Fuel Injection upgrade

[Gary Lewis]

Will have to upload photo tomorrow on my lunch break but I tossed my Dealer AC bracket in the parts washer at work turned the heat on for 4 hours and set the wash cycle to 2 hours. When I pulled the part out all the grease and grime was gone as well as all the paint. Only thing that was left was spots of rust that was under the paint that my wirebrush wheel on my air grinder quickly wiped away. Since I still have a lot more to clean and strip before I can paint I hosed the bracket down with some zep penetrating oil hopefully it will keep the rust at bay till I can finish cleaning everything up for painting this weekend.

I also am hopeful to take the headers to work this friday if I can get everything else cleaned up before then after hours so I can get them clearanced and test fitted this weekend before I contact the ceramic coater that I will be using cause Jet Hot coating told me they wont fix the pipes for shifting them and they dont do welding. That is a no go for me cause even though the guy I will be using doesnt offer a life time warranty on his coatings he does how ever blasts the parts clean and checks the welds and do repairs that are needed. Which I do want I want him to go over both headers and make sure there is no exhaust leak points in them before ceramic coating I dont want no leaks or noise.

This weekend I will also be bringing my powersteering pump pulley remover tool from work to pull the powersteering pump pulley and also unbolting the aluminum powersteering pump bracket to clean both up and paint as well. Looking at my setup it looks like my powersteering pump pivot bolt screws into the larger 7/16" thermactor plug which means it will all bolt up on my AFR Renegade heads and the best part, once all this bracketry is installed youll never see the AFR Renegade logo on the front of the heads. Only thing people could possibly see to know they are AFR aftermarket heads and not OE castings is the AFR cast into the forward and rear mating surface of the heads which for the most part should be hidden by the header tubes unless you start jockying around to view around them.

Seems like you are making good progress, Rusty. Getting all the grease and grime, as well as paint, off is a big help in the painting/coating process.

I assume the A/C bracket is steel, but if you are dealing with aluminum I wouldn't do the penetrating oil step. From experience, cast aluminum has lots of open pores that absorb oil, and it'll bite you when you try to paint. And when powder coating, since you have to raise the temp of the part up to 400 degrees, the oil flows out and ruins the finish. In fact, the only way I know of to get rid of it is to bake the part for an hour at 400 to burn off the oil, and then wash it with brake cleaner.

Anyway, if your part is steel you should be fine with just a wash with brake cleaner before painting. And I'm sure you know that.

As for the heads being incognito, the truck is going to surprise people, and they'll be amazed and how much power the EFI gave it.

[Rusty_S85]

Seems like you are making good progress, Rusty. Getting all the grease and grime, as well as paint, off is a big help in the painting/coating process.

I assume the A/C bracket is steel, but if you are dealing with aluminum I wouldn't do the penetrating oil step. From experience, cast aluminum has lots of open pores that absorb oil, and it'll bite you when you try to paint. And when powder coating, since you have to raise the temp of the part up to 400 degrees, the oil flows out and ruins the finish. In fact, the only way I know of to get rid of it is to bake the part for an hour at 400 to burn off the oil, and then wash it with brake cleaner.

Anyway, if your part is steel you should be fine with just a wash with brake cleaner before painting. And I'm sure you know that.

As for the heads being incognito, the truck is going to surprise people, and they'll be amazed and how much power the EFI gave it.

The parts washer washing away the paint and grime is helping to accelerate my cleaning, all I have to wirebrush is stubborn paint which is very little and wirebrush the rust out of the metal.

The penetrating oil I am only spraying on steel parts to prevent rust. Aluminum is getting nothing but carb cleaner sprayed on them to clean them as the chemicals in the parts washer will turn the aluminum black from oxidation which I dont want.

I thought about powder coating but started thinking it would make it harder for touch ups down the road. Plus I learned powder coating chips fairly easy just like paint. I did find black paint on all the parts for the dealer AC so it looks like even what I take to be cast steel parts were painted black as well. So only bare metal would be the cast iron alternator bracket that I have to repaint, the aluminum flex fan spacer, and the aluminum mount for the power steering pump.

Dealer AC bracket before being tossed in the automated parts washer.

