Good luck guys! Hope it works out.

 

Good mojo being sent you way!!

 

I'll be thinking about you two today.

Today, I gotta' go pack that trailer you guys saw me pulling last time I was down there.

I'd wish you good luck, but with the skill you guys have, you won't need luck. :-))

Pop

 

When changing head gaskets at the track where the pan hadn't been dropped I always flushed some new oil through the engine to hopefully remove any debris and then filled with new oil. Then I ran the engine some in the pit to get it up to temperature and then changed the oil again before running the engine at full load.

 

It was a short night and it's Easter so I don't have any time, but remind me to tell you guys how monumentally stupid I am at some point.

Oh, and the truck's running.

 

That's a heck of a way to leave us all hanging. lol

 

A mechanic's tale, eh?

 

I am going to assume that the story will be worth the wait.

 

Well, if the trucks running, you can't be too stupid...

 

First off. With hindsight being the infallible teacher that she is, let me just tell you right up front that it would have been faster and easier to remove the engine than it was pulling the heads with it installed. It is a ridiculous amount of work getting 135lbs worth of head (with exhaust manifolds), studs and gaskets aligned when they're swinging off the end of a cherry picker.

The stupid part......after a marathon, and I mean marathon day of grunting and groaning getting the old girl put back together it came time to plug in the wiring harness. Most of you know that all the sensors on the harness are mechanic proof, but what you may not know is that the connectors for the IPR and the EBPV actuator are identical. Not a big deal if you catch it right off, but I didn't.

Now I did it right putting it back together. I prefilled the oil rails and the reservoir. Prefilled the oil filter....and cycled the fuel pump 6 or 7 times before I even attempted to start it. When I did try she just spun and spun and spun without even trying to fire.

So instead of stopping there to figure out what I did wrong I just assumed it was air and a lack of prime, so we plugged in the battery charger, let the starter cool and continued to crank on it for something approaching the next two hours.........

Finally, at almost 4 o'clock this morning while crawling around looking for any sign of a problem I notice an "extra" plug that looks the same as the IPR plug. So this is the point we break out the wiring diagram and realize I hooked the wrong plug to the IPR. Swapped them over and it fired instantly......................stupid.

Drove it home today. Left it in the stock setting and didn't push it past 14 PSI (yes, I am a little gunshy just now) and the coolant level is GTG and no traces of anything out of place. I'll probably give her a few more days before I try pushing it any.....after I get the oil and coolant flushed again......I'll keep you posted.

 

Glad to here she's back on the road Scott.

All I can say is wire tie labels.

 

At least you got her up and running!

I think anyone that has done work of this level has had the occasional, if not hilarious moment.

 

Glad to hear she's back together and running. Sounds like you learned a valuable lesson with the plugs and checking and re-checking everything.

I would get about 50-ish miles on it before you push the truck much.

Also, I believe you may want to re-torque those ARP's.

 

Good to hear Scott! hope its sealed up tight now for you!

 

Glad to see you got her up and running! I highly recommend a good engine stand and a couple of buddies when you pull the motor out it sure makes the day go by alot quicker LOL.