Builds Work In Progress aka: Badass (26 Viewers)

[cps432]

You know, I was thinking about the problem you have with your HB and crankshaft. I'm wondering if that isn't the reason your bearings are going for a walk. Perhaps your HB isn't doing its job and things are vibrating? Are you replacing your crankshaft at this point?

 

[John McVicker]

Thanks. Honestly tho that probably wasn’t the really hard part. Definitely don’t want to get ahead of myself!

I understand, but you are doing great. One obstacle at a time & then move forward.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Are you replacing your crankshaft at this point?

Would you just zip it. Gah... IDFK. Drew did offer a crank as well but crud, I was so not planning on going this deep. Someone else come do it for me.

 

[cps432]

Would you just zip it. Gah... IDFK. Drew did offer a crank as well but crud, I was so not planning on going this deep. Someone else come do it for me.

I don't mean to stress you out... This is inspirational to a lot of people I think! I'm just on that thought train because I'm about to tear into mine. I know how much work you've been doing lately and just thought I'd throw that out there because it would suck to have it happen again after all this. But what do I know? I work with wood.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

I would "think" that if my crank was wobbling, I would have wear on the teeth of the gear. Sure my cheesy fix did not hold but who knows how long ago it decided to get made back into jb dust? The inner keyslot on the HB has no wear. Prior to the swap to the city racer carb I had some slight dieseling I dealt with at shutoff. After the city racer install the truck would simply shut off the instant I turned the key.
I meant to take a good shot of the lifters, both to my eye and the machinist they are in great shape, very minimal pinprick pokadots. And I rolled the all rods on glass and all roll evenly, including the #4 that I had replaced because it was slightly worn/shaved 1/4 the way from top.

IDK, right now I am simply glad I managed the removal of 1 and 3. I plan on waiting for Drew's camshaft to make any decision on swapping to it. I was going to bring both back to the machinist and ask him to check them out together. I can at that time talk to him about the keyway repair that went south.

 

[60Works]

I don't mean to stress you out... This is inspirational to a lot of people I think! I'm just on that thought train because I'm about to tear into mine. I know how much work you've been doing lately and just thought I'd throw that out there because it would suck to have it happen again after all this. But what do I know? I work with wood.

Sometimes the value of a task, both to the worker and the audience, is not about doing the work the best, most complete, or easiest way. I'm sure Yota knows that this job would be easier with the engine removed. I'm sure she would like to pull the engine and completely overhaul it. However, sometimes many of us don't have the facilities, time, or resources to do a job the 'right' way. The great thing about the way Yota works is that she experiments with low cost, high labor options. This is very valuable to the Mud community because lots of us need to fix our Cruisers the 'not so right' way. She does a great job of finding clever work-arounds without doing 'bubba' stupid crap to her less than perfectly maintained Cruiser.

In the end she will have worked much harder than she would have had to if she had the option of doing everything at once. But she's gaining (and sharing) a lot of valuable knowledge and confidence. This is classic MacGuyver training for in the field maintenance. And for mentally thinking through and resolving the occasional crap storm that life sends at us all.

Here's to you, Yota!

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Thanks @Juggernaught!

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

My friend who came by last week, (he’s a helicopter machinist) response to my text of my findings, “gray means movement or metal breakdown.”
Damn good sleuthing for a novice.

 

[cps432]

Sometimes the value of a task, both to the worker and the audience, is not about doing the work the best, most complete, or easiest way. I'm sure Yota knows that this job would be easier with the engine removed. I'm sure she would like to pull the engine and completely overhaul it. However, sometimes many of us don't have the facilities, time, or resources to do a job the 'right' way. The great thing about the way Yota works is that she experiments with low cost, high labor options. This is very valuable to the Mud community because lots of us need to fix our Cruisers the 'not so right' way. She does a great job of finding clever work-arounds without doing 'bubba' stupid crap to her less than perfectly maintained Cruiser.

In the end she will have worked much harder than she would have had to if she had the option of doing everything at once. But she's gaining (and sharing) a lot of valuable knowledge and confidence. This is classic MacGuyver training for in the field maintenance. And for mentally thinking through and resolving the occasional crap storm that life sends at us all.

Here's to you, Yota!

Oh, trust me... I know what she's up to. I'm in the same boat... or bicycle rather (haven't driven in a month)... I'm waiting on a paycheck to get a puller to get my harmonic balancer off. I too would love to pull my engine and rebuild it with OEM seals and gaskets and do what you've done to your truck. We all would! If I have to rebuild my engine, I'm flattening the head and manifolds with sandpaper and my giant flattening granite ( I use that for sharpening chisels and planes for woodworking) It would take me an entire day, but I wouldn't have to pay someone else to do what I know I can accomplish myself. These threads inspire me to go get a welder and take care of business myself. If someone made a suggestion about what may have caused a failure in my truck I'd like to have a thought about it and assess what I'm doing for the long haul, but I am a Libra so I can't make up my damn mind about anything.

