RevISK
SILVER Star
I figured they were a necessity.
Builds Welcome home Matilda - faded like your favorite pair of jeans (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter CruiserTrash
- Start date
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- Thread starter
- #442
It’s close enough that I’ve been using the bolts themselves to test alignment. The gap between transmission and bellhousing is only 8mm. I’m not using the bolts to cinch the transmission in - I know better than that - just popping them in the holes and trying to get the first few threads into the bellhousing as a check. I remove the bolts after that. And the bolts are going in free & easy. This f’ing thing is so close.
This morning I’m going to slightly loosen the pressure plate so the clutch can float a bit. If the center bore of the clutch is just a hair off the center bore of the pilot bearing that would prevent the input shaft from getting all the way in. With the clutch floating a little (it’s already on the input shaft splines so it’s not going to fall off) I think I’ll have a much easier time feeling out the pilot.
- Thread starter
- #443
I have never used the stud trick, but it seems helpful for first starting the transmission and getting the input shaft close to centered as it enters the throw out bearing and clutch. I don’t think they give me any aid when I’m already this close.
Luckily I have an adjustable transmission jack so I can fine tune the angles and slopes and all that. Last night I was actually measuring the transmission-to-bellhousing gap with calipers all the way around, then tweaking the little angle knobs. I got the gap to within 0.1mm all the way around, meaning the transmission is faced to the bellhousing almost perfectly. I just think the transmission is 1mm high versus the bellhousing because that’s where the clutch is. If I lower jack by 1mm it actually kicks the front end of the input shaft upwards because it’s cantilevering off the bore in the clutch.
Hence loosen the pressure plate just a touch, drop it 1mm - and the clutch can drop down with it, and I should be golden.
RevISK
SILVER Star
One way or another you’ll get it.
The three trannys I’ve stabbed were all done that way but of course, I was in The Church Of Jimmy’s Barn doing them. I even know where the studs are kept unless @CenTXFJ60 moved them on me.
I can see how they really help.
I might be late to the party but you might consider pulling the transmission and mounting it to the engine out of the truck, then putting the whole assay in. This has been my preference as I can mate the engine to the transmission on the ground which I always find much easier. Caveat is you have an engine hoist up to the task as the whole assay is quite heavy. Regardless, good luck and looking forward to seeing it in and running!
- Thread starter
- #446
Had some big assistance from @overhanger yesterday morning - we got the transmission in and the crossmember attached. The engine is fully supported now. I was right that the clutch was slightly off center, but instead of loosening the pressure plate, the guy I share the shop with had the brilliant idea of installing the clutch slave cylinder and just having Karen push the clutch pedal to free up the clutch. Usually the best way of doing something is simple like that.
Didn’t get to start it, but we got a lot of parts hung off the motor.
Currently installed:
Starter
Manifolds & carb
Vacuum spaghetti hardline piece
PS pump
Alternator
Water pump
Thermostat housing
Fan clutch & fan
Charcoal can
Fuel hard line from pump to carb
(in a potentially controversial move, I wrapped it with some heat shield material to prevent vapor lock or heat soak when shutting down.)
I also connected a loads little electrical and vacuum bits, and about half of the coolant lines. One more day of PTO at work, so today I’ll stab the dizzy, reinstall the dual batteries, finish putting the transmission tunnel and interior back together, and the radiator & remaining coolant lines. Then I can start filling fluids. Should be able to fire it up tonight.
Question: on the lower thermostat housing, the two bolt holes in the block go all the way through to the big water passage behind the water pump. Is blue thread locker enough to seal the water in? I also dabbed some coolant safe RTV on the threads of the bolts that hold the upper housing to the lower, since water can get to the back end of those bolts too. Hopefully I’m good on that.
Didn’t get to start it, but we got a lot of parts hung off the motor.
Currently installed:
Starter
Manifolds & carb
Vacuum spaghetti hardline piece
PS pump
Alternator
Water pump
Thermostat housing
Fan clutch & fan
Charcoal can
Fuel hard line from pump to carb
(in a potentially controversial move, I wrapped it with some heat shield material to prevent vapor lock or heat soak when shutting down.)
I also connected a loads little electrical and vacuum bits, and about half of the coolant lines. One more day of PTO at work, so today I’ll stab the dizzy, reinstall the dual batteries, finish putting the transmission tunnel and interior back together, and the radiator & remaining coolant lines. Then I can start filling fluids. Should be able to fire it up tonight.
Question: on the lower thermostat housing, the two bolt holes in the block go all the way through to the big water passage behind the water pump. Is blue thread locker enough to seal the water in? I also dabbed some coolant safe RTV on the threads of the bolts that hold the upper housing to the lower, since water can get to the back end of those bolts too. Hopefully I’m good on that.
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@overhanger still kickin' around? Nice!
- Thread starter
- #449
@Skniper Oh yeah Steve’s still doing his thing, enjoying retirement. He’s still got Frosty the 100 and Bart the 62. And he’s still putting in the work helping me muscle transmissions on occasion too. He’ll probably see that I tagged him in a couple months when he checked back in around here.
