I used (and still do if I'm off site) an old valve bent 90 degrees, I put the valve in one of the bolt holes and locked the flywheel with it.
Then I would use a breaker bar, sometimes with a length of pipe over it, and off it comes!.
Great for reassembly too, remember it is torqued up damn tight.

Roger.

 

What scent candle do you use? crafty trick I will have to keep that one in mind

 

I use AeroKroil on stuck bolts. Hasn't let me down yet. I tap the head of the stuck bolt with a ball peen hammer and then use a wrench on the stuck fastener. Works every time.

 

flywheel came off, i actually soaked the bolts w PB spray and hit the wrench w a hammer so I guess the impact helped. so how do i remove the actual housing or ring that flywheel was attached to?

 

Invest in a breaker bar or good long pipe to slip over the ratchet. You'll have to lock that flexplate down though so the engine doesn't rotate.

 

not saying do this but this is an old trick for bad bolts that wont come out. Take a socket that you don't like or need, preferably the cheapy one and get some JB Weld. Clean the head of the bolt real good with a wire brush. Get a paper towel and put a hole in it the size of the bolt head. Now fill the socket up with the JB Weld and put the paper towl over the head of bolt. The paper towel is there to protect the rest of the engine or whatever it might be attached to, you dont want that JB Weld to get on anything else except the socket and bolt head. Make sure the socket isn't too full that you can't get an extention in it and then let it dry.
I let it dry for a day or two for a bolt that I did and it basically makes the bolt and socket one solid piece. Attach the rachet and you are out

Keep in mind, I am not saying do this. I was only offering another trick if I bolt pisses you off. These days I think the bolt removers that Craftsman makes are just about as good. I have to say though, it was fun.

 

Keep in mind that even though epoxies like JBWeld are Permanent and will Never Come Off, they come right off with a torch .

- Eric

 

ummmm... No... I did NOT know that ... LOL

 

Eric, sorry to hijack this a little. JB Weld. I've never used it. Will it hold together on plastic parts like a inner fender liner? I have a broken out mount and wonder if I can 'weld' it back in.

 

JBWeld can fix ANYTHING .

It's even better than duct tape.

I suspect that if you were to use enough of it, it would "fix" anything wrong with a fender liner, either metal or plastic, but it sure wouldn't look good doing it. I'm not sure what kind of mount you're talking about, but to get enough strength from any epoxy resin on a big, flat part like that, you'll have to really lay in on, and it won't look pretty.

Any chance a few flat metal strips with small nuts and bolt through them would do the job? It'd look better than a mountain of JBWeld.

The best thing if you've got a big crack in a fender liner is probably just to replace it - they didn't rust, and there are plenty around.

- Eric

 

I have always used an appropriate sized wooden hammer handle thru a flywheel hole and turned till flywheel was wedged and then while holding the other end of hammer with one hand(or a helper if you got one), using either a breaker bar or impact wrench to get those flywheel bolts loose ---- and same way to torque them tight on installing!

 

i was able to get the balancer bolt off with a breaker bar n some heat

I tapped and tugged on the balancer and its not moving, any ideas on how to remove? not sure if the balancer ring or the inner core is suppose to come off. Thx

 

i shouldve looked at the manual, so theres a tool called balancer puller, looks like ill be making another trip to sears!

 

"If all else fails, read the instructions" .

You'll use that puller again and again over the years, anyway.

- Eric

 

I have a similar problem with a galley plug, the only removeable piece still on my 455
I pretty much just gave up on it and said "i'll deal with it when i finally have a reason too"
Was gonna ask about it but never felt the need since ive got an entire car to build before i get to this motor, but this is convenient so, any suggestions?

 

Another option you can use if you dont have anything heavier than that propane torch is to fill those pockets with coke. It has enough acid in it to break the rust down and the syrup will help lube the threads. Sounds nuts but it works. Was a last ditch thing we did at a Tire shop I used to work at. Let it sit for a day at least.

 

Vega. heat the galley plug until it's hot, real hot. Then put a crayon, paraffin, candle etc. to it. You'll be able to see it soak right in. A few gentle taps on the plug (GENTLE) and it should come right out. Repeat as needed. Do not gorilla the plug or you could crack things. Slow and easy does it.

 

Unscented only!

 

ok, I made some progress, I was able to remove the valves off the block... my next question is how to remove the valve spring on the valve.

Any ideas? any familiarity with this tool, doesnt seem like a bad option for $20

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...5&blockType=G5

 

turns out I dont have a manual crank... i never get lucky....so Im not suprised...

couple of the rocker arms are bent.. I wonder why?

 

last pic...

 

That valve spring compressor looks like the standard type.
$20 for a Craftsman compressor looks a little too good to be true, but there it is.

As for the pushrods, I agree, they seem to lack some of their original linearity. Any chance somebody turned the motor over while it was rusted up? Can you see any piston or valve damage? How's the timing chain and gears?

What's the story with that engine anyway? Where did it come from? What dud the seller tell you about it?

- Eric

 

I live in jersey and for a few months I was looking to pick up a 455 with the plans to swap it with my 350 in my 72 cutlass, as you can see I have a long way to go...

