Meet Lucille - A '74 Crusty Back Road Cruiser - Turbo 3RZ W56 Swapped

[Lucille]

Great idea on pulling that block plug. If nothing comes out, don't be bashful. Get in there with a wire hanger, a drift, or awl and knock that crap out. That jet nozzle I posted a picture of on my thread worked great as well. You can also get to those back water jackets through the outlet from the block to the heater (it is where that hose comes off the top of the cylinder head on the driver side.

You also might want to flush out your heater core. If it's blocked you can't get as much coolant in.

I was actually re-reading your thread about this very topic. Im going to flush it out well and see if that works.

Any thoughts on bypassing the heater core in my scenario? Its not going to have a top and i dont foresee me using it on long runs during the few days it actually gets cold enough here in SE texas. This will eliminate any potential for whatever gunk is in the heater core.

 

[MadMace]

I was actually re-reading your thread about this very topic. Im going to flush it out well and see if that works.

Any thoughts on bypassing the heater core in my scenario? Its not going to have a top and i dont foresee me using it on long runs during the few days it actually gets cold enough here in SE texas. This will eliminate any potential for whatever gunk is in the heater core.

I don't see any reason you couldn't bypass the heater core. You could just shut off the heater valve, but that assumes the valve is functioning correctly. The hose from the top of the cylinder head runs to the valve you'll see on the firewall on the passenger side. The outlet from that valve connects to a pipe that runs the length of the block into the lower radiator hose. I would think that you could run the hose from the top of the cylinder block to that pipe that leads to the lower radiator hose. Loop the hoses to the heater. Only problem with this scenario is that you have heated coolant from the cylinder head running into a hose with cooler coolant so you might run higher temps. You could also just put a brass ball valve on the hose from the cylinder head that goes to the heater and leave the valve it in the closed position, no coolant will go to the heater.

Hope that makes sense. If not, let me know and I can shoot you some pictures.

 

[Lucille]

I don't see any reason you couldn't bypass the heater core. You could just shut off the heater valve, but that assumes the valve is functioning correctly. The hose from the top of the cylinder head runs to the valve you'll see on the firewall on the passenger side. The outlet from that valve connects to a pipe that runs the length of the block into the lower radiator hose. I would think that you could run the hose from the top of the cylinder block to that pipe that leads to the lower radiator hose. Loop of the hoses to the heater. Only problem with this scenario is that you have heated coolant from the cylinder head running into a hose with cooler coolant so you might run higher temps. You could also just put a brass ball valve on the hose from the cylinder head that goes to the heater and leave the valve it in the closed position, no coolant will go to the heater.

Hope that makes sense. If not, let me know and I can shoot you some pictures.

That was my plan to just loop it back to the pipe on the passenger side of the block. I would think that just blocking the hose on the top of the cylinder head and not creating a loop would be worse than looping it back together. I need to get my temperature gauge to work on the dash so i can see whats going on. My oil pressure gauge, fuel gauge, and temp gauge do not work. I need to investigate further.

 

[MadMace]

That was my plan to just loop it back to the pipe on the passenger side of the block. I would think that just blocking the hose on the top of the cylinder head and not creating a loop would be worse than looping it back together. I need to get my temperature gauge to work on the dash so i can see whats going on. My oil pressure gauge, fuel gauge, and temp gauge do not work. I need to investigate further.

That idea sound better to me as well. Get an IR heat gun and check the temp on the cylinder head between the 5th and 6th cylinders. That will give you a much better idea than your gauge.

I have read some people running powdered Cascade in water through their system--i.e. dissolve the cascade in water, put it into the system and run the vehicle, get it up to temp then flush after it cools back down.

 

[Lucille]

That idea sound better to me as well. Get an IR heat gun and check the temp on the cylinder head between the 5th and 6th cylinders. That will give you a much better idea than your gauge.

I have read some people running powdered Cascade in water through their system--i.e. dissolve the cascade in water, put it into the system and run the vehicle, get it up to temp then flush after it cools back down.

I read that as well. If the radiator flush and ensuring a good flow from the block drain doesnt work, ill try that and maybe some muriatic acid. I read that works too.

 

[yotadude520]

I read that as well. If the radiator flush and ensuring a good flow from the block drain doesnt work, ill try that and maybe some muriatic acid. I read that works too.

Be careful with the muriatic acid. It can clean so well that it'll take anything metal to bare metal and it'll flash rust if you don't coat it.

At least that was my issue with the gas tank I cleaned with it. It flash rusted within a minute.

 

[MadMace]

I read that as well. If the radiator flush and ensuring a good flow from the block drain doesnt work, ill try that and maybe some muriatic acid. I read that works too.

I have read threads where there is a lot of back-and-forth and disagreement on muriatic acid. Here's my thought. Can definitely be used and works well from what I've read. If you run it through your whole system, you'll most likely need a new water pump. It can also be hard on the freeze plugs. It eats the zinc on the back of them and can lead to premature failure.

