheels on.
Maybe it was closer to 2600 shipped. The poor guy was out an arm and a leg. I slowly watched him bring the price down on the kit but everyone locally had cold feet.
At 1500, delivered one mile from my house, I was in.
Also gave me new u joints and new ball joints.
Had the u joints pressed into my axles, keeping the new ball joints for later. This truck had new ball joints installed last summer and they seem fine. The truck also has warn hubs, so those will trickle over to my F250.
#157
01-13-2018, 02:15 PM
First, for the love of god, man...... Why wouldn't you take this perfect opportunity to paint all those bare aluminum parts (pedestal, water pump, new HPOP) Even if you hit them with some cheap clear....... They look great now, but they will look like fuzzy white crap in a few months.
Same with the Dynatrac stuff. All that pretty new metal is going to be rusty in short order.
I spent nearly a full day prepping and masking off all the Spyntec stuff and painting it with black chassis epoxy. I hate rusty parts!
On the 42 pin, is that the engine side you are re-pinning? What tool are you using to remove the pins/wires from the old connector? ( link?) I know there is a special tool, for GM weatherpack terminals as an example. Is there a Ford equivalent? Have you figured out how to get the bolt out of the connector or learned anything more about why it got stuck, now the wires are out of the way? How do you plan on securing the body side of the 42 pin, to the new engine side connector?
Same with the Dynatrac stuff. All that pretty new metal is going to be rusty in short order.
I spent nearly a full day prepping and masking off all the Spyntec stuff and painting it with black chassis epoxy. I hate rusty parts!
On the 42 pin, is that the engine side you are re-pinning? What tool are you using to remove the pins/wires from the old connector? ( link?) I know there is a special tool, for GM weatherpack terminals as an example. Is there a Ford equivalent? Have you figured out how to get the bolt out of the connector or learned anything more about why it got stuck, now the wires are out of the way? How do you plan on securing the body side of the 42 pin, to the new engine side connector?
#158
01-13-2018, 02:19 PM
Thanks for asking. It is actually the kit with Dynatrac hubs and I did check that the studs are correct.
Maybe it was closer to 2600 shipped. The poor guy was out an arm and a leg. I slowly watched him bring the price down on the kit but everyone locally had cold feet.
At 1500, delivered one mile from my house, I was in.
Also gave me new u joints and new ball joints.
Had the u joints pressed into my axles, keeping the new ball joints for later. This truck had new ball joints installed last summer and they seem fine. The truck also has warn hubs, so those will trickle over to my F250.
Maybe it was closer to 2600 shipped. The poor guy was out an arm and a leg. I slowly watched him bring the price down on the kit but everyone locally had cold feet.
At 1500, delivered one mile from my house, I was in.
Also gave me new u joints and new ball joints.
Had the u joints pressed into my axles, keeping the new ball joints for later. This truck had new ball joints installed last summer and they seem fine. The truck also has warn hubs, so those will trickle over to my F250.
I was trying to buy a Dynatrac kit off a guy in CA, via Craigslist, in a similar situation. He was very hard to get a hold of. Rarely answered his phone. We had agreed on about the same price ($1500 shipped), but then I could never get him after that. I finally gave up, and bought the Spyntech new.
#159
01-13-2018, 02:27 PM
First, for the love of god, man...... Why wouldn't you take this perfect opportunity to paint all those bare aluminum parts (pedestal, water pump, new HPOP) Even if you hit them with some cheap clear....... They look great now, but they will look like fuzzy white crap in a few months.
Same with the Dynatrac stuff. All that pretty new metal is going to be rusty in short order.
I spent nearly a full day prepping and masking off all the Spyntec stuff and painting it with black chassis epoxy. I hate rusty parts!
On the 42 pin, is that the engine side you are re-pinning? What tool are you using to remove the pins/wires from the old connector? ( link?) I know there is a special tool, for GM weatherpack terminals as an example. Is there a Ford equivalent? Have you figured out how to get the bolt out of the connector or learned anything more about why it got stuck, now the wires are out of the way? How do you plan on securing the body side of the 42 pin, to the new engine side connector?
Same with the Dynatrac stuff. All that pretty new metal is going to be rusty in short order.
I spent nearly a full day prepping and masking off all the Spyntec stuff and painting it with black chassis epoxy. I hate rusty parts!
On the 42 pin, is that the engine side you are re-pinning? What tool are you using to remove the pins/wires from the old connector? ( link?) I know there is a special tool, for GM weatherpack terminals as an example. Is there a Ford equivalent? Have you figured out how to get the bolt out of the connector or learned anything more about why it got stuck, now the wires are out of the way? How do you plan on securing the body side of the 42 pin, to the new engine side connector?
I sure wish I had the kind of time to keep this thing pretty but I don't. I'l barely even have time to get some paint on the exhaust system at this point.
for the 42 pin connector, you can look down and see little plastic tabs holding each wire in place. I just pulled them back using a pick and the wire comes right out.
I meant to look this one up. This was the number 4 pin.
#160
01-13-2018, 02:29 PM
And lastly, I tackled getting my old cooling fan off the old water pump. What a bitch that is, without the pump on the motor. I broke down and went auto parts store to auto parts store, in my other room mate's vehicle with the entire assembly in the truck.
I had tried calling around but between language barriers and people not knowing what a fan clutch wrench is, it was easier to show up and get my hands on the tooling. No photos, but that soaked up some time.
I had tried calling around but between language barriers and people not knowing what a fan clutch wrench is, it was easier to show up and get my hands on the tooling. No photos, but that soaked up some time.
#161
01-13-2018, 03:16 PM
Fleet Owner
#163
01-14-2018, 09:37 AM
Hotshot
#164
01-14-2018, 11:49 AM
Well, yesterday wasn't incredibly productive. Rain/snow/sleet which wasn't fun.
Did get in the truck and finish changing over the new 42 pin connector.
Also managed to finally finish my hutch/harpoon mods, and install the tank.
One thing, back on the truck!
In other news, the friend that helped me tear the truck down got back from his month long trip to Russia this morning. He is all messed up on time zones but excited to get back involved before we roll out.
ANNNND, a good highschool friend of mine randomly called me and asked if he could fly up, join the fun and ride the Alaskan Highway back down to Washington. He happens to have just moved to Oregon and is waiting to find work. He felt like it was a unique chance to get involved in an adventure, while he is without home/job/dog/woman.
He just got in last night. Going down stairs to yell at him for being late to work. Then, we'll go get coffee.
Did get in the truck and finish changing over the new 42 pin connector.
Also managed to finally finish my hutch/harpoon mods, and install the tank.
One thing, back on the truck!
In other news, the friend that helped me tear the truck down got back from his month long trip to Russia this morning. He is all messed up on time zones but excited to get back involved before we roll out.
ANNNND, a good highschool friend of mine randomly called me and asked if he could fly up, join the fun and ride the Alaskan Highway back down to Washington. He happens to have just moved to Oregon and is waiting to find work. He felt like it was a unique chance to get involved in an adventure, while he is without home/job/dog/woman.
He just got in last night. Going down stairs to yell at him for being late to work. Then, we'll go get coffee.
