Engine swap in some little village in Sierra Leone!

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Charles, something I've read about, but never tried yet, is a 50/50 mix of acetone and auto tranny fluid for a penetrating fluid. It's supposed to be better than any pre-prepared product you can purchase.

I've been following your motor replacement "adventures" and I don't envy your project being you're a long way away from your normal parts suppliers.

I totally agree with Kiefs' last statement in his post!!! You have my admiration for the work you are doing.

Don
 
Kief said:
Go buy some liquid wrench? Oh, wait, you are in Sierra Leone.
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Actually stuff like WD40 is available. What is not available are quality tools when I bust mine getting stuck parts apart! There's no SK distributor on the whole continent most likely! My breaker bar is currently in the states with one of the past team members to get replaced by SK and due back in a few months. Any breaker bar I get to replace mine in the mean time will certainly twist off 'cause it will be Harbor Freight bargain bin seconds castoffs!!

If I get the nut off the pitman arm (I'm thinking impact wrench at the mine shop) will a puller likely be strong enough to remove the arm or am I likely to bust the puller? I don't have a "pickle fork" here.

My last resort is to wind out the tie rod but I really would like to avoid that. I'd like as much grip in there as possible. If that breaks or comes apart then I'm in trouble!

I want to get all this straightened out before the spring as we have a deputation leave next year and we are planning a drive from Sierra Leone to Germany for a little vacation time and the truck has to be totally reliable and faultless before then. As much as the engine replacement is a pain it's better it happened now than somewhere between here and Germany!


Tomorrows job...

Fix the Ford F350 busted "U" joint on the drivers side front. The cups are actually shattered! Fortunately a past team brought those parts in. They are most certainly harder to find here than any Land Cruiser parts.

I'm glad I'm driving a Land Cruiser.

handcannon said:
Charles, something I've read about, but never tried yet, is a 50/50 mix of acetone and auto tranny fluid for a penetrating fluid. It's supposed to be better than any pre-prepared product you can purchase.

Don
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Don, I might try that if the WD40 doesn't seem to do it. ATF I have, acetone I'll need to find though I'm sure it's here. I could probably use nail polish remover for acetone if needed.
 
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cruiser_guy said:
If I get the nut off the pitman arm (I'm thinking impact wrench at the mine shop) will a puller likely be strong enough to remove the arm or am I likely to bust the puller? I don't have a "pickle fork" here.
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If you can heat up the nut on the pitman arm a bit with an oxy/acetelene torch that will help you loosen it. Also heating the pitman arm itself a small amount to make it expand will help get it off the steering box. Don't heat it too much as it is cast iron and it will weaken it. I think 150*c is the number given for heating up bearings, that should be the same for cast stuff.
 
jb BJ73 said:
If you can heat up the nut on the pitman arm a bit with an oxy/acetelene torch that will help you loosen it. Also heating the pitman arm itself a small amount to make it expand will help get it off the steering box. Don't heat it too much as it is cast iron and it will weaken it. I think 150*c is the number given for heating up bearings, that should be the same for cast stuff.
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How much heat can the seals in the steering box take? The last thing I need is to fry the seals!!
 
crushers said:
rubber, buddy, rubber can't take heat ...
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That was why I was asking the question!! Then I am back to the impact wrench and pullers to get the pitman arm off.

Wayne, you must have done this before, how hard is it to get the pitman arm off?
 
a complete PITA, every time i have done it ... also, i have cracked the arm using heat.
 
Mine came off obligingly with penetrating oil (repeatedly sprayed on the spline-joint for a few days before the attempt) and then using a Sykes Pickovant hydraulic puller:

puller.webp

:beer:
puller.webp
 
Charles, last night I found the list about a test of penetrating oils. This originally came out of "Machinist's Workshop Magazine", either March/April or May/June of 2007. This was a test of penetrants for break out torque on rusted nuts. I don't have the whole article, just the results that I happened to come across.

