need head removal or rebuild pictures??!! suggestions and recomendations

[creteman]

if anyone has pics of their rebuild/head replacement, i would appreciate it if you could link me to them. basicaly i am looking for detailed pics and explanations of how you did it, or what you would do differently,what worked and what did not work? or if you know of a post or thread that has this info or these pics.
i'm just trying to fill my head with as much info as possible before i remove the heads. i've already got the belt driven accesories off the front of the engine, the y-pipe detatched from the exdhaust manifolds, and it has been drained of coolant and oil.
i still have not ruled out removing the motor to do the head gaskets. nor have i ruled out having to replace pistons or rings or whatever else. what should i look for when i remove the heads? how would i know if i have a bent rod or bad bearing? what changes should i make while i'm inside the motor, if any?

sorry about all the ?????? i'm just trying to cover all my bases here.

thanks.
rob

[Rick_Hipp]

Check out Mel's Head Gasket Article. Start to finish + adding a turbo.

[jmjames]

[ QUOTE ]
how would i know if i have a bent rod or bad bearing? what changes should i make while i'm inside the motor, if any?

[/ QUOTE ]

If you have the motor out the open up the oil pan and check for coolant and/or rust. I would at least take it apart and have the blocked "dipped" which would clean out the passages (oil/water) from years of use. Other than visual inspection on the rods for bent ones, you can lay them down on a clean flat surface and see if they rock (on the side) or lay them flat, carefully draw an outline with a pencil and place each rod into the outline checking to see if they match up. Look at the crank to see if you have any burn marks on the bearing journals and/or the block journals. There are more ways but these seem to be the easiest for me. I would definitely replace the seals and bearings (their cheap) if you go that far. Definately check your cylinders for roundness and wear and clean up accordingly. You may have to sleeve some of them. Basically your inspection of the short block will determine how far you should go. Ask a friend to come by for an evaluation if your not sure. Put some money away cause you'll need it, [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/depressed.gif[/img] but there is nothing more satisfying than hearing your engine purrr after you rebuild it..
Ahhhh yess....... memories...... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[MSFII]

Most important advice I can give is to back off the head bolts in small increments ( like 1/4 to 1/2 turn) in the reverse of the torque sequence used to install them.
There is enough resilience in that old head gasket that improper unbolting will certainly crack those heads.

[creteman]

thanks for the replies.

riphip, yes i have seen mels hg article, damn near been like a bible the last couple of days.

jeff43, i still have not decided to pull engine out or not, but i better figure it out soon because the boss is coming over in a bit to tow it to his shop so i can have a place to work on it. i really need to fix the oil pan leak, so i'm kinda leanin towards pullin it out. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shrug.gif[/img]

soilsengineer, with my luck i probably already have a cracked head, but i am going to be sure and follow the sequence just incase the IDI gods were watching over me. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

anybody else ?

anybody got pictures of engine being pulled out?

thanks.
rob

[julianshulman]

having just pulled an engine, I can say I was glad I'd removed the radiator and fan. the room that opened up was nice and probably necessary.

[agnem]

If you look through my Moosestang album, you'll see a few pics of engine disembodiement. However, given the experience so far of converting the Bronco, I'd recommend that you pull the front clip. Not as bad a job as it sounds, and you'll be able to do so things that will make the repair all that much more enjoyable. Not only that, but your radiator core support and front clip mounts are surely in need of attention. If you pull the front clip, take the oil filter and starter off, you can pull the whole drivetrain in one shot.

[analog]

Not totally completed yet, and it's a 7.3, but has lots of hi-res pics:

HG Removal Write Up

[h2odrx]

great job! i like the pics it helped me see what i don't have on my truck, and if i ever have to do it what will need to be done! that is the way i do it take lots of pics because i never seem to get it back like it should!

[agnem]

[ QUOTE ]
Not totally completed yet, and it's a 7.3, but has lots of hi-res pics:

HG Removal Write Up

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow! You really made a major project out of that one! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] Nice job with the pictures. Much better than mine. Of course, I didn't own a digital camera at the time. As for the cork gasket, I'd have told you (or maybe I did) I'd never use Cork! Ouch.

[creteman]

Thank you very much for linking me to your hg write up. I had seen this before but couldn't find it again. It was very helpful. I just pulled the heads off my 6.9 today. Will try to post pics later.

Thanks.
Rob

[jdkline]

Analog, taht is very thorough. I'm duly impressed,
J.D.

[cdnsarguy]

Ryan very nice work.....I will be sending that writeup all over the world with Mel's turbo install.

[analog]

Thx guys.. now that I have people actually reading it, guess I'd better get it finished.

Mel, yeah, the cork gasket was a major goof.. oh well, no major harm done just a few, ok a LOT, more curse words added to the garage's ears.