So, the amount of force needed to remove thermostat housing bolt on the left, vs the bolt on the right ... not that much different. Left one is out. Right one is missing its head.
It was more like one apathetic and one stubborn and 6 who just needed to be told what to do. The OCPOTI* gave me LOTS of good advice about why the motor was stuck. Some of it I was even able to follow. pistons are rusted to the cylinder walls, why not check the rod bearings, and that timing chain looks rusty. So I pulled a couple of rod caps and looked at the crank journal. Not only do the crank and bearings look pretty good - I think it is so cool that they stamp the "FoMoCo" logo and a registered trademark symbol on the underside of a piece of metal almost no one is ever going to see. A nice show of pride there. Mid-week, Other_Doug dropped by to look at the machine. I told him I was having trouble removing the crank bolt - and so he asked if he could borrow my breaker bar, put it on the bolt and threw his shoulder at it like he was doing the shot put. It turned right out. That seemed to ignite a flurry of activity - and so while the engine still world not turn, we removed
I thought I wanted to remove my valves and valve seats. To do that, I needed a spring compressor tool. These things come in lots of shapes and sizes. Some of them look like a bent fork and rely on having the rocker arms in place (or at least the studs). Some of them look like a giant C-clamp that connects on both sides of valve. They rely on the heads being off. Some of them look like the Recognizer from the movie Tron - with a screw on top and hooks down the side. They range in price from: free for loan at the autoparts store to this thing with umpteen parts for $75. I was going to borrow the one from the parts store - but it gave me the willys. I looked at it several times and kept coming to the conclusion that I was going to hate using that tool or get injured in the process. Oreilly's and Autozone loan the screw-hook Tron thing, but the hooks are not well designed for gripping a heavy duty spring. I am sure with a hose clamp to secure it I could make it work but I didn't w
As you know - my pickup lost its water pump when I went over to Doug's house to get the hoist & stand. It made sounds like a rusty swing set - except at 700 RPM - and unceremoniously lost control of its bladder all over Doug's driveway. It sat there for a week until I towed it home. That was Halloween. Today - it ran again & the heat worked. So - an entire month of distraction from the Mercury. First off, I did manage to find an OEM service manual I could download. I followed the diagnostic procedure - and after I refilled the radiator - I quickly realized that since the water pump was spraying coolant everywhere, that was probably the first culprit. I decided I would replace the thermostat too inspite of the fact that it passed the diagnostic test and wasn't in the way for the water pump. I ordered the pump, fan clutch & thermostat from RockAuto. I should have ordered all of the other parts too. I made myself a list that was 95% correct, but for what ever reaso
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