@Godwin There are no longer any swampers in Steve’s life haha.
@Godwin There are no longer any swampers in Steve’s life haha.
- Thread starter
- #450
Also…
She’s alive. Cam break in is done.
Tomorrow is:
Install driveshafts and skid pans
Install front end and bumper
Put the shift boots back on
Warm the engine up and redo the valves
Remove the tee for the dual oil pressure senders
…then drive.
She’s alive. Cam break in is done.
Tomorrow is:
Install driveshafts and skid pans
Install front end and bumper
Put the shift boots back on
Warm the engine up and redo the valves
Remove the tee for the dual oil pressure senders
…then drive.
- Thread starter
- #451
Many thanks is to @batthewmrown for coming by and giving us an extra set of hands last night, and some sanity checks during start up.
I had originally primed the oil pump and stabbed the dizzy at verified TDC on #1. The valve cover was off so it was easy to see the flywheel TDC line was in the window and both #1 valves were closed. It wasn’t starting so I turned the flywheel back to the TDC line and re-stabbed the dizzy. Well, I think what happened is I didn’t verify that we were on the compression stroke. Almost positive we had the dizzy 180 out on the second stab … and third. Finally got my borescope out to check the #1 valve positions through the spark plug hole. Stabbed again at verified TDC and it still wouldn’t fire up … I think it was Matt who noticed the connector on the dizzy wasn’t plugged back in. D’oh! Reconnected that and bang, off she went! Thanks to BVB and @RocketCityCrzrs for answering my frantic phone-a-friends yesterday and idenitfying the no start was a timing issue. And especially to Rory for texting me “are you SURE the #1 valves are closed when you’re looking at the TDC line in the window?” I was going so fast I forgot to check, despite doing this probably a dozen times.
But really thanks to a million people. I know I’m not out of the weeds yet - there’s break in and shake down miles ahead of me yet. If the cam break in didn’t go well, those issues won’t manifest for a while yet too. But the motor runs. Nothing let loose during 20 minutes at ~2000rpm which is absolutely a miracle to me. No horrible noises aside from what sounds like excess valve train noise, and that’s to be expected because I could only set the valves cold during assembly. I leaned hard on some folks in this community, maybe a little too much, but they were always there to help. One day maybe I can give that back to the next person building a motor for the first time.
In no particular order:
Karen: there every step of the way. Late nights working, getting her hands dirty, bringing food to the shop when she got off work, listening to me stress about various things, running the throttle during break in, and lots more. Lots and lots more.
@POTATO LAUNCHER
Matt
@CenTXFJ60
@OGBeno
Rory
@RDub for all the racing motor background
BVB
@overhanger
@MonPetitShoe & @Cruisers and Co - saved my neck when I realized I forgot to order a manifold gasket!
@RodrigzCrzr and @joesfj40 for moral support and enabling
Nate & Jesse
Sam, my shop mate for being a sarcastic Aussie and improving morale
@yotadude520 for the radiator
I'm probably forgetting some other people too unfortunately. My brain is pretty fried from pulling 12-16 hour days on this project for eight days now.
Y'all don't know how thankful I am for all the help, and especially for putting up with my neurotic $hit!
I had originally primed the oil pump and stabbed the dizzy at verified TDC on #1. The valve cover was off so it was easy to see the flywheel TDC line was in the window and both #1 valves were closed. It wasn’t starting so I turned the flywheel back to the TDC line and re-stabbed the dizzy. Well, I think what happened is I didn’t verify that we were on the compression stroke. Almost positive we had the dizzy 180 out on the second stab … and third. Finally got my borescope out to check the #1 valve positions through the spark plug hole. Stabbed again at verified TDC and it still wouldn’t fire up … I think it was Matt who noticed the connector on the dizzy wasn’t plugged back in. D’oh! Reconnected that and bang, off she went! Thanks to BVB and @RocketCityCrzrs for answering my frantic phone-a-friends yesterday and idenitfying the no start was a timing issue. And especially to Rory for texting me “are you SURE the #1 valves are closed when you’re looking at the TDC line in the window?” I was going so fast I forgot to check, despite doing this probably a dozen times.
But really thanks to a million people. I know I’m not out of the weeds yet - there’s break in and shake down miles ahead of me yet. If the cam break in didn’t go well, those issues won’t manifest for a while yet too. But the motor runs. Nothing let loose during 20 minutes at ~2000rpm which is absolutely a miracle to me. No horrible noises aside from what sounds like excess valve train noise, and that’s to be expected because I could only set the valves cold during assembly. I leaned hard on some folks in this community, maybe a little too much, but they were always there to help. One day maybe I can give that back to the next person building a motor for the first time.
In no particular order:
Karen: there every step of the way. Late nights working, getting her hands dirty, bringing food to the shop when she got off work, listening to me stress about various things, running the throttle during break in, and lots more. Lots and lots more.