I used to do alot of searches on craigs, so one day I came across a post that said this guy picked up this 455 from an old man that wanted it gone from his garage. The story was, the old man picked up the engine 20 years ago with the plan to install one day into his ride, but it never happened. So the seller, who salvages things, came across this and bought it from here for probably nothing considering I only paid $250. I drove very close to buffalo, it was on the border of upstate NY.

Although he says, it was kept indoor, I have a hard time believing that. I dont think the motor was turned over since the carb and everything else look in place, I bought it with carb to oil pan all attached.

as I started taking apart this puppy, I couldnt believe amount debris/leaves (earth) inside the exhaust manifold and intake manifold.

Regardless Im really enjoying messing around with it, hopefully one day it will come together.

How do I know this engine has the large valves? it's Ga heads, typical block 396021F, the intake manifold is a U code casting 410448. I cant read the vin on the # engine plate.

I could see the pistons now since I took the valve heads off, and I notice some rust and black debris... doesnt look too clean but when I run my finger on the inner walls of the block where some pistons are lowered, it looks pretty clean...

timing belt, gears look good.. you're gonna laugh, I freaking took the timing belt cover without emptying all of the oil, I guess you can imagine what happened next, pool of black oil spilled all over my garage.. lol.. oh well, I learned something new again...

so thats my story so far

 

Okay, my translation of that story is, guy was running 455 hard, overreved, valves hit pistons and bent pushrods and valves, pulled motor and left it in the yard, years passed, then either he sold it to you or a picker bought it and sold it to you.

It's probably rebuildable, but I wouldn't hold out much hope of getting it going without some machine shop work.
At the very least, it'll be fun to take apart .

I would ask what the pistons look like under the valves that those bent pushrods go to, and whether those valves are bent (stuck partially open or won't move).
If this is an original GA head motor, then it shouldn't be possible for the pistons to hit the valves if the timing chain slips ("non-interference" design).
I suspect this motor will require a careful going over once its apart.

Good luck!

- Eric

 

I would leave the short-block and heads assembled, and get the opinion of a rebuilding shop before going any further!
You could mess things up, going any further, without marking the rods to the caps, or driving the valves out of the heads, and a visual inspection of a 'pro', could save you some money down the road.
They'd know what to look for and what they could magnaflux before complete disassembly!

 

I was planning on buying a kits to replace mostly everything, I do want to use the stripped heads, block and crank... here are more pics... I am also planning on taking it to the machine shop but I was going to after I take it apart...

here are more pics.. alot of corrosion - the valve spring compressor came in handy.

 

some more pics.

 

Have the same problem(must be common). Haven't addressed it yet, but I use a product called KROIL. If not available in your area, I think you can find it online. I soak it a couple of times(overnight when possible) and ALWAYS try to tighten a bolt BEFORE trying to loosen it. When I worked at the railroad, we always welded a nut on the end of a broken bolt, heated around it, and it usuallycame out. Problem with a manifold bolt is that it is hard to get to while on the car. Just a thought!

 

Im way past this brother, the trick is = heat and breaker bar - for me at least

Last a night this guy as Sears told me the same thing, tighten before you loosen!

 

I often used a large rubber hammer to beat on a wrench,seems to work better then a steel hammer.

 

by reading the letter codes on intake n exhaust valve rods, my valves are not the large ones!

regardless, have a question, how do I remove the timing chain, there some play on the gear that sits on the cam, the lower gear on the cranks is not going anywhere.

id appreciate if you guys would let me know what tool I need to purchase and parts to remove- thks

 

When you remove the upper gear, the chain comes with it.
You'll need a puller to remove the bottom.
It helps to alighn the small dots on the gears before removal!

 

i took the nut off but the upper gear does not pull away from the cam, what am I missing to do? thx

 

You should be able to firmly wiggle it off...

- Eric

 

hey Eric,

So the top gear should come off with more force, it does move back & forth about a half inch, I wasnt sure if I had to do anything to the cam.

how about lower gear on the crank, I red on a search thread a J hook puller may be necessary & also removing oil pan in the process.

I have to remove the oil pan eventually, may do that now if it helps. At this point, Eventually I want to separate the block from all its components to take it to a machine shop.

thanks

 

hey Eric,

never doubted you as you said, it came off...

Here are a few new pics, the crank looks decent, not sure how to tell if it's in bad shape or not.

Right now I have it turned over, taking the crank off along with pistons calipers so I guess cam would be last since it's below the crank..

 

pics...cont.

 

I hope you marked the rod caps and rods - I usually use a number punch, but you can use a pointed punch and just hit #1 one time, #2 twice, etc.
If you mix them up, the machinist will charge to straighten them out!!
It's easier if they're still on the crank, but you're past that!!

 

And if not, there's always a bigger hammer .

By the way, I notice that you are not using an engine stand.
They are only about a $100 at Harbor Freight, and you (and your back) might be happier if you had one.
It's obviously up to you, and clearly you've got a system right now, but, man, I'd hate to be the one bending down to roll that sucker over again and again...

- Eric

 

The crank bearings should all have cast numbers at their edges (driver's side, if I recall).

The rod bearings, on the other hand...

- Eric