JPOR: 401 rebuild update

[Obi-Wan <bvh@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Just thought I'd check in with you all regarding my 401 progress.

I took a couple days off to read up on engine rebuilding & other
stuff.  I got Tom Monroe's book "Engine Builder's Handbook," which
is pretty good for a brand-generic book.

Yesterday evening was spent meticulously labelling & disconnecting
all the accessories from the engine.  I'm not sure why I bothered
labelling the vacuum lines & wires -- maybe for entertainment value
when I use the TSM to assemble them _correctly_ later on.  For
instance, my CTO switch has all three ports plugged, and my distributor
advance runs directly from the carb.  I also realized for the first
time that I'm missing my air pump.  Are these things small enough
that I should bother asking around on the Net for one, or should
I just pay through the nose at a local yard & skip the shipping cost?

Anyway, as I was yanking the rocker arms tonight, I found that of
the 8 inverted U brackets that hold the arms on, one had already
been replaced at some point, another was cracked, and two more were
broken clean in two.  One of the broken ones was on the right side;
the rest were on the left side.  I have no idea what might cause
something like that, but it seems like a Bad Thing(tm).

The valve stems all seemed pretty close to the same height (using
a straight-edge), but I'll want to inspect them from underneath once
I get the heads off.

My neighbor couldn't find his dial caliper, so I couldn't measure
the push rod travel (& hence the cam lobe lift) tonight.  Maybe
tomorrow.

I opted instead to remove the carb & intake manifold in preparation
for yanking the heads.  Note that this thing still has the original
cast-iron (or whatever very-heavy metal) intake manifold.  Also
note that the engine is still in the Jeep, since I don't want
to yank it if the cylinders appear to be in good shape (an
increasingly unlikely condition, given the rest of the engine).
Also note that the Jeep has a 2" lift and is sitting on 9"-tall
ramps (when I started this mess, I only intended to yank the oil
pan & replace the bearings).  You can picture me standing on a
feeble step stool, leaning into the engine bay with most of my
weight pushing my belly into the radiator cap & supports, trying
to leverage this 3-ton manifold out of the engine without goobering
up either the mating surfaces or my spine.  I eventually succeeded,
but I've still got red marks on my belly.

On a good note, you should see my new shop light.  My neighbor does
tatoos out of his basement.  He recently got a new chair & light,
so he had the old pair sitting out for DAV to pick up.  I snagged
the light from him for free.  It's one of those multi-axis, dual-
arm swing mounts that allows you to position the light pretty much
anywhere you want without having to move the base around.  It's not
overly bright, but it's very cool.  Very handy for getting light
down into the depths of the engine bay.  They had some fancier
versions of those things in the delivery room when we were having
Micah, and I told Stacy then that I just _had_ to get one of those
for the garage.  She just sighed & shook her head.  Little did we
know I'd have one just a few months later.  :-)

Well, I gotta get to bed.  I got wrenchin' to do tomorrow.

				-- Obi-Wan
				   '95.5 YJ, '77 Wag (under the knife)

-- 
Ben "Obi-Wan" Hollingsworth                                   obiwan@jedi.com
Many people don't understand this type of devotion; in fact some think of our
mindset as a sickness or as an aberration of the human mind. -- Rick Pewe
              Anybody want to buy a Jeep XJ Dana 44 rear axle?