Preparing the case halves for assembly... Page 1
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Ok, let's get started with the conversion. As with any thorough engine work, be it a standard rebuild or a hotrod project, I start by inspecting the parts I will be using. The case is no different, it has to be inspected carefully so you don't lose all your money and work due to faulty case letting go. In order to be able to SEE the case, you usually have to scrape off about 20 years worth of muck, dirt, oil and dead wildlife. :-) If the engine is really filthy on the outside, I would use a wooden stick to scrape off all the easy gunk. Never mind the small crevices and holes, there are too many of them, you'd go insane trying to clean them all like this. I should know. :-D Once you get the engine "clean enough" that you dare touch it with your bare hands, take tha bugger apart. I won't go into that, get a manual that shows you how. (I'll add links and recommendations later, maybe even some details you should pay attention to.. it's not always so simple as you might think!) Allright, the starting situation is hopefully this: You have two engine case halves in front of you on the workbench. More or less still dirty, covered in oily gunk of unknown ingredients. Part of which must be from out of this world. Yuck. I use engine cleaning liquid *a lot*, I buy the kind that comes in a plastic bottle, and it also has a pump nozzle. Not spray can. I try to choose environmentally friendly products here, I use a lot of this stuff, and it ends up in the sewer or in the soil. Read the labels on the bottle. Wear gloves. SOAK the case halves wet with that cleaner liquid, and let the parts sit in a ventilated area overnight. That's the end of day one for you. That wasn't so bad, now was it? Second phase. Pressure wash the case halves, inside and out. A plain old garden hose just doesn't cut it. Don't let the bearing retainer pins get lost. I avoid spraying directly on to the bearing saddles for this reason, they're clean enough already. Or you can remove the pins, but mark the holes they came out of. I repeated the above procedure twice, so it took me more than two days. VERY dirty engine. After I was done, I could start doing the *time consuming* work.. Out comes the toothbrush, and that bottle of engine cleaner. I brushed... and brushed.. and brushed.. until I was looking at the end of the #2 toothbrush lifecycle. Man, that prcedure takes forever! Note: I am not planning to reuse the toothbrush to it's original purpose. (shivers). |
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