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Last week I took the engine to the NAPA machine shop in Bixby to have "whatever they think" needs to be done to it, done to it. The cylinders have been bored to .030 over and the crank turned .010 over on the mains and the arms. The valves have been ground but were otherwise good. The engine block and heads have been cleaned up and look new (I saw it Monday).
Yesterday I ordered a master rebuild kit from NAPA and it should arrive today. The kit includes pistons, rings, gaskets, timing gears, timing chain, oil pump, valve stems, cam, cam bearings, main bearings, freeze plugs and possibly several other things that spin and dissipate heat energy.
The machinist is waiting on the cam bearings & valve stems so he can complete his work. With the valve stems in hand he can complete the head work and replace the valve seats so it can run on unleaded. He will press the cam bearings into the block and insert the freeze plugs. He is also going to turn the fly wheel because the teeth on the starter side of the wheel are worn.
The kit cost $572 and the machine work and head conversion should be about $800. Bringing the tag current is likely to be more expensive.
Since my pistons weren't going to be ready until today I thought I would spend the weekend piddling with other parts of the Jeep and lose even more pieces that I will need later. I lost one bell housing bolt and a hub cab. Not bad for a days work (Saturday was shot because of the Leadership Conference and kid functions). I did find my missing piston rod hours after ordering a replacement....
I popped the top on the master cylinder and if it weren't for a layer of sludge on the bottom it would've been bone dry. Since air and presumably sludge was already in the system I figured it would not hurt to take the master cylinder off and lose it too. I managed to keep track of it long enough to clean the sludge out with gasoline and degreaser then I reinstalled it in the jeep. If it is lost now it took the Jeep with it. Should I replace the master cylinder (or the Jeep) or do you think it will be ok?
I thought Jimmy's suggestion to clean and repack the wheel bearings was a good idea so I bought some grease but I could not get the wheel hub off. Is there a special trick to it? Twice I have gone to the shop manuals to get instructions on how to take off a particular part and in both cases the manual says "Step x: Remove {whatever the part is}". I could write an automotive manual I think. "Procedure #27, Taking the Engine Out. Step 1: Turn off engine. Step 2: Remove engine." I saw some bolts on the back of the thingy that appear hold on the back of the drum. I thought that the wheel hub (if that is the right name for it) was just pressed on and held in by a large nut and cotter pin. Maybe I need a puller. I thought I would check with you guys before I tried any more. This is where I lost the hub cap.
I ordered a replacement distributor shaft since the teeth on the original one were stripped off. It should be here Tuesday. The pistons will be ready today (mounted on the rods) so this evening I plan to reconnect the rods to the crank and install the crank back into the engine block. Tomorrow I plan to remember the bearings and take the crank back out.
Last night went better than I thought it would but ended in a way I expected.
I picked up the pistons after work. Putting the rings on was a snap (pun intended). A small ring on either side of the oil ring at the bottom. A medium size compression ring in the middle and a larger compression ring on top. The larger rings were labeled "top" so I'm pretty sure I got those right :)
I modified the engine stand so that my bolts would fit. After the modification the engine went on the stand with out a problem. It may even still be up when I get home tonight if luck holds.
It was a job getting the cam in but it went. I lubed the cam bearings first of course. Pretty sure I stuck the right end in first. The hammer marks should buff out, shouldn't they? Just kidding.
Here's where the night ended in a way I expected. I think I've got the wrong main bearings. I put the main bearings in but the crank shaft will not fit. There does not appear to be enough clearance between the main bearing at the top (fly wheel end) and the first weight or pendulum looking thingy on the crank shaft. I place the rod cap with bearing in place over the crank so I could freely and easily move it around for observation and it definitely is between 1/16 and 1/8 inch to narrow. The weight on the crank will not clear the inside portion of the bearings. The part number on the box for the bearings match the manifest list that came with the engine kit so I don't know if a) the wrong bearings got put in the box, b) I've got the wrong kit, c) I'm doing something wrong. I did check some of the bearings and they were marked 0.010 like they were suppose to be. Unfortunately I did not keep any of the original bearings for comparison. Any ideas or suggestions?
I figured out how to make the main bearings fit the crank shaft, modify them with a hack saw. Or, you could put the right bearings in the right place. The bearing that was giving me trouble appears to be a perfect match for the middle main cap, not the rear. It is the only bearing with a lip on both sides so a laymen like me might've assumed it went on one end or the other. These AMC engineer boys are tricky I tell you. Tricky. The crank shaft is now mounted but I have not torque'd it down yet because I figure I have forgotten something. I'm going to wait until I get all the pistons on before I torque them just to give me more time to figure out what I have forgotten. Ah, you are thinking I forgot the oil seal but you would be mistaken. Now you are thinking I forgot to put the RTV silicone on the seal joints but again you would be mistaken. :)
Next: Mounting the pistons.
I had very little time last night to work on the engine but I did manage to get one piston installed. I thought if I had problems getting that done I could ask you guys for advice today before the weekend but it seemed to go on quite easily. I lubed the cylinder and ring compressor then tapped the piston in. I made sure the arrow on the piston head pointed to the front of the engine. Piece of cake.
I still haven't torque'd anything down yet because I still haven't figured out what critical piece I have forgotten yet. There's always something. I've got a full box of gaskets left save for the main oil seal. Is there anything that needs to go on the crank or in the block before I torque down the main bolts and rod caps? I know there is a "throw out" bearing that is suppose to go somewhere. Any ideas?
