What are you working on today?

[Pterostylis]

New donut gasket between exhaust manifold and downpipe. I had to remove the engine mount bolts and lift the engine to get to the exhaust bolts. It took a lot of light hammering, checking and more hammering of the donut to get it to fit onto the manifold.

The downpipe now hits the chassis rail due to how thick the new donut is.
I am about to pull it back apart and “massage” the downpipe to create some clearance.

 

[bdcardinal]

But a 6.0 they said. It would be fun they said... Had a code for a cyl 2 misfire and very obvious rough running. Also had grey smoke while driving and black smoke on startup. Bad injector on #2, and decided to do 4, 6, and 8 since I will be there. Started yesterday and the back driver side FICM nut was rounded off. The nut that held the back FICM bracket to the valve cover stud would just spin the stud. Used a crowsfoot wrench and turned the stud 1/6 of a turn at a time since it was on the rear of the valve cover under the valley. I didn't work on it today because I was sore. Had to order some extra hardware pieces that didn't come off to well. Plus side is all the FICM connectors are intact. Using Ford reman injectors. Also doing the blue spring kit while I am there.

 

[BrianF]

@bdcardinal you're doing God's work.....

 

[Pterostylis]

I failed to fix the issue.
I massaged the downpipe and installed a new old stock engine mount to lift the engine/manifold about 10mm so there should be adequate clearance now, but the car still vibrates badly and sounds terrible, if anything it’s getting worse.

 

[LostInTransit]

Follow Up on the Hardrace email:

Hardrace actually got back with me on this and said:

"We at hardrace, test our own products on a variety of cars and would not condone the use of the 28mm sway bar on your 2020 Transit Connect. Therefore, We cannot risk jeopardizing our customers safety based only on your words. But thank you for the Photos"

I sent Hardrace photos of their sway bar installed on the van and they still will not acknowledge that it was and is a successful test.

Also, spent a few hours working up a parts list that we need to take with us to Ben's shop.

Plus been working on our annual trip to anywhere USA coming up earlier this fall. making sure the travel apps are updated and ready to hit the road. points unknow.. after ben installs the struts and my buddy does the front splitter and we get word back for the wheel repair shop about our damaged wheels.

 

[bdcardinal]

@bdcardinal you're doing God's work.....

As I was turning the crowsfoot 1/6 of a turn at a time with my arm bent in an awkward position I had a lot of time to think about life and decisions I have made in the past. Then I had a moment of clarity when I realized this truck is paid off and a new truck would be way too expensive right now.

 

[walterjay]

Going down to stake and fertilize tomatoe plants.

 

[BrianF]

@bdcardinal i too have had some life clarifying moments working on vehicles...... had some come to Jesus moments and quite a few childish outbursts where things were broken. That's why I see a therapist and don't go into the black anymore.........awkward silence.....
But I also don't own any version of the powerstroke.

 

[bdcardinal]

@bdcardinal i too have had some life clarifying moments working on vehicles...... had some come to Jesus moments and quite a few childish outbursts where things were broken. That's why I see a therapist and don't go into the black anymore.........awkward silence.....
But I also don't own any version of the powerstroke.

And then I get to work and see we have a just delivered Dark Horse Mustang Performance Pack, Recaro seat, in Ember Blue..... sigh.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

Did a valve clearance adjustment on my sons 02 CRV. 158k miles. Didn't know if it was ever done. It must have been done at some point. None were really far out of adjustment. Went ahead and adjusted them to all match since I was there. Fired it up and took a test drive, noticed no difference. Good that they were fine but a bummer that it didn't make a difference. At least I'll probably never touch them again. Only gets about 5k miles a year put on it.

 

[tbm3fan]

Finally got the thrust bearing sanded down to provide me with some movement in the block. Initially had no movement and the crank was locked in. Should be somewhere between 0.006-0.008" now. Range for FE is 0.004-0.010" desired. After that mounted the pistons to the rods.

 

[ripcord]

Finally got the thrust bearing sanded down to provide me with some movement in the block. Initially had no movement and the crank was locked in. Should be somewhere between 0.006-0.008" now. Range for FE is 0.004-0.010" desired. After that mounted the pistons to the rods.

View attachment 284029View attachment 284030View attachment 284031

What flavor of FE are you rebuilding? My last one was a 352 in a 65 F250.

 

[tbm3fan]

What flavor of FE are you rebuilding? My last one was a 352 in a 65 F250.

Mercury 410

 

[ripcord]

Mercury 410

Sweet! Which bore stroke combo is that? A 4.05 bore like a 360 maybe with a 428 crank?

 

[bdcardinal]

Made progress last night on the 6.0 Powerstroke injectors. I didn't touch it Sunday because I needed a day not working on it. Last night I got the valve cover off, which the back bolt is fun because I used about every 1/4" and 3/8" drive 12mm socket to get it out since it was hitting a heat shield on the firewall. The dummy plug and stand pipe were the older versions that use a 10mm hex and not the updated 12mm hex ones. The stand pipe split when I pulled it out, thankfully I bought the OTC 7481 / Rotunda 303-1164 remover tool. Once I got the oil rail off I was able to get the lower part of the stand pipe out. Made sure the T-45 injector hold down bolts loosened, they did, and then buttoned up the job for the night. I bought a new valve cover along with a new crankcase breather. The valve cover comes with new bolts and studs which is always nice. The breather did not come with new bolts, the T-35 ones showed rust, so I verified fastener size in the parts catalog, M6x1.0x25mm and went to Home Depot and got some allen head bolts and washers that worked flawlessly.

Going to yank the injectors tonight, maybe do the glow plugs since we are right there, depends on how I feel. Also going to do the blue spring kit, which raises static fuel pressure by 10psi and should help with performance and injector life. Also will do an oil change, about 500 miles to the next scheduled change, but since these are HEUI, I might as well, along with a new fuel filter kit. I guess this counts as bonus under valve cover pictures. Also got the new FICM nuts in today at work, so I get to also use some extractor sockets and save the bracket.

 

[parshisa]

Helped my buddy over the weekend with replacing timing belt and other accessories (full Aisin kit) on his 2018 Honda Ridgeline. As expected, belt itself was in fairly good condition (at 118k miles), however the tensioner was leaking. No issues removing the crank bolt with the weighted socket and Milwaukee impact. This was my second time doing the timing belt on Honda's 3.5j series, and it went a bit smoother. Used "mark the old belt and transfer to the new one" method, which certainly helps with proper install of the new belt.

 

[tbm3fan]

Sweet! Which bore stroke combo is that? A 4.05 bore like a 360 maybe with a 428 crank?

Yes, the stock 4.054 bore along with the 428 crank. Although now a 4.084 bore.

 

[14Accent]

Drove the '79 to work today and slapped her on the A/C machine (finally). Pulled vacuum for 45 minutes, let it sit for another 30 with zero loss of vacuum, and charged with 3 lbs. of R134a. Initially I had no clutch engagement, but it turned out to be nothing more than a bad ground.

The replacement Pro6Ten aluminum compressor works a treat. It's basically silent when in operation, clutch engagement is barely noticeable. All of the climate controls somehow still function, although I did discover a missing LH panel vent duct under the steering column. I've already sourced a replacement on eBay, only $25!

 

[Dean]

Replacing the splutch on my washing machine; mowing.

 

[meep]

Ordered the gauge cluster for a gift for a family member. To make something like this with it.