Dealer AC bracket after washing with cool water (parts washer heater gets the parts hot enough you cant hold them in your bare hand) and wire brushing the obvious rust. Might take more time and go over it again and maybe use a sanding disc to smooth out the weld splatter I found on the front side.

The flat adapter plate that bolts to the driverside cylinder head that bolts to the two back bolts on the AC compressor bracket. This is after the wash but before wire brushing.

Box of cleaned and uncleaned parts. AC compressor bracket, powersteering pump bracket, AC compressor bracket to head bracket, fan pulley, fan spacer, and dealer AC tensioner are all cleaned and ready for paint. I did not spray penetrating oil on the cast steel tensioner out of fear it may soak in too deep with its cast pattern. The AC adapter pulley still needs to be cleaned as well as the three spacers, the two equal length ones fit between the AC compressor bracket and the water pump bolts and the shorter one fits on the head for the bracket which I may not need with the AFR heads as they are flat smooth and the OE heads are recessed lightly.

And this is where I am at as of today when I left work, everything but the three spacers and AC pulley adapter have been cleaned. I am still unsure if I can make the compressor brace work with the further back mounting point and I will have to source a larger diameter washer to cover the larger hole since the mounting boss that I will have to use if it will clear the valve covers is a small 3/8" bolt. I thought about just not even having the brace since you have the compressor bracket mounted to the water pump and the head but this brace goes from intake to the top of the compressor I think its more for stabilizing the compressor since all that holds it is the four bolts on the bottom.

Yep that was always my goal, look stock sound stock for the most part and idle like stock. The 112* LSA should give a nice rumble to the exhaust but the engine should still idle stock smooth. The engine vacuum should still be between 15" and 18" at idle as well. Its also why I picked out the 6" round muffler like OE from magnaflow in their XL 3 chamber, just have to source a 2 1/2" inlet and outlet version as I have 2 1/4" as I had planned on running a replacement 2 1/4" tail pipe. I have since decided might as well just run it all 2 1/2" from the merger of the Y pipe straight out to the tail pipe.

I asked jegs yesterday via chat if my order shipped from Manley for my pushrods and they told me that they havent got the tracking information from Manley yet but the customer service rep said he emailed Manley and will email me when he hears back. 24 hours later and nothing. If I dont see information on my pushrods shipping before midnight I will be flooding their customer service chat with inquires daily on my pushrods. 3 months have been long enough of a wait someone needs to light a fire and get me my product which jegs already took my $244.63 for the order back on Aug 5, 2020 which means it is becoming excessive for me to not have them after 3 months.

[Gary Lewis]

Seems like you are making good progress, Rusty. Getting all the grease and grime, as well as paint, off is a big help in the painting/coating process.

I assume the A/C bracket is steel, but if you are dealing with aluminum I wouldn't do the penetrating oil step. From experience, cast aluminum has lots of open pores that absorb oil, and it'll bite you when you try to paint. And when powder coating, since you have to raise the temp of the part up to 400 degrees, the oil flows out and ruins the finish. In fact, the only way I know of to get rid of it is to bake the part for an hour at 400 to burn off the oil, and then wash it with brake cleaner.

Anyway, if your part is steel you should be fine with just a wash with brake cleaner before painting. And I'm sure you know that.

As for the heads being incognito, the truck is going to surprise people, and they'll be amazed and how much power the EFI gave it.

The parts washer washing away the paint and grime is helping to accelerate my cleaning, all I have to wirebrush is stubborn paint which is very little and wirebrush the rust out of the metal.

The penetrating oil I am only spraying on steel parts to prevent rust. Aluminum is getting nothing but carb cleaner sprayed on them to clean them as the chemicals in the parts washer will turn the aluminum black from oxidation which I dont want.

I thought about powder coating but started thinking it would make it harder for touch ups down the road. Plus I learned powder coating chips fairly easy just like paint. I did find black paint on all the parts for the dealer AC so it looks like even what I take to be cast steel parts were painted black as well. So only bare metal would be the cast iron alternator bracket that I have to repaint, the aluminum flex fan spacer, and the aluminum mount for the power steering pump.

Dealer AC bracket before being tossed in the automated parts washer.

