Old Bessie's Build Thread (1 Viewer)

[UGA2018]

I made some more progress on the desmog today. I mainly focused on the air rail which was a beast to get off. I can't imagine how anyone can get that off without breaking something. The good thing is I don't plan on using that again. You can see that I had to chisel off the nipples right about the big nut. Once I got the air rail off I could use a deep socket wrench to get the plugs out. I have one more to go in the morning and should have it all out.

 

[UGA2018]

A couple more notes that I hope will help another newbie like me someday. The BVSV was hard to get to to take it out. I guess I should have known this but for others that may not, when you take that sucker out expec the anti freeze to flow like a river!

I had to act quick and plug it with my JimC plug. Fortunately I did not loose too much antifreeze on the drive way.

Also, when pulling the vacuum lines I noticed that there wasn't any line to the BVSV that you pull. When I got it off I can see why. The nipples were broken off so that wasn't functioning.

More to do tomorrow. My plan is to get the smog pump out, carb off, and manifold off. I'll take in the manifold to get it resurfaced on Monday morning and be ready to put it all back together next week.

 

[UGA2018]

Big progress on the desmog today thanks to the help of @BGarcia88FJ62. We took out the smog pump and replaced it with the JimC idler puller. The EGR, cooler and J pipe are now out. Plugs are in the head where the air rail was connected. The pipe on the driver side fender is out. The hillbilly fix is coming on that soon.

Also, pulled the manifolds off today. I plan on getting those resurfaced and new gaskets all around.

Great progress today! I'll post more pics soon when I can get them.

 

[UGA2018]

I pulled apart the two manifolds and found this insulator gasket that was pretty much toast. Hopefully I won't regret that later but at least I can replace this now and don't have to dig into again down the road.

Also, this donut gasket on the bottom of the exhaust manifold looks pretty rough. It will be replaced too before everything goes back together.

 

[UGA2018]

More pictures from the engine bay. There is a lot more room in there with all of that junk out!

 

[UGA2018]

You can see the JimC idler pulley that we put on in this picture. For those that are new to this like me, it will attach to the bracket that the smog pump was attached to. I circled the bracket in the picture.

 

[UGA2018]

The base plate for the carb had a crack/break in it. It isn't broken all that way through so I am going to see if I can do a hillbilly mod and fix it.

 

[UGA2018]

Here's the manifold after pulling it off. It is bolted back together now but I did unbolted it to get those bad gaskets out.

 

[UGA2018]

What started as a desmog, then a manifold resurfacing with new gaskets has turned into a full manifold rebuild. I'm glad I'm doing it since I have all of this off but have to say I want to make sure and get it right the first time. I've read a ton a stories on here about people doing it again because of a corner they cut.

So I have all new OEM gaskets, insulator plate, new studs, bolts, rings, springs and anything else I could think of for this manifold on their way from Beno.

I found a machine shop in Atlanta that knows how to do this right and has done about 100 for a local land cruiser shop.

Now... how cleaned up do I need to get this manifold? I don't care about cosmetics just preventing any leaks when this is done. You can see from these pictures that I have some uneven surface where the two manifolds bolt together. I put a lot of elbow grease into this tonight and can't seem to get all of the residual gasket off. Is this good or should I do something else to clean it?

Also, on the horns do I need to smooth the outer surfaces of the ends that go into the exhaust manifold?

Lastly, any need to clean all of that carbon residue out?

Much appreciated MUD! I'm making progress but I'm in deeper than I've ever been with this sucker!

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Wow, man not trying to ruin your excitement but those horns like like crap. Whoa. The outer edges of the exhaust mani mating surface bolt holes... you could try to smooth out the ridges w/ some wd40 and sand paper or a knife sharpening block.... folks can correct me for sure.
Those horns tho are rough I really don't know. I know some suggest rtv on them when you plug them back in but others say it'll burn off. I think you'll have no choice, getting them to get a snug leak free fit could be really tough even w/ new rings and springs.
@Spike Strip, @OSS, both these guys have varying opinions but both have tons of wisdom. I'd maybe mix whatever both have said and cross your fingers.
IF you have time, toss all the cast iron in a warm molasses/water soak and get that rust off. Or try evaporust from Home Depot or find someone who have a electrolosis bath (I think I'm ripping up that spelling). You need to get it off before you can get those to mate together better.

