OK, so I'll ask you guys. Which was more headache, doing Rice's motor swap (with all of the assembly done on a stand), or doing the HG and associated bits with the engine in the truck?
First is to differentiate between "headache" and "man hours". Total hours involved in the bottom-up build was higher than the HG alone, but most of the hours are relaxed, at your own pace, everything is easy-to-reach hours. The "headache" of the HG job is all the time you spend sitting on a fender and working over the top of the motor. The headache in the motor swap is all the time you spend UNDER the rig getting at the bellhousing, torque convertor, exhaust, and motor mounts. Either way you have to contend with the MFSOBWL (Mother &^%$#@& son of a *&#%$ wiring loom). FYI, the loom on the 93/94's is much nicer than the loom on the 95+.
What has always bugged me about HG jobs is not being able to deck the block when it's in the rig. But then, if you pull the engine you still can't deck it with the bottom end installed, so now you're in it for a complete rebuild. That's not all bad because now a lot of other PM can happen .... rear main seal, fresh rings and bearings, and can I please suggest ALWAYS keep the crank, oil pump, and power steering gears matched
. There are plenty folks who will say the HG will hold just fine without decking the block, but I like a fresh milled deck.
If I had to pull the engine to rebuild it I would have felt a lot of pressure to hurry .... having a second motor on the stand, building at leisure, and then doing the swap in one weekend; painful, but worth it!
Rice