Edit: I just realized she still has the crankshaft installed in the block. For some reason I thought she had that pulled out too which is why I asked if she planned on replacing it and went down that rabbit hole in my mind. Yeah, I'd say f*** it too and leave it alone for now to get back on the road.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Can’t quote your words via my ph.... she’s nearly as temperamental as the truck... but flatten your head by hand. I watched many a YouTube video and I pondered it. Thought ‘why not?’ But dude once you get that thing in your hands and heft it around you might think twice. At 85lbs sliding that back and forth on grit on a glass table won’t be a cake walk.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

And being a libra might not have too much to do w/ it.... we all get into analysis paralysis especially w/ the crazy access to more info than we know what to do with nowadays!

 

[cps432]

Can’t quote your words via my ph.... she’s nearly as temperamental as the truck... but flatten your head by hand. I watched many a YouTube video and I pondered it. Thought ‘why not?’ But dude once you get that thing in your hands and heft it around you might think twice. At 85lbs sliding that back and forth on grit on a glass table won’t be a cake walk.

No ma'am, I wouldn't be moving the cast iron head by hand. That's nuts. It would stay stationary on a solid level table set at the perfect height for my ergonomics. I would attach sandpaper to the polished surface of my granite countertop cut off and mount handles on the top side of it. I have 200+ hours experience hand flattening chisels and planes to a perfect mirror finish. My low angle block plane is the sharpest scariest thing in the neighborhood right now. I don't remember how many hours I've sanded wooden surfaces because it makes me drink a lot afterwards! I also seamlessly mate 1/42" - 1/16" veneer for a semi living so I have confidence in flattening things. Can you tell I've worked out my order of operations for this procedure for when it happens???

And being a libra might not have too much to do w/ it.... we all get into analysis paralysis especially w/ the crazy access to more info than we know what to do with nowadays!

Yeah you're not wrong! I think they call it "mental masturbation" in psych class.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Ah!!! And man I wish I could say that to my ex but I think I’ll refrain. The hours he spent looking for the best tire deals for his crappy Optima killed me!

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

I’d love to see this granite countertop cutoff...

 

[cps432]

Sure! If I ever use this method for flattening a head I may get a larger slab that covers the entire surface. When the sanding block is smaller than the surface you're trying to flatten you have a tendency to flatten unevenly and not parallel to the opposite side so you'd end up with a rombus shape and you'll chase the low spots forever.

I used this to sand the broken gasket off my carb insulator. I use it to flatten all kinds of things. The granite in the pyramids is still true to this day so it'll never go out of shape unless you forget rule #1 and do something like drop it.

 

[cps432]

I use this to adhere the paper to the surface.

And when I get serious about making things dead nuts perfect... I use this stuff for my sand paper. It's seamless and backed with rubber so it's tough as nails and the grit lasts forever.

I haven't found it in the higher grits for super mirror polishing but I don't think you'd really need to go more than 300-400 for this job. I may be wrong. Feeler gauges and a machinist straight edge will tell you when to stop.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Wow that’s pretty much what I figured it was but still had to ask. I have a slab of what I was told is slate like that. Used to be the countertops in a waste water treatment plant lab. I know there’s pics of it in my thread but I have nothing to measure IT for true flatness.

Some of those products were mentioned in the videos of folks skimming off warped heads on YouTube.

Fairly straightforward process.

I really dig all that I’ve learned thru this process of owning an older vehicle.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

My friend who came by last week, (he’s a helicopter machinist) response to my text of my findings, “gray means movement or metal breakdown.”
Damn good sleuthing for a novice.

So what about camshaft bearing #4?

Can you get a look at it?

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

So what about camshaft bearing #4?

Can you get a look at it?

4 looks really good. Very shiny, no gray when I wipe w/ my finger. And that freeze plug is right there on the other side of it. No way for me to get it; that’s only an engine on hoist job. All the bearings I’ve removed I pushed from the front to back. It will need to stay and I’ll cross my fingers.

 

[Willard]

And being a libra might not have too much to do w/ it.... we all get into analysis paralysis especially w/ the crazy access to more info than we know what to do with nowadays!

The crazy information access that we have sometimes is a bad thing. Often I think, how the hell did I do this in the past.
Read the damn manual and in most cases that was not a FSM. And how your are fixing your crankshaft issue, is exactly how I would have done it in the past, and even now. I sure as hell would not have pulled the motor, cursed swore and just buckled down and did it.

I like this forum, and less and less I use it as a crutch and go off my gut.

Good to see you do as well.