wolfman98

Well I got the block and engine bay just about stripped. I am debating on if I will pull the distrbuter shaft and or the carb.The dist I will try to mark where it is lined up so it's not screwed up when it's put back in. The carb I will have to undo the throttle cable linkage , at what point i have not really checked out yet. I need to go to U.A.P. Auto to see if I can get the gaskets I need. So far I have no problem with Valve cover and manifold gaskets which i have. I need waterpump and thermostat gaskets and a thermostat since there was not one in it? The last motor I took apart was back in 1975 with the help of a mechanic friend of mine , so any advice is appreciated. The motor works well so I only plan on cleaning and painting everything. Should I leave the carb. alone and work around it?

a64olz

Wolfman, I would go a bit farther and pull the engine you are almost there, I would replace the oil pump,"freeze plugs" timing gear and chain, valve stem oil seals,water pump and fuel pump,all gaskets as well, then a visual inspection of the underside of the block as well as the valve train.This a good time to replace the motor mounts, yep one thing leads to another.
Then flush and reseal the trans and replace the filter as well as a visual inspection. Besides, being out will allow you to do a much better job of cleaning and then painting. Oh yea did I mention, one thing leads to another ?
"is there no end to this madness"

wolfman98

Well I already pulled the oilpan and pump , added new gasket and paint to the oilpan. Everything looked good there so I did not change bearings. The trans has been drained and I plan on flushing it. It will have new filters and gaskets as I go . I do not have anything to pull the motor with and like you say one thing leads to another. I checked the motor mounts and somebody before me must have already changed them. the biggest thing is flushing the motor cause the heater core was not hooked up and coolant was rerouted from top of waterpump into a "Y" joint. One to top rear of block and the other into the bottom front , both passenger side. When I tried to drain coolant from block the bottom drain after being pulled was plugged and nothing came out. I poked around with small screwdriver and found it blocked. put my bucket underneath and slowly dug out the blockage. When she broke through it would be safe to say I really needed a good shower.I plan on testing the heater core by forcing water into it and see if it leaks , if not I will try to hook it up properly if not I will use current setup. I only plan on driving it on nice warm days. I really did not want to go into too many things but I am not sure about pulling the plate for timing gear and chain. At 138,000 miles it may be an issue and I have no info if it has been done. I will have to pull off the crank pulley won't I ? I would have to borrow socket and bar to do that. The fuel pump is new and she will have new plugs, wires, rotor and cap.Being partly disabled and working alone my expectations of cruising this summer is becoming slightly diminished.

Bluevista

Looking good. When you had the fuel pump off did you feel inside to see if the timing chain was loose? It will flop back and forth and push way in if it's worn in there. Those timing gears were famous for going bad and were replaced routinely so who knows? My late good buddy was a 60-70's Olds mechanic and the first thing he did when he saw my engine was have me pull the fuel pump so he could check the chain, it was real bad.
I can relate with your medical problem and see how you don't want to get too carried away, surprised you've done as much as you have. I wouldn't do any more than absolutely needed either if the engine was fine before.

Lady72nRob71

Geez... I wish i would have known to do this last year when i replaced my fuel pump... Too many tips and tricks to learn...
My chain and sprocks were supposibly replaced before I bought the car, but by the same shop that installed the cheesy 1 yr water pump that failed after 1 year, one month. Who knows...

jaysun

I don't know if this would work or not. but, maybe you could remove the last 4 bolts on the timming cover and pull it out enough to rotate it. then you could at least take a look at the top timing gear

wolfman98

The previous owner replaced it cause he thought it would help his cold starting problem. It didn't , all he needed to do was clean the carb. it was so gummed up the choke wasn't working. i could pull it and see if the chain is slack or maybe get a peek at some of the teeth to see if there is much wear.

wolfman98

I will check that possability tomorrow when I get back to the garage , thanks