• Welcome to the new SAOCA website. Already a member? Simply click Log In/Sign Up up and to the right and use your same username and password from the old site. If you've forgotten your password, please send an email to membership@sunbeamalpine.org for assistance.

    If you're new here, click Log In/Sign Up and enter your information. We'll approve your account as quickly as possible, typically in about 24 hours. If it takes longer, you were probably caught in our spam/scam filter.

    Enjoy.

'And the Fun Begins!'

Mike Armstrong

Bronze Level Sponsor
Can the cam gear be removed by hand or does it require a puller?

The bolt holding it removed easy enough and the pulley now has a very slight play in it but so far I can't pull it straight off.
 

V6 JOSE

Donation Time
Hi Mike,

It should just come right off. You may want to use a couple of large screw drivers (one on each side) to work it off. It shouldn´t be hard to do.

Jose


Can the cam gear be removed by hand or does it require a puller?

The bolt holding it removed easy enough and the pulley now has a very slight play in it but so far I can't pull it straight off.
 

Mike Armstrong

Bronze Level Sponsor
Now that I've been drawn back to the Darkside I hope to resurrect this thread and add pics of the installation.

I've got a T5 now (1998 1532-238) to go with the MII bell housing and will be taking out the Input Shaft for shop work along with the bearing retainer. Since I'm using the stock 85' Ranger flywheel and pressure plate I'll order a custom disc along with a new bearing. The SV radiator needs to be '3 cored' and modified and thermostat housing modified. I have ordered all the DuraSpark II ignition conversion components listed over at The Ranger Station including the vacuum dizzy. I'll be using the stock 2150a (feedback) carburetor and have ordered an electric fuel pump.

All this to at least get the engine installed and running. I have the coveted dual circuit Brake Master and have ordered Wilwood Clutch Slave and Master so I'll probably be routing brake lines before dropping the engine in.

Anyhoo, nice to be back.
 

mamoose124

Gold Level Sponsor
I know this is an old thread, but I am amazed at how well this car cleaned up. Also, what a Forum! You guys are really a super compendium of knowledge about these cars. And, helpful; wow!
 
Last edited:

Mike Armstrong

Bronze Level Sponsor
Hi Mike,

Did you get your radiator taken care of?

Rich

Hi Rich.

According to the shop I'm 'next up' whatever that means (they do allot of business which hopefully means they do good work but also probably means it's gonna take awhile before before they get to mine).
 

Mike Armstrong

Bronze Level Sponsor
Long time since I've posted here but thanks (Rich and Kelly) to receiving help with some key must have parts awhile back I've been secretly working away and have some news to report. I'll just call it....

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.......

The Good.

I had purchased a 'junk' 85 Ranger 2.8/tranny for $300 that was lying outdoors on the back of a rusty flatbed truck, using CraigsList, from a disheveled guy out in the sticks that said he never got it to run "but it's supposed to".

http://s1362.photobucket.com/user/EighteensTen7/media/2.8 V6 Craigslist Pic_zpsatk9hpgo.jpg.html

I cleaned it up, tore it down, replaced gaskets, added an alloy gear and high capacity oil pump, new dizzy, painted over the ugly and crossed my fingers.

http://i1362.photobucket.com/albums/r681/EighteensTen7/IMG_1877_zpsknvabyle.jpg

It started!!! Runs, revs right up, idles fine, no smoke from exhaust and no leaks! Nice! :D

http://i1362.photobucket.com/albums/r681/EighteensTen7/IMGP0044_zpsqc5y4jxp.jpg

http://vid1362.photobucket.com/albums/r681/EighteensTen7/IMG_2038_zpsiao9wddq.mp4

The Bad

After running it awhile and letting it get nice and hot (205 F on the upper rad hose/ 110 F on the lower rad hose per a thermal laser gun) I checked the timing, it was dead on at 12 DBTDC, then I shut it off.

That's when I a heard bubbling/sizzling noise as the engine slowly cooled. But it's from where I heard it that stopped me in my tracks......inside the carburetor! :eek: No smell of fuel or oil but there is a light wafting cloudy steam floating inside the carb., more like...water/coolant :mad: Then a slight bit of hot bubbling water began to ooze out from between the carb and the carb spacer on the intake manifold. Water in the intake manifold? What?!

The Ugly

Water in the intake manifold cannot be good. I'm hoping it's not a major, engine rebuild necessitating, problem. I'm surprised it started, ran and idled so smoothly. I have to tear the engine down again, well, at least to the point of removing the intake manifold. I have an uncomfortable feeling and sneaky suspicion that I screwed up when I installed the intake manifold gasket. I had a tough time trying to get it to fit and I think I even cut out a couple areas on it that were covering open passageways thinking they shouldn't be blocked, geez :roll eyes:

Anyhoo, at least it ran!
 
Last edited:

Gitnrusty

Donation Time
Good to see you posting again Mike. Last I remembered you were recovering from an injury! Hope you're completely recovered from that :D

Too bad about the manifold misadventure but sounds like just a gasket fix.
Keep Sunbeaming.
 

Mike Armstrong

Bronze Level Sponsor
Good to see you posting again Mike. Last I remembered you were recovering from an injury! Hope you're completely recovered from that :D

Too bad about the manifold misadventure but sounds like just a gasket fix.
Keep Sunbeaming.

