Pulled out my engine today

[RaceDiagnostics]

I'm documenting this over on a Mercedes forum an I can cut and paste the pics of the overhaul and rebuild here if anyone is interested?

Back to work today after a walking holiday in the mountains.

Engine lifted again.

First task was to remove the trans oil cooler pipes.

Then the starter motor.

Spark plugs, not looking too good, especially No1 that has had the valve guide issue. They look like they have been running too rich but CO level is on target at 1%, so burning oil from somewhere.

Transmission dip stick, tube, vacuum line and shift rod removed.

Torque converter bolts removed via the starter motor aperture.

Transmission bolts removed and lifted back off, but the torque converter stayed in place.

The torque converter then just lifted off.

The trans had been leaking pink fluid from the bottom of the bell housing last year till I put in some snake oil which seems to have fixed the problem. I'll replace both the shaft and pump seal though.

I then locked up the crank shaft at the front to remove the flex plate.

Rear cover removed.

Crank seal plate removed.

Finally the harmonic balancer bolt on the front of the crank. I bolted this lever on to the rear of the crank and asked Kim to stand on it while I unbolted the front, it came of easily.

The first task tomorrow will be to fabricate a frame for this old TV to sit in to display the workshop manual in portrait mode.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

if anyone is interested?

Yes, please.

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

Here is an issue I spotted tonight, there is a grove on the journal of the crank shaft where the oil seal sits. Its tricky to photograph, however there is a grove that can easily be felt with my nail (the black line).

Has anyone used a sleeve here before?

https://www.bearingsrus.co.uk/99393-skf

https://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/1...gine_mechanical/crankshaft_repair_sleeve.html

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...1194960,engine,crankshaft+repair+sleeve,10524

 

[mylesdw]

I used one on my small-block Chev and it worked well.

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

More progress today but then I hit a problem, two long cap head bolts that have seized and are rounded off, more on that later.

Engine transferred onto the stand.

Pulling the crank hub off.

It has a deep groove also, someone had been in here before me and fitted a new seal which wasn't working too well.

Front of the engine stripped.

OK, so here is the problem, there are two of the cap head bolts both at the rear of the intake manifold that are seized. As you can see they are long, I tried map gas and gentle pressure, then an impact and they stripped out.

My plan is to weld on a big nut but from the way they felt I think the bolt will shear off at some point along the shaft. Because they are at an odd angle the manifold will not lift off if they shear above the level of the head.

Any suggestions?

 

[Bullet2012]

Maybe it’s the angle from your photo but to me those look like they go straight down

 

[jsf55]

I'd look to slip a large nut over the cap head and a good blast of weld to all ow the heat to penetrate down, then try both tightening and slackening to free it off, if it fails would a hacksaw blade fit down there the gasket sits ?

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

Maybe it’s the angle from your photo but to me those look like they go straight down

If they went straight down they would miss the heads and hit the block.

 

[Wallace]

Hard to see from the photos which two you are talking about, are they on the same bank? If they are, I would take the heads off leaving the shank so you have better access to the thread nearer the head. If on opposite banks taking the heads off will not allow the manifold to come off ad they are angled. Do you know if the manifold has any dowels?

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

I'd look to slip a large nut over the cap head and a good blast of weld to all ow the heat to penetrate down, then try both tightening and slackening to free it off, if it fails would a hacksaw blade fit down there the gasket sits ?

It is the rear most bolt on both sides.

This is a similar manifold upside down. Don't think there are any dowels on it.

I think I may be able to get a one sided handle hacksaw blade in if all else fails. The bolt hole is worryingly close to that water gallery though. I bet there has already been a leak to the bolt that has then corroded.

 

[roofman]

If the heads have bolts and not studs then one or two heads could come off with the manifold and then give you the angle to lift if the cap bolts snap just below the bolt tops

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

The heads do have dowels so no way to get it all off at once.

 

[Wallace]

Weld a nut on each one and keep it hot with the blow lamp for a while, let them cool then apply spanner pressure back and forth while striking with a hammer. You are probably correct about corrosion due to their location, I would lay money the threads are reasonably good and the shank is stuck tight in a mix of rust and alloy corrosion.

 

[Bullet2012]

If they went straight down they would miss the heads and hit the block.

Sorry just that all the v8s i have worked on the inlet bolts go straight down through the manifold into the head, but all the engines I see are American not german

 

[Bullet2012]

Like this GM

 

[Wallace]

I was looking at the photo with the cam covers removed and thinking how wide the Mercedes V8 looks, it seems wider than a big block Ford or Chrysler.

 

[jpmillermatic]

Im with welding a big nut on there, then keeping it hot with map gas....that corrosion is probably what is holding the shank tight, and I also agree that the threads are probably okay....so getting the remains of the bolt out once you get past the corrosion should prove doable....

Im not sure there is any quick way, unless the welded nut allows enough heat to penetrate the corrosion.

I have used this type of heat, then cooling with liquid wrench then heating again, then cooling again...but that corrosion thing can be a real bugger!

keep at it, then keep coming back to it.....I worked for a solid 3 days on manifold bolts in my Dodge V6.....

are the bolt holes in the manifold tight on the bolt shank?


good luck!

JP

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

Yes they are tight, no way any snake oil can work its way in.

 

[jsf55]

I'd still apply some ... it's not called penetrating oil for nothing !