 

[OSS]

The carbon on the inside of the manifold doesn't matter so long as the heat control valve flapper doodle rotates freely.
The manifold "horn" what has the two grooves in it has rusted a lot but the sealing surface that prevents exhaust from leaking past is the side walls of the grooves. The bottom of the groove doesn't matter, nor does the body of the arm. It's the three sides of the ring sealing against the sides (not bottom) of the groove and the inner bore of the manifold that do the sealing magic. If you can clean up the groove and ring so the ring sits fairly flush with the sides of the groove, you're good to go. Make sure the spring underneath isn't broken.

I replaced my springs just because I thought I should, but the new springs looked the same as the old ones, just shinier. So if your old springs aren't obviously wrecked, clean them up & reuse them.

 

[CaptClose]

@NeverGiveUpYota

Felicity... can you post up that moonshine recipe you made out of molasses to clean the manifold. I think Mike should do that.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

@NeverGiveUpYota

Felicity... can you post up that moonshine recipe you made out of molasses to clean the manifold. I think Mike should do that.

I'll post it up but it won't be the same w/o my blood, sweat and tears.

 

[UGA2018]

Felicity... are you calling my horns ugly! I'm not sure if I should take that personally or not.

I'll look out for the molasses moonshine recipe and and give that a whirl. Maybe my cleaned up horns will get the complements that they so well deserve after that! haha!

 

[UGA2018]

The carbon on the inside of the manifold doesn't matter so long as the heat control valve flapper doodle rotates freely.
The manifold "horn" what has the two grooves in it has rusted a lot but the sealing surface that prevents exhaust from leaking past is the side walls of the grooves. The bottom of the groove doesn't matter, nor does the body of the arm. It's the three sides of the ring sealing against the sides (not bottom) of the groove and the inner bore of the manifold that do the sealing magic. If you can clean up the groove and ring so the ring sits fairly flush with the sides of the groove, you're good to go. Make sure the spring underneath isn't broken.

I replaced my springs just because I thought I should, but the new springs looked the same as the old ones, just shinier. So if your old springs aren't obviously wrecked, clean them up & reuse them.

@OSS Thanks for the good info here. I'll leave that carbon alone and worry about the other stuff. To smooth out and clean the inside of the walls of grooves do you recommend just sand paper in there and smooth it out? The same on the inner bore of the manifold? The inner bore looks ok but has some carbon build up that is probably worth knocking down a bit.

I pulled my rings and springs off and although they looked ok I decided to just go ahead and get new ones from Onur. I figure that if I have to take the manifold off again for those things in the near future I'll be mad that I didn't take care of it now.

 

[OSS]

Yeah, wet/dry Emory paper (sand paper) maybe 600-800 grit lightly wet sanded with a penetrating rust buster oil on the inside of the manifold female socket to knock back the rust will clean it up. Don't go crazy trying to make it immaculate, just a nice easy polish up as described will allow the new rings to slide in easier & seat nicely.

 

[UGA2018]

Ok... I've been working on cleaning up the manifold today and making some progress. I decided to take a wire brush on my drill and get most of the rust off. I'm not planning on making this show room so I decided to just clean it up but not paint it. I'm sure the rust will be back but oh well.

I used sand paper almost like dental floss in those grooves on the horns. They got pretty smooth but not perfect. @OSS you think this is good? Should I use any RTV in there?

 

[UGA2018]

I tested my HAC out and it seems to be working perfectly. I cleaned it up and it's ready to go back on the truck.

 

[UGA2018]

Next steps....

1. Wait on the parts to arrive from @beno early this week.

2. Assemble the intake and exhaust manifolds together with the new gaskets, insulator plate and new bolts.

3. Get it to the machine shop to resurface. Also, these two studs where the EGR J pipe went won't come out. I'm going to see if the machinist can get them out for me.

4. Then ASSEMBLY TIME!

 

[OSS]

Those ring grooves in the manifold arms are as clean as they're going to get. Looks good. Personally I wouldn't put any goop in there to attempt to seal it. It's just going to burn off & clog up the works, preventing the rings from being able to expand & contract. The exhaust can get over 1000°F. Nothing that squeezes out of a tube can withstand that for very long.