What I strongly considered doing was pouring muriatic acid through the outlet in the back of the cylinder head that goes to the heater. Have the block drain closed. Pour the acid in through the outlet, let it sit for a few minutes then drain out the block drain. If you use a fairly small amount, it will keep it below the level of the freezer plugs. This will deliver the acid to where you are going to have the most build up--i.e. the back of the block.

 

[Lucille]

I cracked the block drain and lovely brown water trickled out. A little picking with some wire and it was flushing out like it should. Filled it with antifreeze and let it idle up to temp and it overheated. Outlet to the water pump was still cold. I went ahead and ordered up a new water pump and thermostat from RA. I’m thinking the water pump is going to be full of corrosion.

 

[MadMace]

How about your radiator? When I opened the petcock on mine, there was no flow out of it. It was full of black, tarry crap. Once I got that unclogged I was able to flush the radiator out some.

 

[Lucille]

How about your radiator? When I opened the petcock on mine, there was no flow out of it. It was full of black, tarry crap. Once I got that unclogged I was able to flush the radiator out some.

There wasn’t anything in the radiator when I first got it. Fluid anyways. I’m going to open the petcock to drain it so we will see what comes out. I’m saving the radiator for last.

 

[hooter]

New T-stat for sure.

When I had my head off, I was floored by the amount of ‘stuff’ in the water jacket. Likely radiator stop leak inside the system. It was nuts. Be aggressive

 

[MadMace]

New T-stat for sure.

When I had my head off, I was floored by the amount of ‘stuff’ in the water jacket. Likely radiator stop leak inside the system. It was nuts. Be aggressive

That stop-leak was exactly what I ran into. That crap was all in the water pump as well. It was not until I pulled the cylinder head that I was able to get all that junk out.

 

[Lucille]

Pulling the head is something i definitely dont want to do. Hopefully i can get it to cool enough without doing so.

 

[MadMace]

Pulling the head is something i definitely dont want to do. Hopefully i can get it to cool enough without doing so.

I hear ya!! Pulling the head is not fun.

Couple of additional things to think about. Make sure that the belt is tight around the water pump pulley--mine was loose and was slipping. Consider checking/adjusting your intake and exhaust valves. Also, make sure that the heat flapper on your exhaust manifold is working properly. It is on the underside of the exhaust manifold, just above where the exhaust manifold attaches to the exhaust pipe.

 

[Lucille]

Did a little work last night on Lucille to help her run cooler. I installed a new water pump and gasket. The old pump didnt look too bad, but it took all i could to get the thermostat out of the OG housing. They became one with each other. So much so that i had to buy another upper/lower thermostat housing. Both were super corroded. Im going to start on the suspension and steering items next.

 

[fireball]

Quick build and good work! Thanks for posting all the pics and info, I’ll enjoy following along.

 

[Lucille]

Old shocks vs new. Old were rusted through and beyond blown out. I had my reservations that i could even unbolt the original shocks, but after numerous Kroil oil soakings, the nuts came off with ease.

Used the quick method to remove everything from the knuckles out. Much easier than messing with all the messy goop inside. Any value in these? Otherwise i may just chunk them. I still need to pull the inners off the factory coarse splined birfs.

New tie-rod ends installed. Boy did that suck. The originals were definitely stuck in there. I used my vise and a big pipe wrench to spin them out. I ordered the wrong left hand thread rod end for the arm coming from the steering box, so I have to wait a day for the new one to come in from Amazon.

New shocks installed. Axle balls are in great shape.

Anyone know the inner axle seal part number for these axles? Will the mini truck seals fit? Im going to start putting it all back together in the next few days.

 

[MadMace]

Looking good. I am also working on Marion's front axle.

For your inner axle seal, Cruiser Outfitters has a good one. Marlin Crawler Heavy Duty Eco Seal Part# FA33085MA

Link for Marlin seal

BTW, please don't chuck those hubs/drums, etc. I'd be interested in picking them up from you if you are not going to use them.

 

[Lucille]

Looking good. I am also working on Marion's front axle.

For your inner axle seal, Cruiser Outfitters has a good one. Marlin Crawler Heavy Duty Eco Seal Part# FA33085MA

Link for Marlin seal

BTW, please don't chuck those hubs/drums, etc. I'd be interested in picking them up from you if you are not going to use them.

I thought about ordering the marlin seals but didnt want to wait for 6 weeks for them to come in from them. I ordered a set from Napa.

Make me an offer on the stuff from the knuckles out. I dont plan on using it. It looks to be in pretty good shape actually. Bearings look goog. Hubs turn lock/unlock. They are still full of grease.

 

[Lucille]

Passenger side knocked out. New inner axle seal, new brake line, fresh grease, etc. Everything went together very well.

Im getting the wheels swapped over today during lunch and hope to get the other side knocked out later. I should take her back out for a test drive this weekend to see if the new stuff made some improvements on the driveability.