hi,
Can u help me with a few questions?

1. Can I remove heads & change Pistons with out pulling the motor?
If so, how?

2. To change lifters, timing chain, and cam do i have to remove the intake mainfold?


3. How do I clean charred looking oil from the inside of the heads?

Any help with these questions would be great.
I have removed the front clip to my 78 f150 and started this build up, from what people on this site have suggested.


Thanks from kevin

 

sorry i cant answer all of your questions but i do know that you do have to remove the intake to change the lifters and i am very sure you will need to post your engine size and make,model,year of vehicle for the question about having to pull engine so the smart guys in here can help you to their fullest potential. Good luck with it.

 

You can change pistons without removing the engine, assuming you can get the heads off and the pan off with enough clearance to work on the bottom end. But it's about three times as much work as with the engine pulled. Especially when you hone the cylinders for new rings, again assuming the cylinders are in good enough condition to re-ring.

Intake manifold must be removed to get to the lifters.

A die grinder with a wire brush will remove carbon buildup on the heads.

I'd suggest you get a manual that covers rebuilding your engine. It'll make life a lot easier and you're going to need the torque values to re-assemble the engine.

 

Why do you wont to change the pistons? You also need room to drop the pan to get to the rods.If you have the nose off the truck the int. and heads off and now the pan you're left with the block in the truck.It would be better to have the engine out and on a stand.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 24-Nov-02 AT 03:20 AM (EST)]The simplist answer is yes, if you drop the pan and pull the heads, you can push the pistons/rods out through the top. It's very unlikely you'll have room to get them out the bottom with the engine still in the truck. Put rubber tubing on the rod bolts and push them carefully! The big rod ends can do as much damage to the cylinder walls as the rod bolts if you remove them this way! Make sure you use a ridge reamer at the top of the cylinders first or they WONT come out!

But consider this: Once the rods are loose you should always measure the journals for wear or out of round. If any need work then you have to pull the crank. Taking the crank out while the block is in the truck will be a bitch! You'll have to pull the bellhousing and tranny. Plus you're gonna have a hell of a time getting that crank back in. And you'll have to jack that engine way up to clear the crank. Also, you're gonna pull the whole front of the engine off to do the cam.

When you get through getting everything out, you'll have just a bare block sitting in the truck, which you could almost lift out yourself! Save yourself a BIG LOT of work; rent a cherry picker and pull that engine.

 

To do this properly removing the engine would be easier by far. You are talking about going almost down to the bare block.