@POTATO LAUNCHER
Matt
@CenTXFJ60
@OGBeno
Rory
@RDub for all the racing motor background
BVB
@overhanger
@MonPetitShoe & @Cruisers and Co - saved my neck when I realized I forgot to order a manifold gasket!
@RodrigzCrzr and @joesfj40 for moral support and enabling
Nate & Jesse
Sam, my shop mate for being a sarcastic Aussie and improving morale
@yotadude520 for the radiator
I'm probably forgetting some other people too unfortunately. My brain is pretty fried from pulling 12-16 hour days on this project for eight days now.
Y'all don't know how thankful I am for all the help, and especially for putting up with my neurotic $hit!
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- Thread starter
- #452
Up next is the ring break in. I used Amsoil 30wt break in oil for the cam run-in shown above and already dumped it last night while it was hot. I’ve filled it with Driven GP1 30wt break in oil and a new Toyota filter. I’ll use that oil for the first 100 miles of driving while I break in the rings. No real reason for choosing those two. I bought them at different times and that’s what was available locally. After the first 100 miles is over, I’ll dump the GP1 and go to regular oil. I’ve always used Rotella T4 15w40 but I’m considering a switch to VR1 for the supposed ZDDP properties. I dunno, oil is sort of … snake oil. Everyone has an opinion too.
For the first 100 miles I think I’ll do a lot of hard pulls and hard decels. Supposedly that’s the best way to break in the rings. Again, lots of opinions, probably going back to the Model T, it that’s kind of the collective wisdom I’ve seen. From 100-500 miles I’m going to drive it more regularly but avoid constant sustained rpm. People on the road are gonna hate me for speeding up and slowing down a bunch haha.
Open to any other advice on any of this!
For the first 100 miles I think I’ll do a lot of hard pulls and hard decels. Supposedly that’s the best way to break in the rings. Again, lots of opinions, probably going back to the Model T, it that’s kind of the collective wisdom I’ve seen. From 100-500 miles I’m going to drive it more regularly but avoid constant sustained rpm. People on the road are gonna hate me for speeding up and slowing down a bunch haha.
Open to any other advice on any of this!
FJBen
SILVER Star
I’ve been told put a load or some weight on it. Tow a trailer as an option as well to help that break in. Vary the rpm’s as you stayed.
Congrats!
- Thread starter
- #454
There ain’t gonna be ANY towing going on with this vehicle haha! Sustained constant rpms is definitely something I’ve heard to stay away from, so I’ll definitely do that! I wish there was a big hill near my shop, but sadly there isn’t. Maybe I should go find one and go up and down it a bunch.
Hey Jim, I can still climb up into Bart and push the brake pedal hard enough to stop when needed. Took the 35s off a couple years ago and leave trails like the Rubicon to younger drivers now. No walker yet.
Head west young man!
- Thread starter
- #457
There is a really big hill just west of Denver isn’t there??
- Thread starter
- #458
Got the driveshafts, hood, skid plates, and interior buttoned up yesterday and drove 1.1 miles. Truck fires up and idles great until it doesn’t - it intermittently wants to die unless my foot is on the gas. Vacuum gauge is reading a whopping 5 when that happens. So, I’ve got a massive vacuum leak somewhere that I will chase tonight.
I did set the valves hot after the brief test drive though. During the engine build phase I rough set them cold and erred on the too-big side for clearance. The motor sounds a little happier now. I also dialed in the timing a little better. There’s a loud tick tick tick that I think must be an exhaust leak from where the manifold meets the downpipe. New gasket, new nuts … I guess I need to get down there and get things a little tighter.
Had a friend visiting from out-of-town last night, so I didn’t get past that with the truck. And that’s honestly fine. I think Karen and I have been going at this 8 or 9 days straight working long days and into the night. It was nice to have an evening where we were just hanging out.
Here’s the valvetrain. Looking good. Didn’t wipe out any cam lobes during break in. Not yet anyway.
And here’s the ticking sound. You can hear it best when I show the brake booster and then at the end when I’m under the truck. Funny, I didn’t notice the “sucking” sound when I had the camera by the brake booster and back of the head … I wonder if that’s my vacuum leak.
I did set the valves hot after the brief test drive though. During the engine build phase I rough set them cold and erred on the too-big side for clearance. The motor sounds a little happier now. I also dialed in the timing a little better. There’s a loud tick tick tick that I think must be an exhaust leak from where the manifold meets the downpipe. New gasket, new nuts … I guess I need to get down there and get things a little tighter.
Had a friend visiting from out-of-town last night, so I didn’t get past that with the truck. And that’s honestly fine. I think Karen and I have been going at this 8 or 9 days straight working long days and into the night. It was nice to have an evening where we were just hanging out.
Here’s the valvetrain. Looking good. Didn’t wipe out any cam lobes during break in. Not yet anyway.
And here’s the ticking sound. You can hear it best when I show the brake booster and then at the end when I’m under the truck. Funny, I didn’t notice the “sucking” sound when I had the camera by the brake booster and back of the head … I wonder if that’s my vacuum leak.
FJBen
SILVER Star
SAS 2025
- Thread starter
- #460
Damn right!