The book told me to check the end play of the crank and to "pry the crank forward". I used the 0.030 feeler gauge the book specified and I couldn't wedge it on either side of the main bearings but I wasn't sure if that was the right place. The crank doesn't want to budge but it turns smoothly and easily. Is this anything to worry about?
FYI: New rod bearings go on a lot easier if you take the old ones off first. Lesson learned.
Friday I installed the rest of the pistons and torqued the main bolts to 100 pounds. Butch at NAPA said I should've fully torqued the bolts before installing the pistons to make sure the crank turns smoothly. Before I installed the pistons I did ratchet the bolts snug (about 20 pounds) and the crank did turn freely. I might be alright...
I figured it made sense to put the timing sprockets and other goodies on the cam and crank shafts. I checked the books to find out what the other goodies were and they are a distributor drive gear and fuel eccentric (like a cam lobe - runs the fuel pump). Upon closer inspection I found a tooth was damaged on the distributor drive gear. I knew already the original distributor was stripped so could this be the cause? I took it to NAPA to get it replaced but they said only the dealer carries those. Butch noted that all the teeth are badly worn. Instead of being flat at the tips they are worn to a point. I went to the Jeep dealer at 43rd & Sheridan and ordered a replacement gear from Dallas for almost $60. It will be here Tuesday.
I test fit the oil pump and water pump to the timing cover and mounted the timing cover temporarily to the engine just to find out what parts are missing. Not bad. The only parts missing were 9 of the 11 bolts which I can replace at Pep Boys.
Progress has been halted for over a week because of the distributor drive gear. The replacement gear had to be ordered through the Jeep dealer and that took a few days. When I got the gear it did not seem to fit the cam shaft (too tight). I broke the teeth trying to pull it off to recheck the alignment. I had to order another one and that took a few more days (I spent the last two weekends waiting on this part). I got the 2nd one in yesterday and it is too tight as well. The original gear slips on to both the old and new cam shaft with just a little hand pressure. The new gear fits the old cam shaft (Crane) but doesn't want to go on the new standard cam shaft. I am befuddled.
The next problem is the apparent insufficient length of the cam shaft front end or the apparent excessive width of the combined cam shaft components (cam sprocket, fuel eccentric, drive gear). See the attached picture for this. The picture shows the old cam, old cam sprocket, old fuel eccentric and old drive gear. It just seems wrong.
Unless anyone has any ideas I see no choice but to smash the drive gear on as far as it will go and hope for the best.
After talking shop with Nigel about the cam shaft and distributor drive gear he suggested having a machine shop grind down the cam shaft end to exactly fit the new drive gear. The question of sufficient shaft length remains. I think I will bolt on the timing cover and drop the fuel pump and distributor shaft in it to see if it lines up correctly with the fuel eccentric and drive gear. That should be the telling point I think.
Over the lunch two hours I visited with the machinist and said I should not have to press on the drive gear since there is a retaining bolt on the shaft. The NAPA guys are going to call in for the specifications for the cam shaft and I'll mic the one I have then we will compare. There was a time when Lloyd and I would've cut down a tree to fabricate a wooden replacement part but thankfully those days are over.
It's on!
Next: Mounting the timing cover and heads.
As I mentioned yesterday, I forgot to torque the cam bolt (bolt at end of shaft that holds on the distributor drive gear) before I bolted the timing cover on over it. So last night I removed the timing cover which destroyed the timing cover gasket in the process because I had placed RTV Silicon on both sides of it per book instructions. What's done it done so I grabbed the torque wrench and went to check the book for torque specs but the specs just came to me before I turned the pages. It's 30 pounds. I know it's thirty pounds. How would I know it was 30 pounds if I had not already torqued it? Hmmmm. I find the page and it says "30 pounds". Ok, lucky guess. I start torquing the bolt and immediately the wrench indicates 30 pounds! I had already torqued it! :) I did not forget to torque it, I forgot that I did torque it. Gasket's destroyed.
I masked off the cover and painted it yellow then went to bed.
I made a lot of progress over the weekend. The engine is fully assembled and painted. I broke a bridge on the rocker arm assembly and must get a replacement but I can bolt that on at any time. I bought a new battery on Sunday and spent the day piddling with the electrical system. The following electrical goodies worked by the end of day: headlights (high/low), front running lights, emergency blinkers (front & back), lighter, dash turn signal indicators, wipers & blower. The following did not work: turn signals (any), horn, washer & tail lights. The ignition switch does not turn freely. If I don't replace it I believe the key will break off in it soon. The turn signal switch does not move as it should either. I think I will have to replace it to. I also discovered that I am missing the dip stick tube that mounts to the lower engine block and the mounting clamp for the ignition coil is not to be found as well.
How about that yellow, black and silver paint job on the engine? :)
On Saturday my cousin and I moved the engine from the engine stand to a cherry picker I borrowed from his father. With the engine off the engine stand we installed the dust guard, clutch and pressure plate. We removed the front clip from the Jeep to make engine installation as easy as possible. All that was left was to install the bell housing and new throw out bearing then the engine would be ready to go in the Jeep. Then the expected (things going well is unexpected). Things were going too well so the new throw out bearing decided to be the wrong one. The NAPA people were insistent that it was in fact the right one but it just would not work. We mic'd the new bearing at 67/1000th of an inch too small. The Saturday engine install was scrubbed until the correct part could be acquired. Today I plan to go to Harmon 4 Wheel Drive and get the right part. I've lost love for NAPA. It took them nearly two weeks to get my new clutch. They kept wanting me to call them to remind them to call downtown to have that parts put on their truck (WTF?). A number of times I'd go there expecting them to have it and "oops, not here". When I finally get it the bearing is wrong.
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