[V8] Engine is out!

[d saad]

It took most of the weekend, but my motor is on the garage floor and ready
to go to the machine shop. It was pretty easy all in all. Lots of parts to
take off, but it does come out easy - at least after you get that last
bell housing bolt out! There has to be at least one of those buggers.

I found that Stella Artois was my best choice for removal beer -
in case anyone is interested.

I did come across a sort of
chicken and egg problem concerning the exhaust headers though - you can
not get the manifolds off without lifting the motor a little, and you can
not lift the motor without removing the motor mount nuts - which you can
not get to without removing the manifolds. It also does not look like you
could pull the motor with the manifolds on because they would not clear
the frame rails. 

I may have also found the cause of my very
slow R12 leak. When I took out one of the A/C compressor bolts, I got a
short blast of R12. I guess there is either a crack in the case or it is
somehow porous. I guess I will not try to rebuild this one when it finally
blows up - just go with a new/rebuilt unit.

Has anyone been
able to buy a starter drive gear and solenoid for a manual tranny? I
figure I better rebuild my starter now too - even though it is working
fine. It is not fun to remove.

And finally - does anyone know
what size tool I need for the head bolts? I am guessing a 12mm triple
square - right?



Dave