Now that the heads are at the machine shop, I had some time to get down the garage and work on bottom end. I wanted to get the lower timing and oil pan covers off but only got the timing cover done. I had forgotten that two of the engine stand bolts go into the oil pan since part of the bell housing is integrated into it.
I set up with the crank hub holder and a giant breaker bar, but then thought I’d give my impact a try first. I wasn’t expecting it to work, but was surprised when it did. A few seconds of hammering with it and the bolt spun off. After that, the hub slipped right off.
The cover looked good, but I think the impact broke an internal flange off of the inside of the lower cover. The chunk of aluminum was laying in the oil pan, but didn’t look chewed up at all, like I think it would if it had been down there with the motor running. Not a big loss since I’m planning on using the non water cooled alternator cover from the M60. Just a word to the wise tho if you plan on using a big impact on the crank bolt.
The chunk of plastic is from a chain guide that I also suspect broke under the impact hammering. The guides are very brittle, but looked really good for a motor haveing 150+ k on it when I pulled it.
The oil pump chain does have a lot of slack in it. I’m not sure what is normal, but this seems like a lot…it touches the block with gentle pressure.
I flipped the motor over and started taking out oil pan bolts but quickly realized that I would need to reposition two of the engine stand bolts, or come up with another solution. The only other place to bolt into is are the starter mount casting, which worries me from a strength perspective.
Finally, I pulled the valley pan off and was surprised to find a fine powder filling the top of the metal cover, until I remembered that mice had nested in my cosmetic/acousti engine cover at one point and chowed all the foam.
One last picture from the door card I replaced with a “new to me” eBay card that is in amazing shape. I had to swap out the silver trim piece on the handle, and the door handle itself as the silver was a different shade from my oe card. Note the beautiful “airbag” plug that was included.
