Big Blue's Transformation

[ArdWrknTrk]

Glad to see those deep groove later covers from the Giving Truck are coming out so nice and shiny!  

[Gary Lewis]

Bill - In spite of having "Racing" in its name that one is roughly the same price, so I'd bet you are right.  Same plant and same part.

Jim - Yes, the design is decades old.  But it amazes me that people don't realize the need.  I googled that part number and there are tons of stories out there about people having trouble with their engine overheating, only to discover that plate isn't there.  And others breaking the A/C bracket because they left it out.  

And yes, my portion of the Giving Truck's parts are starting to be used.  Those valve covers took a bit of sanding as there was some surface corrosion that I feared would show up in the finish. But I think they look GOOD!

[1986F150Six]

Gary Lewis wrote

As for what I did today, I transformed a couple more parts:

Oooh, purdy!

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks, David.  

Got the head bolts, water pump bolts, and dowels in today.  So I installed the heads.  I'd like to say that it went "smoothly", but that wasn't the case.  I lubed the threads of the bolts and under the heads sparingly with engine oil, but some of them jerked/cracked loudly as I tightened them down.  So I asked Scott and he said I probably just didn't have enough oil on them and that I should mark where they are, take them out one at a time, re-lube, and put them back to 140 lb-ft.  And then check to see if they turned a bit more.

Anyway, here's what that looks like:




Also, I ran the test of the push rods that Scott suggested.  Pretty much as he predicted - from the point where all slack was out of the mechanism the intake on #1 took 1 3/16's turns to bottom the rocker stand in the head's slot, and the exhaust took 7/8's turn.  So he's sending me the 8.550" push rods and a shim kit.  With that I'll test each push rod and shim so that I have 1/4 to 1/2 turn on the bolt before the rocker stand seats in the head.  That will give the ideal pre-load.

I also asked about checking for the proper contact between the rocker and valve tip.  He said that with bolt-down rockers it is what it is.  But, by setting the pre-load we are ensuring that we have the proper contact.


And, I "assembled" the engine a bit farther, just seeing how it might look.  You'll have to imagine the block and heads being blue, but what'cha think?  

[salans7]

Is your driver's side valve cover backwards?

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, it is.  Good catch.  However, there are no gaskets or o-rings on anything, so that's just a mock-up.

[salans7]

As long as you put them on the right way on final assembly.

[grumpin]

[ArdWrknTrk]

Try using STP as bolt lube next time.
We used to use as all-in-one assembly lube back when it was loaded with ZDDP.
That, and a little moly paste on the cam, I never lost an engine on startup.

[salans7]

Gary, there should be an email in your inbox regarding the RSK. If not, let me know.

[Gary Lewis]

Got it and responded.

Not much will be happening on the truck today as it is Janey's birthday.  So we are CELEBRATING!  Shopping, movie, dinner, etc!

[ArdWrknTrk]

While I've never met her (or sampled her famous brownies) I'd like to wish her a very happy birthday!  🎂🎉💖

Anyone who can bring you so much joy -and put up with your addiction- is wonderful in my eyes.

[Gary Lewis]

She says "Thank you!"

Yes, she's wonderful.  The love of my life, my soul mate.  And she does put up with a LOT.  

[Gary Lewis]

A couple of things to report today.  First about the head bolts.  I had re-torqued about four of them using copious engine oil on most of the threads when Brandon/Bruno2 called.  In the midst of the call he mentioned using ARP's grease on head bolts, and that reminded me that I had some of that grease left over.  So I decided to do a test of oil vs ARP's grease.

The bolts with engine oil had about 2/3 of the threads dipped into 10W30, and some of the oil that was dripping was allowed to drip onto the head where the bolt's flange hits.  And those four bolts turned 1/8 to 3/16 of a turn more with this approach than they did with my sparing application of oil.  And unlike with just a bit of oil, all of these with in smoothly.

So then to the ARP grease.  I put the grease down into the first 1/2" of threads and then a bit under the heads of the bolts.  And these also went in smoothly and turned 1/8 to 3/16 more to reach 140 lb-ft than they did originally.  In other words, I couldn't tell any difference.

However, I did check to see how much torque the bolts took to turn down to the original spot when well lubed, and that varied from just over 90 to 120 lb-ft.  

Then I turned to getting the rest of the parts out to assemble the engine.  But, try as I did I couldn't find the timing cover I got from Jim.  So I pulled out the list we used, and sure enough there wasn't a timing cover on the list.  

So I pulled the balancer, "hatchet", and timing cover off of Huck's engine.  YUK!  Those things were FILTHY!  So I ran them through the parts washer, and then media blasted the timing cover and its fasteners as well as the timing pointer.  I think they came out well, so now I'm debating how to finish them.

I think what I want to do is to PC the timing pointer Silver Lining like the intake and valve covers.  And then put the timing cover on w/o the pointer, the water pump on with the stainless bolts, the extra lower plenum and an old pair of valve covers on and paint everything dark Ford blue.  Then I'll add the timing pointer and replace the pan Scotty sent with the black one I got off of Huck.  In other words, the engine/timing cover/water pump will be blue, the intake and valve covers Silver Lining, and the pan black.

Thoughts?

[ArdWrknTrk]

Yeah I'm replying by email.

I don't have time for pics to load.

I rattlebombed my entire engine gray.

Except the crinkle black valve covers, clear coat aluminum intake an a few black brackets.

I'm sure it will be stunning!

On Sat, Nov 16, 2019, 5:14 PM Gary Lewis [via Bullnose Enthusiasts] <[hidden email]> wrote:

A couple of things to report today.  First about the head bolts.  I had re-torqued about four of them using copious engine oil on most of the threads when Brandon/Bruno2 called.  In the midst of the call he mentioned using ARP's grease on head bolts, and that reminded me that I had some of that grease left over.  So I decided to do a test of oil vs ARP's grease.

