Ginger the 83 wagon

[tougeagle]

I got the engine down to the machine shop today with two things in mind getting the block retapped from 7/16 to 1/2 inch and getting it hot tanked...about 100 dollars worth of work.....by the time I left there the guy had talked me into machining the crank shaft replacing all the bearings and honing the cylinders. Im up to about 400 now....Unfortunatly it wont be done for about two to three weeks though...which is fine...gives me time to scrape up some cash!! I spent the rest of the day cleaning all the brackets timing chain cover and misc. parts off the engine. I then sanded and repainted them with high temp engine paint. Im getting pretty excited to get this thing back together!!

I'm jealous, I wish I had another car and enough money to put a brand new cam and lifters in, and get my engine balanced... I can't wait to see her run again Also, you'll save 50 bucks by having gone to 1/2" thread... Those bolts MAY have the studs on top for the belt tensioner...

[68AMXGOPAC]

I would pop a new seal in that front timeing cover while it's off , just my thought.Looks great man !!

[doneagle]

         HI     Shane   Quadratc.com     you can ask for a cadloge they will send you one later .......Don

[shanebo]

It was 50 dollars to get it retapped or 50 dollars more for the 7/16 bolts. either way Im out 50 dollars but atleast now if I bust a bolt in the future I can rest assure one will be available.

All this machine work on the motor has set me back alot. I am using the money I had set aside for the tranny. I hope im not going overboard getting all this machine work done. Its a peace of mind thing for me I guess....Im sure the engine would have been ok but im totally OCD with with stuff like this

By the way, is that timing cover seal still available at part stores? It is a bit dry rotted!!

Oh yeah, by the way...I broke my lower timing gear dropping it on the floor today When I go to buy a new one do i get the 4.0 or 4.2 gear...or are they the same.

Thanks
shane

[shanebo]

Thank you Don...I wrote it down this time

[doneagle]

       HI    Shane   I left out some of it here it is Quadratec.com   This is right I checked it 3 times to make sure.
                            On the seal yes .......  On the gear I have never compared the 2 side by side.toug would
                            know that......later        Don

[tougeagle]

Timing gears on the 4.0 and 4.2 are identical. Do not get a stock/OEM set, get a triple roller steel set if you can, they can be found on summitracing.com or similar places.... If that gear hitting the floor was enough for it to break, it's a good thing you dropped it, lol. Also, those seals are very common.... Just be very careful in removal and installation, if you scratch the surface the seal sits on, it will always leak unless you use sillycone.

[doneagle]

             HI Shane  there is something I forgot is the ridge at the top of the cylinder ...I do that here at home
                  glaze breaker and ridge reamer . you know how Priya did there motor in blue .I think Ginger would
                  looked good with a Ginger motor . The bolts is the way to go ..and the crank is good to see what you
                   have to work with. and are you going with braes frieze plugs or steel ....how is your oil pan coming
                   a long .I hope all right.we had one with a hole in it .we keened it up and wire wilded it grind it
                   down and paint it .It looked good .later...Don
 

[shanebo]

I havent really thought about the plugs...what would you guys suggest? As for the oil pan i cleaned it up good with gasoline and then used some good degreaser to get that last bit of oily film off. Ive gotta pop the dents out as best I can. I have some bricks of lead I can use to fill in the rest to get a nice flush surface. I think Im gonna do the oil pan, intake manifold, and valve cover in that  metallic ginger color and kep the block and everything else black. That Bronz engine paint I found is really close to the color of gingers trim.

I guess it was lucky I dropped that gear...I was going to reuse it....Apon further inspection I noticed that its full of hairline cracks!! that could have gotten ugly down the road!!

Thanks for all the help fellas!!!
shane

Oh! I got one more question? Whats the best way to get that seal out??

[tougeagle]

I havent really thought about the plugs...what would you guys suggest? As for the oil pan i cleaned it up good with gasoline and then used some good degreaser to get that last bit of oily film off. Ive gotta pop the dents out as best I can. I have some bricks of lead I can use to fill in the rest to get a nice flush surface. I think Im gonna do the oil pan, intake manifold, and valve cover in that  metallic ginger color and kep the block and everything else black. That Bronz engine paint I found is really close to the color of gingers trim.

I guess it was lucky I dropped that gear...I was going to reuse it....Apon further inspection I noticed that its full of hairline cracks!! that could have gotten ugly down the road!!

Thanks for all the help fellas!!!
shane

Oh! I got one more question? Whats the best way to get that seal out??

At least these engines aren't interference motors, so if you had grenaded a timing gear, it definitely would not have been the end of the world

Use a pick or a screwdriver to very gently pry it out, being careful not to gouge the aluminum. Or, you could grab a seal puller from a parts store, I don't think they're that much. They look similar to a mini battle axe, a double point head and thin handle.

[doneagle]

Oh! I got one more question? Whats the best way to get that seal out??
[/quote]

At least these engines aren't interference motors, so if you had grenaded a timing gear, it definitely would not have been the end of the world

Use a pick or a screwdriver to very gently pry it out, being careful not to gouge the aluminum. Or, you could grab a seal puller from a parts store, I don't think they're that much. They look similar to a mini battle axe, a double point head and thin handle.
[/quote]
                 HI    Toug   you did not leave me any thing to say .O  I use the seal puller it works great ....Don

[doneagle]

I haven't really thought about the plugs...what would you guys suggest? As for the oil pan i cleaned it up good with gasoline and then used some good degreaser to get that last bit of oily film off. Ive gotta pop the dents out as best I can. I have some bricks of lead I can use to fill in the rest to get a nice flush surface. I think Im gonna do the oil pan, intake manifold, and valve cover in that  metallic ginger color and kep the block and everything else black. That Bronz engine paint I found is really close to the color of gingers trim.

I guess it was lucky I dropped that gear...I was going to reuse it....Apon further inspection I noticed that its full of hairline cracks!! that could have gotten ugly down the road!!

Thanks for all the help fellas!!!
shane

Oh! I got one more question? Whats the best way to get that seal out??

                HI    I found some thing to say  ha ha I use the brass plugs .sounds good on pan .and the color combo sounds great .I can see it now that looks great ..  I put the brass plugs in after the block is painted it looks real nice with the brass and black and then Ginger ..that is going  to look good Shane......later........Don           

[tougeagle]

Don't go with cheap plugs or you'll end up with leaks. Stay away from parts store chinese crap. You could probably get some good 4.0 plugs from a jeep dealership, I'm sure they're the same size.

[shanebo]

I hadent really put any thought into the freeze plugs before but now that you mention it the brass would look sharp....real sharp....Thanks for the suggestion!!

I better be real carefull getting that seal out...I am going to be seriously   off if I get this thing done and it leaks oil out everywhere!!

Thanks fellas
shane

[shanebo]

Hey Toug, just out of curiosity, Ive never actually removed a freeze plug. Is there some kind of sealant you put on them or are they self sealing?

Ill call around to the dealerships tomorrow and see what they got.

Thanks
shane