I've been really sick again, all last week, with something that shows negative on a covid test but for all intents and purposes is the same. Even now I don't feel great, which is why I'm writing this on a Saturday afternoon, instead of pushing the project forward.
To recap, at the end of part 5, the engine was pretty much ready to go back into the F250 and, in part 6 I cleaned up the intake manifold and painted it gray. Last weekend I was ready for the next step, which began on Saturday morning with lifting the engine off the stand and setting it down on a dolly:
At this point Amy and Cameron Sheep were off skiing in Truckee, and Samuel Sheep was yet to emerge from his bunker, so I thought I may as well trial install the flywheel and clutch. The first thing to note is the F250 came to me without a block plate (aka separator plate) between the engine and the transmission. The purpose of the plate is to align the starter, and to protect the engine from debris in the event of a clutch blow out.....which means the starter was probably not ever correctly aligned.
I need a block plate that fits a small block Ford V8 with a manual transmission and accommodates the 164-tooth flywheel/bellhousing combination - this is a little bit unusual since most engines use a slightly smaller 157 tooth flywheel/bellhousing combo. I did my best to order the correct block plate:
This is just a trial install, so I just used one bolt to attach the flywheel:
Then I hit the first snag. The bellhousing attaches with six bolts and two studs. The studs can either be inserted into the engine block or into the bell housing...but not both as was actually the case. This came about because the bell housing was previously attached to the other engine block. Fortunately, I was able to punch the extra stud out of the bell housing without damaging it:
With the bell housing installed, it was immediately obvious that I did not have the right block plate....the one I bought looks like it would fit the 157-tooth flywheel. This was a bit disappointing, but luckily not a barrier to dropping the engine back into the truck. It's actually easier with fewer parts as the engine is lighter and less bulky.
After taking these parts back off I went inside for a coffee and trawled the interwebs for the correct block plate. Then I went back downstairs and, since it was now well after midday, I roused Samuel Sheep from his pit, and after a short interlude, we headed outside. Sam took the next few pictures:
Going once...
Going twice....
Sam had to put the camera down after the above photo because I needed a second pair of hands to help align the engine mounts with the crossmember. It was during this exact part of the operation that our neighbor came over to ask if we had seen her cat; she seemed entirely oblivious to the danger of what we were doing....
This is with the hoist removed and the engine is attached to the chassis with bolts at each engine mount. When I got the F250 the engine wasn't bolted down, it was just held in place by the other components...!
The radiator went back next...
With added fuel pump, oil pressure sender and extension:
Installed the main drive pulley:
Added the water pump:
Here's a trick for precisely aligning the intake manifold that I learned from one of the guys in
BAMA. First, you install threaded studs in the four corner bolt locations; they should be threaded enough to be secure, but should not be tight:
Then place a tall bead of gasket sealer at the front and rear mating surfaces:
The manifold is them installed by lining up the four corner bolt holes with the studs and gently pushing down. After deploying several more bolts in the other holes, the studs can be backed out and replaced with bolts. Which, after everything is torqued down, looks like this:
The last thing I installed was the radiator fan. However, the grooves on the water pump/fan pulley do not align with the grooves on the crank pulley. It would probably be easier to see this if the parts hadn't all been painted black. I think this issue arises because I'm using the harmonic balancer from one engine with the fan and pulleys from the other one; and something is a different size. As you may recall, I chose not to try and remove the balancer from the original engine because it is so difficult to do. I will need to resolve this issue before I can go any further.
One last thing was to re-install the hood. In truth it's easier to work on the engine without the hood in the way, but I need it out of my garage, and I want to keep the engine dry as much as I can.
I drilled 1/8-inch diameter pilot holes in both hood hinges and the hood before it was removed the first time. At reinstallation a welding rod on an appropriately sized nail can be inserted into each pair of holes, which makes perfect alignment every time a breeze:
To be continued....