The following list starts with the type of oil used, and then the torque needed to break the rusted nuts loose.

No oil-----516 pounds
WD-40-----238 pounds
PB Blaster-----214 pounds
Liquid Wrench-----127 pounds
Kano Kroil-----106 pounds
ATF-Acetone 50/50 mix-----53 pounds

I do not know how the test was undertaken, and I haven't yet tried the ATF-acetone mix. However, I'm hoping to be able to do some work on my 40 this winter. So, as long as things go as planned I will eventually get a chance to try it.

Don
 
Once I find some acetone I'll give it a try on the pitman arm. I'll report back how it works.

Did they say anything negative about the acetone/ATF mix? Eating certain metals or things to be cautious of like toxic odors?
 
Charles, Dave was telling me the same thing the other day. I have two tie rod ends that do not want to leave the tie rod. I was going to give this a try today. I got both acetone and ATF here.

You can always look for women's finger nail polish remover. Most of it use to be acetone.
 
Nothing was said negative about the acetone/ATF mix. Acetone by itself has a very powerful odor/fumes and will melt softer plastics, like toothbrush handles, so I'd be careful around seals. I'm not positive it would damage the rubber/neoprene content, but I just don't know for sure.

Just make sure you have plenty of ventilation. Acetone is similar to lacquer thinner in that the fumes are very strong and in confined areas can give you dizzyness, equilibrium problems, and the feeling that you may have had something too strong to drink. I have worked around lacquer thinner a lot over the years and---- hmmm maybe that's what is wrong with me.

Don
 
amaurer said:
Also acetone will eagerly point out any unnoticed nicks or scrapes you have on your hands.

Its electrifying!

:D
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Nah, that's just the antiseptic working.

Don
 
Better living through modern chemistry!
If you really want a wake up, try MEK on a cut!!!
 
I believe you can kill nasty micro-organisms with heavy hammer-blows too.

Perhaps I could be the posterboy for "cruiser addicts alternative therapy"?

This is just my left hand and I've been involved in research:
AltTherapy.webp

My thumbnail demostrates the "hammer blow technique in isolation" (applied the day before yesterday) while my fingernail demonstrates the "hammer blow + repeat paint thinner technique" (applied maybe a decade ago).

I bet there's no nasties left alive in either of those areas of my body now eh?


:cheers:
(I'm tackling other body parts as we speak.)
AltTherapy.webp
 
acetone + atf = excellent penitrateing fluid . might want to vibrate the parts at the same time(hammer tapping ,hammer drill ect.) if im using heat to seperate two things i go to great measures to keep the inside piece colder so only the outside piece will expand.my dad use to carry some oddball things in his landrover,one being an axe that had a v knotch cut out of it in the middle, and a end piece of a large crow bar ,both of witch he used for tie rod forks. mind you he always washed his boat with a campfuel and soapy water mix. dont know if i would store the acetone mix in a covered can .i know when i made my own stain useing linseed oil + enamel + thinner, it creates its own heat and will flash if stored consealled. sorry to hear what a nightmare your going through. i know john at ateb swapped a dyna 3liter into his prado (2.4)huuuuge hp difference .seems to be a few variants around with the flywheels,cause when i was searching for trany options for my hdt i found that one 3b two had a direct bolt on just a little smaller clutch surface. nice work ,and always remember "IF YOUR F DUH, HHAMMER IT !"
 
Acetone is on the shopping list when I go to Freetown next week.

The truck is drivable and even in it's current state I prefer it over the F350 that we also have here. My turning radius' are way off though!

The Ford beats you up on the roads here and doesn't feel particularly solid on the road all the time. The Land Cruiser gives a nice decent ride, rough but at least you're not feeling like you stepped out of the ring when you're done!
 
one more thing ,if the regular method does not work ,was thinking if you heated it up ever so slightly then used the penitrating stuff to cool it , as if to draw the stuff in like soldering with solder. good luck
 
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