Thank you Chuck.

Hope your right. I'm not familiar enough with the 2.8 or it's intake manifold to picture how or where coolant could leak into it but I did 'modify' the gasket so I could very well have created an entry point that 'normally' would not be there.
 

Mike Armstrong

Bronze Level Sponsor
Fired it up again to see if there were any other leaks. Ran well, idled for 30 minutes, outlet hose to radiator inlet temp 195, then..... BOOM! The radiator cap neck blew off the radiator (with the cap still attached!! I was in the drivers seat at the time so I could see if there was anything coming from the radiator vent hose before it blew.

Took the radiator to the shop and the mechanic said he could smell a blown head gasket and showed me where the radiator had swollen out from pressure within. Places that I know were flat before are now bowed out a bit. He also said it must have gotten extremely hot because he pointed out an area where some of the brazing began to melt I haven't heard of it before but he said because of the blown head gasket the engine was forcing pressure into the cooling system and back into the radiator pressurizing it. ?
He told me it would be no problem for him to fix the radiator but I better take a look at the head gaskets. I've seen blown head gaskets before which were pretty obvious with the white steamy smoke billowing out the tailpipe. But maybe if the gasket is not completely blown it doesn't show up in the exhaust.

If there is a blown head gasket could that be why I've got coolant in the intake manifold?
 
Last edited:

V6 JOSE

Donation Time
Hi Mike,

I have never seen a radiator blow because of a blown head gasket. It appears the radiator cap is too strong and that is why it blew up the radiator. The cap spring should have been overcome and the water should have gone out by the overflow tube.

I would do a quick check of the spark plugs to see if one or more of them is whistle clean, which would indicate water in the cylinder turning to steam and leaving the plugs clean, rather than covered with combustion soot.

Jose


Fired it up again to see if there were any other leaks. Ran well, idled for 30 minutes, outlet hose to radiator inlet temp 195, then..... BOOM! The radiator cap neck blew off the radiator (with the cap still attached!! I was in the drivers seat at the time so I could see if there was anything coming from the radiator vent hose before it blew.

Took the radiator to the shop and the mechanic said he could smell a blown head gasket and showed me where the radiator had swollen out from pressure within. Places that I know were flat before are now bowed out a bit. He also said it must have gotten extremely hot because he pointed out an area where some of the brazing began to melt I haven't heard of it before but he said because of the blown head gasket the engine was forcing pressure into the cooling system and back into the radiator pressurizing it. ?
He told me it would be no problem for him to fix the radiator but I better take a look at the head gaskets. I've seen blown head gaskets before which were pretty obvious with the white steamy smoke billowing out the tailpipe. But maybe if the gasket is not completely blown it doesn't show up in the exhaust.

If there is a blown head gasket could that be why I've got coolant in the intake manifold?
 

Nickodell

Donation Time
Mike: The guy suggesting that a blown head gasket could melt brazing metal is full of [rhymes with "kit."] The melting temperature of brazing filler metal is above 840° F (450° C),
 

Mike Armstrong

Bronze Level Sponsor
Ya, like I said, I've just never heard of a blown head gasket causing that to happen but I wanted to see if you guys had.

Somewhat in his defense, he did mention that it would take 600 degrees to get that filler to start to melt. I took a couple pictures of where the brazing filler appeared to be bare (paint was gone) and perhaps 'looked' melted though it wasn't leaking (venting) in that area. I'll post them when I can. I'm wondering now if it just appeared that it had started to melt but actually hadn't.

He did seem confused by why the hoses didn't blow before the filler neck blew off. The upper 'tank' of the radiator was indeed bulged out, I guess it passed a major pressure test :D

During the previous run at operating temp I did notice some steam and hot condensation dripping from the radiator vent hose, enough that I did get the feeling it was running pretty hot. The infrared thermometer did show almost 200 degrees on that upper radiator hose though.

Anyhow, what Jose mentioned about the cap makes sense. That cap spring should have been the safety valve but it didn't function that way, at least it seems so. I'm going to check to see if the depth of the cap spring allowed for enough space for it to retract up enough to let the pressure out, perhaps it didn't.

Back to the intake manifold. Could the gasket still be the cause of the water in the intake manifold, rather than a blown head gasket. Geez, what about a cracked head? :mad:
 
Last edited:

V6 JOSE

Donation Time
Hi Mike,

A blown head gasket doesn´t present water in the intake manifold. As you said, it usually presents steam or water out of the exhaust.

You said that the upper radiator hose showed 200 degrees at the time, which is actually within operating range of this engine. The stock thermostat is a 190 degree one, because the factory wanted the engine to run hotter for smog reasons. I would check for a bad intake manifold gasket to stop the water in the intake manifold, and check the plugs for the suspected bad head gasket.

Jose
 

Mike Armstrong

Bronze Level Sponsor
Hi Mike,

A blown head gasket doesn´t present water in the intake manifold. As you said, it usually presents steam or water out of the exhaust.

You said that the upper radiator hose showed 200 degrees at the time, which is actually within operating range of this engine. The stock thermostat is a 190 degree one, because the factory wanted the engine to run hotter for smog reasons. I would check for a bad intake manifold gasket to stop the water in the intake manifold, and check the plugs for the suspected bad head gasket.

Jose

Will do, thanks Jose.
 
Top