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I made it home after 7 weeks on the road. Bought a gang of parts and tools.
I can’t get the ficken fan off! I tried clockwise and counterclockwise. I tried a MAP torch on it and it still won’t budge. Unfortunately I have to head back out on the road for 2 more weeks so I won’t get to touch it again for another few weeks.
i guess it’s OK if I cut the fan off since it’s massive. I’ll just have to order a fan/clutch from a 2500. That would fit my truck/rad better anyway.
i want to get the front dress off first, then will use the starter to turn it over to check compression, leak down, and oil pressure. Then I’ll start cleaning/painting/tune up/oil pan swap/etc.
Last edited by rang-a-stang; 03-18-2024 at 09:48 AM.
Had about an hour to wrench today. Here's what I started with (also posting this to record my belt routing for later):
Pulled the front dress off and the coil packs. Then put it on on my engine stand.
I drained the oil and inspected it. It looks like oil with about 1000 miles on it. No grit, no sparkles, no water. I feel pretty good about that.
Lastly I installed a mechanical oil pressure gauge where the factory sensor goes. Next up I will drop some fresh oil and ATF in it and check compression. Once compression is checked, it's gonna get cleaned, rattle canned, oil pan swap, and tune up.
I clipped off the metal portion of the oil cooler lines and connected both oil cooler lines together so the oil circuit is complete. Then I pulled all 8 plugs. #2 looks a little dark but it doesn't look like a plug that was in a water soaked cylinder or oily. I am assuming it was stored with #2's intake valve open. This picture makes some other plugs look bad but it's just the pic.
Hooked up the wrecking yard starter I bought and the cheap flex plate next. Both fit perfectly. Cranked it over for about 45 seconds but never got oil pressure. Grrrr.... It has 5 quarts of oil, 1 quart of ATF, and about half a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil in it. it's a 10qt pan but that should be plenty for the pickup. The motor spins cleanly and there were no odd sounds so I proceeded to compression checks. I am HOPING maybe I hooked up the jumper cables backwards and maybe I spun the motor backward?
Compression checks started on Cylinder 1. Found out my compression tester does not hold pressure. What I saw is as the motor turns, I could hear it slow on the compression stroke as it should. The needle on my gauge would go from 0 to 80, to 160'ish, quickly trickle down to about 110 as the motor turns, then pulse back up to about 160, then trickle down to 110 again over and over as the motor turned. I was hoping for 185 psi but never saw it. I got the EXACT same readings on all 8 cylinders. That tells me it is "probably" good. 160psi is enough to fire off.
Next up I put all the old plugs back in, stuffed a paper towel as deep as possible into each exhaust port and followed each towel up with a plastic bag to seal up the ports. I covered the throttle body and the oil fill tube to prevent water from getting in and pushed the engine out into the driveway and sprayed it down with degreaser. (before pics)
I hooked up my pressure washer to the hot water heater and spent the next 45 mins blasting away. It was NUTS how much dirt and grime came off! Check out my driveway! That's all from the engine!
Lastly I used compressed air to blow it all off to help it dry faster. I see a lot of markings from when the short block was replaced; I am hoping that is a good thing. I am prepping for paint next so I pulled off the coolant bypass hose and balancer. I hope to mask and paint the Valve covers, and block/heads today or tomorrow. I painted the "new" oil pan yesterday too. Here it is as I walked away yesterday.
BBC in AMC blue!
I got called on an emergency bidness trip for a few weeks so it's going to sit like this for a few weeks. I was able to get the "new" oil pan painted satin black but not able to swap it yet.
Had a few minutes before I fly away so I flipped her over and pulled the oil pan.
I noticed this tag earlier and I like it.... I know this engine has been out of the donor for at least 3 years, so that means it only had 9'ish years between rebuild and now.
Anywho, it looks CLLLLEAAAANNN on the inside! The black stuff on the bottom of the big pan is not gritty at all.
Check out the windage tray, mains, and rods! They look like they have no run time at all! Oil pickup was clean.
I tried my new to me oil pan (from a Silverado 8.1) and the pickup is not going to work. No real surprise there but kind of bummed. I'll order the correct one while I am on travel and it should be ready by the time I get home.
I took this picture just because I think it's cool to see the 8.1 cast in the side. This will be the only marking anywhere that will show the true size of this beast.
03-17-2024, 12:25 PM
What I saw is as the motor turns, I could hear it slow on the compression stroke as it should. The needle on my gauge would go from 0 to 80, to 160'ish, quickly trickle down to about 110 as the motor turns, then pulse back up to about 160, then trickle down to 110 again over and over as the motor turned. I was hoping for 185 psi but never saw it. I got the EXACT same readings on all 8 cylinders. That tells me it is "probably" good. 160psi is enough to fire off. 
