A New Heart For Miss Zora

[misszora]

Sending you a PM

[misszora]

A big thank you to Hal! We got the flywheel, exhaust, heater boxes and fan shroud off AND got the engine up on a stand for easier access. One more day of pulling parts then it's time to split the case and see what I've got!

Let's start at the very beginning:


Hal found this '77


Took a bit of persuading but we got it out from under the bus.


The bus was hit by a logging truck. These folks have been to Maupin - I've seen the pictures!


Not fun...we basically crushed the wheel barrow trying to sit the engine on it. I had to charm some folks into "loaning" us their cart and then get a few more burly guys to help us get it into MZ.


Made it!


Hibernation


Unveiling. Passes the cat inspection.


Starting to remove parts...so far, so good.


"Garage"


Digging a little deeper.


Thank you Hal! We got the flywheel & exhaust off and got the engine up on the stand.


AMC Heads - a good thing?


This sure is pretty!


Done for the night - flywheel, exhaust, heater boxes & fan shroud are off.

[misszora]

Any tried and true methods for removing pushrod tubes (by hand, of course)? I can get them to wiggle side to side but that's it.

A few minutes later....they're budging!!! nevermind. whew!

[hambone]

Sorry I missed ya, the yodel call called me home yesterday. Hal, thought you were working on your distributor!

[misszora]

Oh for crapsake! I am stuck getting the frickin' circlips that are holding in the piston pins. So far I've only managed to get one out and feel like I'm going to lose my mind. I ended up buying a snap ring plier set and have tried several of the heads, of course the 90 degree works the best but it only gets to the point of a good squeeze and it slips out every single time. The one I got off was a fluke, I swear. It smacked me in the face. I've been kicking butt all day and came to a grinding halt on these little f*&^&%s.

Any tips on easier removal of these beasties or do I have to just keep hoping they'll all fly off in my face over the course of the next few hours? A special squeeze or angle perhaps? And do I have to remove both per pin? or can I push the pin out through the side without the circlip?

I wish I could do this (effectively) while drinking.

thank you!

[Hippie]

i also will be following this, as, not only do i need to do this, but you're in town, so all the place names are useable! good luck.

Me too. Its pretty cool misszora is rebuilding a T-4.

[misszora]

TRYING! right now I want bacon and cocktails.

[Hippie]

Any tips on easier removal of these beasties

Jeez...the ones on the '77 I worked on just had wire clips, IIRC, and they came out easy with needle nose pliers.
Can you post a picture of the clip and pliers you have?

[misszora]

I'll try...my computer is full.

[ruckman101]

Type 4 circlips must be true circlips. I've always had no trouble with a pair of needle nose pliers on the type 1 circlips, which are just wires.


neal

[misszora]

[ruckman101]

Those are pesky.


neal

[SlowLane]

Oh for crapsake! I am stuck getting the frickin' circlips that are holding in the piston pins. So far I've only managed to get one out and feel like I'm going to lose my mind. I ended up buying a snap ring plier set and have tried several of the heads, of course the 90 degree works the best but it only gets to the point of a good squeeze and it slips out every single time. The one I got off was a fluke, I swear. It smacked me in the face. I've been kicking butt all day and came to a grinding halt on these little f*&^&%s.

Any tips on easier removal of these beasties or do I have to just keep hoping they'll all fly off in my face over the course of the next few hours? A special squeeze or angle perhaps? And do I have to remove both per pin? or can I push the pin out through the side without the circlip?

If possible, try to bend the tips of your pliers so that point inward towards each other a bit. That might help the ring to stay on the pins when you squeeze.
Also, if you have some jeweller's screwdrivers, you can maybe wedge them between the snap ring and piston when the ring is compressed ant then tease the ring out. Warning, you could put a burr or nick in your piston this way.

Finally: wearing safety glasses?

[misszora]

Hal suggested a different type of pliers, gonna swap the ones I have for those tomorrow. I'm wearing my every day glasses - they certainly keep a lot of crud out of my eyes.

I'm going to stop for now on the circlips...got other stuff I can remove. yay!

[misszora]

Egad...it's time to call it a day again. so frustrating.

So here's what's left:
- remove circlips (maybe pull out my hair in the process)
- push out piston pins and remove pistons - could use a second set of hands on this?
- remove oil pump (ok, that's another ball buster! - got the nuts off but the cover is not even wiggling)
- remove the fan hub (the Wilson book recommends a three-point harmonic damper puller - where do you get one of those?)

Then after that, I guess it's time to split the case.
I will not be doing this alone! Taking beer & pizza orders now for helpers who want to join me for this adventure!!
Sunday is wide open for me until 6pm. Monday is good, too.


Sorry about the image blur, it was taken with my phone shortly before my aneurysm.