cult45's 45 recovery and remobilisation

[cult45]

Got to the truck this morning and fired it up. And guess what, as soon as that housing got warm the squeezed out Stag paste turned back into

paste and it started leaking. So I took it off for lucky number seven and installed it with Loctite goo and presto! no leaks. No leaks, no bubbling, so drips, no nothing! The lesson? Don't ever, EVER, EVER, use this sh!t. Ever. It's an utter pile of sh!t. Even if it's the end of the world and you need gasket goo to save your life, TOSS THIS SH!T AS FAR AWAY FROM YOU AS POSSIBLE. Even if Miss July wants you to do her t-stat so she can take you to bed. DON'T DO IT. Even if you're facing down hundreds of Ruskis up on the north pole [because clearly this last scenario is based in reality] and you're freezing your balls off and you need to goo up your M16 so you can cut those Ruskis down to get to the roaring fire behind them. DON'T ****ING DO IT. Even if it's 45 degrees outside and you need to seal up your beer fridge. Yep, burn the tube.

Well, now that that's off my chest..

All I gotta to do now is get my letter from the 4WD club and go down to DOT and get me some plates..

 

[84TROOPY]

Just so I'm clear, you're saying don't use it, right?

 

[cult45]

Hahahaha yeah mate, ditch that sh!t. Hahahaha

 

[Indestructible 47]

So it's Oilproof, petrolproof, waterproof and cultproof?

 

[cult45]

Haha yeah, but I think it's EVERYONEPROOF. Fkn thing.

Looks like my letter might be coming tomorrow, which means I could be at DOT tomorrow..

 

[Indestructible 47]

Looks like my letter might be coming tomorrow, which means I could be at DOT tomorrow..

That's good to hear mate, mine will be another five months yet.

 

[cult45]

Well 47 let me warn you, the road ahead is a treacherous one, filled with trickery designed to test your patience to the limit..

Last night was bittersweet. Registered the truck (it's not stolen!), screwed the plates on and drove it the 5 miles home. Well that was my intention. About halfway I hit a steep rise, was going about 45mph when I started losing power. Dropped back to 2nd, still slowing, then back to 1st until it stopped. Cranked it over but the starter wouldn't budge. Rolled it off the road and had a look and a think. Temp gauge was a little warm but not anything crazy, oil pressure gauge needs a new sender, rad hoses were hot but not too crazy, plenty of oil, the brakes weren't stuck on and the coolant was full (and my t-stat install was sound ), so I left it there and went to bed.

Came back this morning and swapped out the starter. Still won't budge but wants to. Checked fluids again, all good. So whilst waiting for a tow truck I popped the rocker cover and had a squizz. It's oily (a little sludgy here and there) but nothing too ugly. By now I'm starting to think it's seized, so I start fiddling with the pushrods, and 4 of the 12 are tight, can't move em by hand, the other 8 have some play in them. Side to side play as though the pushrods is a bit smaller than the sleeve it runs through. But the other 4 are pretty tight.

Now, I've never pulled an engine down, but a third of the rocker assembly won't move. That's not great, right?

 

[whitey45]

Cult, sounds bad, from your description it sounds like you lost oil presure and slowly locked her up. Check to make sure your distributor is seated all the way down. The dist shaft drives the oil pump! Common issue if dist is loose or not properly engaged. I have pulled dist out of f engines and primed oil pump with a drill and unseized the bearings! Never missed a beat, maybe you can do the same and get lucky!

 

[cult45]

Yeah Whitey old mate I think you're right. In hindsight I should have checked oil pressure before running it for longer than a few minutes. But it drove fine during testing? And all those t-stat tests needed 10-15 mins running to get up to OT.

Anyway mate, I'll pull the dizzy and use a drill on the pump to see if I get oil up top. Any idea what attachment will turn the pump?

 

[Indestructible 47]

Oh, just after it's got plates, that's really got to suck.
Keep us updated, and I do hope it's not rebuild time, just more of a slight inconvenience that can be fixed, but good luck.

 

[Indestructible 47]

I'll have to fix my oil pressure gauge damm fast...

 

[whitey45]

The best is an old dizzy with the gear removed, but you can grind an old screw driver tip with the handle removed chucked up in a hand drill. Have a mate bump the starter while priming. Good luck mate, hope she breaks free and lives another day! Btw, its normal to have some loose and some tight rockers, as some valves are open (tight rocker) and some are closed( loose)

 

[cult45]

Ok so it's not seized. I pulled the plugs and stuck one factory issue 70 series wheel nut brace into the holes in the flywheel and turned it by hand. Freed it up enough so that the starter cranks once before tick tick ticking. So that's a good start. Then I yanked the dizzy and using what was once my favourite large flat screwdriver shaft in the screw gun I turned the oil pump. Miles of oil. Interesting to note when spun clockwise there's a spraying sound that comes from somewhere inside the block, and oil begins to fill up the dizzy sleeve and there's a slow building of resistance against the drill. Turn the pump anti clockwise and there's no spray sound, no oil filling the dizzy sleeve and no resistance. But no oil up top. Is it supposed to be pumped up top?

So I'm thinking something is preventing the oil from pumping around the engine. Can't be the pump cause it pumps. A blocked pickup or gallery?

Oh and sh!t fuel don't help.

 

[cult45]

The best is an old dizzy with the gear removed, but you can grind an old screw driver tip with the handle removed chucked up in a hand drill. Have a mate bump the starter while priming. Good luck mate, hope she breaks free and lives another day! Btw, its normal to have some loose and some tight rockers, as some valves are open (tight rocker) and some are closed( loose)

Thanks Whitedawg. Good man

 

[whitey45]

Did you crank while priming the pump ?It only pumps clockwise!

 

[cult45]

Sh!t. Forgot that part. Working alone anyway. I'll go see how long my arms are.

 

[cult45]

Yeah nah. Won't crank more than once before tick tick ticking. Gonna drop auto trans oil down the plug holes and maybe get under there on Boxing Day and crank that flywheel by hand. Free him up a little. Then try the screw gun in the oil pump trick alongside the key turn job to see if I get oil up top.

Just to be sure, I am supposed to get drenched in oil as it makes it's way up to the rocker assy, right?

 

[whitey45]

Oil is supplied to the rocker arm shaft and up through the rocker arms.Not alot of oil spray, just drips at idle. You can run these f engines with the valve cover off! Your cylinders should be ok, its the crank main bearings and rod bearings that seize up due to oil starvation.

 

[cult45]

Ok Whitey, thanks mate. I'm gonna soak the pots in trans oil to free her up. Then try the key and drill. After that I'll look at pulling the pan and getting compressed air through the galleries.

 

[cult45]

Only got a few minutes this arve on the truck due to festivities, but I undid the nut on the copper tube and checked for blockages. None, it readily accepts air down into wherever it goes. Turned the oil pump with a drill, but no oil came out. Should it with only a drill or would it need full engine revs to do so?

Also, none of the passages in the rocker assy. are blocked. So it must be further down. I'm getting the feeling the pickup is blocked. I'll pull the pan tomorrow and check. I'm expecting sludge and sh!te. Any idea what destroyed main bearings look like?