The bolts with engine oil had about 2/3 of the threads dipped into 10W30, and some of the oil that was dripping was allowed to drip onto the head where the bolt's flange hits.  And those four bolts turned 1/8 to 3/16 of a turn more with this approach than they did with my sparing application of oil.  And unlike with just a bit of oil, all of these with in smoothly.

So then to the ARP grease.  I put the grease down into the first 1/2" of threads and then a bit under the heads of the bolts.  And these also went in smoothly and turned 1/8 to 3/16 more to reach 140 lb-ft than they did originally.  In other words, I couldn't tell any difference.

However, I did check to see how much torque the bolts took to turn down to the original spot when well lubed, and that varied from just over 90 to 120 lb-ft.  

Then I turned to getting the rest of the parts out to assemble the engine.  But, try as I did I couldn't find the timing cover I got from Jim.  So I pulled out the list we used, and sure enough there wasn't a timing cover on the list.  

So I pulled the balancer, "hatchet", and timing cover off of Huck's engine.  YUK!  Those things were FILTHY!  So I ran them through the parts washer, and then media blasted the timing cover and its fasteners as well as the timing pointer.  I think they came out well, so now I'm debating how to finish them.

I think what I want to do is to PC the timing pointer Silver Lining like the intake and valve covers.  And then put the timing cover on w/o the pointer, the water pump on with the stainless bolts, the extra lower plenum and an old pair of valve covers on and paint everything dark Ford blue.  Then I'll add the timing pointer and replace the pan Scotty sent with the black one I got off of Huck.  In other words, the engine/timing cover/water pump will be blue, the intake and valve covers Silver Lining, and the pan black.

Thoughts?

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Dad's: '81 F150 Ranger XLT 4x4: Down for restomod: Full-roller "stroked 351M" w/Trick Flow heads & intake, EEC-V SEFI/E4OD/3.50 gears w/Kevlar clutches
Blue: 2015 F150 Platinum 4x4 SuperCrew wearing Blue Jeans & sporting a 3.5L EB & Max Tow
Big Blue: 1985 F250HD 4x4: 460/ZF5/3.55's, D60 w/Ox locker in front & 10.25 Spicer/Trutrac in back, & EEC-V MAF/SEFI

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[Gary Lewis]

No prob, Jim.

Rattle cans work, and I'll probably use two of them on the block, heads, timing cover, and water pump.

[Gary Lewis]

Today I got the new front main seal installed in the timing cover, and then installed the timing cover, water pump, and backing plate.  However the stainless bolt kit I got from Scott wasn't 100% correct as three of the bolts were just a bit too short.  So tomorrow I'm headed out to find three 5/16-18 x 2 1/2" stainless bolts so I can put the sealant on all of the bolts and torque everything down.  But, it is all snugged down now so the RTV on the gaskets will have a chance to set up overnight and it'll be ready for finishing up in the morn.

And, while I'm out I'll get more RTV as well as more of the Dupli-Color engine primer and DE 1606 Ford Dark Blue engine paint.  Then, with the water pump torqued down I can put the "hatchet" on which will protect the front main seal, lay on the extra intake and old valve covers, and paint the engine.

Then, while that is drying I'll mark the new damper every 1/4 turn so I can easily find TDC on each cylinder when I'm shimming the push rods.

[1986F150Six]

Your work is impressive!

[85lebaront2]

Bolt torque can be an elusive value. I learned that and demonstrated in graphically using our Skidmore-Wilhelm bolt stress tester (for those who haven't seen one, it is a hollow center hydraulic load cell which I calibrated on one of our universal test machines.

I was tasked with verifying that the proper load was being applied to some 5/8-11 CRES bolt/nut pairs on our DI water piping running almost the entire length of the yard. The contractor was using soap and water (tap water which is chlorinated and not a good idea on 300 series CRES). The preferred per our Nuclear inspection department (QID) is Neolube, graphite in isopropyl alcohol, the correct procedure per QID instructions is to coat the fastener parts, allow coat to dry and repeat. The shocker came when I left the Neolube wet, I think I got around 70 ft-lbs and the bolt just stretched apart. We did motor oil, several types of grease, the soap and water and Neolube. The result variance was a real eye opener.

This is why I read the manufacturer's procedure and adhere to it religiously even if it doesn't seem right. It is also the reason that with the "torque to yield" bolts and angle of rotation is the preferred method.

One other interesting gem, we had a high pressure accumulator, just a 3' length of some extremely heavy wall pipe, two end rings welded to it with an O-ring groove in each, two end plates of 3" thick HY-80 steel. Each end was held on with 16 3/4" B-7 studs with hardened flat washers and high strength nuts. We were having a problem with it blowing out the O-rings on one very high pressure test. Our lab mechanical engineer was pulling his hair out over it, he was having the technician torque the nuts to 80% of yield. I was sitting in his office and we were discussing this issue, I asked had he run the static load value per stud for the pressure and area involved. Answer was no, should I? I suggested it might be an idea, result load (PSI X area) was high enough to more than exceed 70% yield, which meant we were at 150% yield. He backed the torque level down, and no more problems.

[Gary Lewis]

All - I did my running around and got the bolts and paint, as well as more RTV.  Am now painting the engine and will post pics later when done.

David - Thanks!  I'm having fun.  

Bill - Interesting story.    I'm sure you know a lot more about torque than I do, but I have found that it takes a lot of oil to get consistent results.  On the other hand, just a bit of the ARP grease gets the same results.