New engine for the family truckster!

[njsteve]

Yesterday I ripped out all the remaining busted, crumbling, plastic sound deadener panels shielding from the firewall and then pressure washed the engine compartment. Sure looks nice now.

I need to replace the motor mounts and I bought a new set of Napa mounts. Trying to access the nuts on the underside of the cross member does not look like a fun job. Anyone know any secrets to doing that job?

[njsteve]

I spent most of today disassembling the old engine and moving parts to the new engine. I was able to pull the water pump and cover off the old engine, move it to the right timing position and then transfer timing gear and injection pump (with the entire "spider" of fuel lines intact) to the new engine. I moved the injectors, installed new copper gaskets and torqued them down. I also installed the high output water pump on the new engine as it is going to the dual thermostat setup. I had to run out and buy a tube of the special anaerobic sealant. I applied it to the back section of the plate and used a thin paper gasket between the sealant layers. I also made my own reducer for the water pump fitting by drilling out the nipple and then inserting a screw in plug with the center drilled out to 3/8".

Today's casualty was the crank position sensor which of course, broke the mounting tab off when I tried to remove it. I already ordered a new AC/Delco one from Rockauto. Should be here Thursday.

[njsteve]

We have touchdown at 10:00 AM EST! And the wonderful wife gets credit for the assist as she helped hold the engine in place as it kept trying to twist out of flightpath as it touched down. The motor mount bolts just slid into place, too.