Month: June 2020

So Many Leaks

I’ve been rather enjoying myself while adding the accessories to the motor—taking it slow, working generally when the weather is nice and making steady progress.

Just beginning to install the accessories.

Last week I tackled the PCV system, throttle linkage, soup can reservoir and the carb (temporarily, as I need new gaskets). I also installed the water pump and the heater hoses.

Today, I was determined to finish the cooling system. I cleaned up the radiator, then put it in after the fan and overflow tank were in place.

Starting to look official.

Everything was going well until I added coolant. Even with no pressure in the system, there were two small leaks: one from the water pump, apparently seeping out around one of the bolts.

This is probably my fault. I had to loosen the pump after it was on for an hour when I realized I forgot that tiny hose that connects it to the manifold. The sealant was still wet after removal, so I figured I could get away with reusing the gaskets.

Apparently not!

Looking up from under the passenger side of the water pump, you can see a drop forming under the bolt head.

The second is some weeping around a freeze plug, which I really can’t explain. These I installed some time ago, even taking the precaution of adding a little sealant around the opening before I drove it in. I can’t see any reason for it to leak, nor what I can do different when I replace it.

The weeping isn’t visible in this photo, but the plug was wet to the touch. Fortunately, this is relatively accessible—the front-most plug on the passenger side.

Before quitting for the day, I drained the new coolant. I’ll probably take a couple of days off before digging back down to the pump. With the coolant out, I’ll likely tackle the plug then, too, though I’m not looking forward to that at all.

Re-Engined (Again!)

A couple of weeks back, I spent a weekend re-organizing my garage space, and part of that project included breaking out the welding cart so I could install an oxygen sensor bung on the exhaust (in anticipation of a future EFI system).

At this point, all that I really need to do is move the engine about 15 feet to the left. Simple!

After a few practice welds (and remembering to turn on the gas for my MIG welder!), I felt comfortable enough to take a stab at the real thing. I made the opening with a step drill, then got a pretty good start welding the bung itself, at least from the side that’s easy to reach.

I had practiced getting the welding tip around between the fender and the exhaust, but when it came to the real thing, I realized that I had the setting sun at my back, and the glare inside my welding mask meant that I couldn’t see. I packed up my gear to wait for better conditions.

Later that night, I woke up and realized that I had left the exhaust flange on the wrong side of the bung!

Nice welds, wasted.

When the next cool overcast morning rolled around, I cut off the nicely welded bit, drilled the hole again and welded in another (after moving the flange). The new welds were not nearly as nice. I’m hopeful it’s sealed. If not, I’ll have to drop the exhaust to try again.

With the shelter-in-place orders not yet expired here, I decided to take a stab at installing the motor without an assistant. (My driveway has some slope to it, so my wife did stand by for safety’s sake most of the job.) I figured there’d be a lot of up-and-down—normally I work below while my son handles the hoist and topside work—and I was not disappointed.

Nice to see a motor sitting there. The engine bay had been empty for a long while.

There was the usual frustration of working to get a bulky mass in just the right position, but also that satisfying moment when the engine comes together with the bell housing. Overall, installation took four hours including setting up tools beforehand. Much of that time was spent lining up and screwing in the engine mount bolts—a job that looks easy but is decidedly not.

There is much left to do before it’s ready to run: accessories to install, re-wiring part of the engine harness, hooking up the exhaust, and more. Looks like I have a shot at getting it running this month, though, which would be awesome.