Dealer AC bracket after washing with cool water (parts washer heater gets the parts hot enough you cant hold them in your bare hand) and wire brushing the obvious rust. Might take more time and go over it again and maybe use a sanding disc to smooth out the weld splatter I found on the front side.

The flat adapter plate that bolts to the driverside cylinder head that bolts to the two back bolts on the AC compressor bracket. This is after the wash but before wire brushing.

Box of cleaned and uncleaned parts. AC compressor bracket, powersteering pump bracket, AC compressor bracket to head bracket, fan pulley, fan spacer, and dealer AC tensioner are all cleaned and ready for paint. I did not spray penetrating oil on the cast steel tensioner out of fear it may soak in too deep with its cast pattern. The AC adapter pulley still needs to be cleaned as well as the three spacers, the two equal length ones fit between the AC compressor bracket and the water pump bolts and the shorter one fits on the head for the bracket which I may not need with the AFR heads as they are flat smooth and the OE heads are recessed lightly.

And this is where I am at as of today when I left work, everything but the three spacers and AC pulley adapter have been cleaned. I am still unsure if I can make the compressor brace work with the further back mounting point and I will have to source a larger diameter washer to cover the larger hole since the mounting boss that I will have to use if it will clear the valve covers is a small 3/8" bolt. I thought about just not even having the brace since you have the compressor bracket mounted to the water pump and the head but this brace goes from intake to the top of the compressor I think its more for stabilizing the compressor since all that holds it is the four bolts on the bottom.

Yep that was always my goal, look stock sound stock for the most part and idle like stock. The 112* LSA should give a nice rumble to the exhaust but the engine should still idle stock smooth. The engine vacuum should still be between 15" and 18" at idle as well. Its also why I picked out the 6" round muffler like OE from magnaflow in their XL 3 chamber, just have to source a 2 1/2" inlet and outlet version as I have 2 1/4" as I had planned on running a replacement 2 1/4" tail pipe. I have since decided might as well just run it all 2 1/2" from the merger of the Y pipe straight out to the tail pipe.

I asked jegs yesterday via chat if my order shipped from Manley for my pushrods and they told me that they havent got the tracking information from Manley yet but the customer service rep said he emailed Manley and will email me when he hears back. 24 hours later and nothing. If I dont see information on my pushrods shipping before midnight I will be flooding their customer service chat with inquires daily on my pushrods. 3 months have been long enough of a wait someone needs to light a fire and get me my product which jegs already took my $244.63 for the order back on Aug 5, 2020 which means it is becoming excessive for me to not have them after 3 months.

Good progress. And you are right, powder coating will chip, so it is easier to touch up paint.

And I like the plan to make it look stock but RUN! And I think it will.

But it is a shame that it is taking so long to get the push rods. But I think you mean Aug 5, 2021. Surely the parts are from the US so they shouldn't be sitting on a ship. And I know that there is a shortage of drivers, but still...

Hope you rattling cages will do some good.

[Rusty_S85]

Good progress. And you are right, powder coating will chip, so it is easier to touch up paint.

And I like the plan to make it look stock but RUN! And I think it will.

But it is a shame that it is taking so long to get the push rods. But I think you mean Aug 5, 2021. Surely the parts are from the US so they shouldn't be sitting on a ship. And I know that there is a shortage of drivers, but still...

Hope you rattling cages will do some good.

Yep, I also didnt want to be sitting at a red light and having every kid with a mustang or honda wanting to race me every single day so I figured lets tone everything back make it run good pull hard but idle and sound fairly stock.

August 5, 2021 is when I bought them correct, I keep hitting 0 in place of 1 since 2020 was so screwed up with the shut down it just doesnt feel like 2021 to me even here in November. They are from the US, the pushrods are Manley push rods its their swedged end 5/16" push rods with 0.120" wall thickness in 6.400" length. Its the length that Crane recommended for my camshaft in their catalog length wise, When I did the 1/2 lift method I was getting between 6.533" and 6.580" length which I would have to round down to 6.500" length or round up to 6.600" and when I set the pushrod to that length it put the resting position of the roller tip on the outboard side of the center of the valve which I did not like. The 6.400" puts the roller tip just barely inboard of the center line of the valve which I am more comfortable with.

I hope so too and I hope the cam gear bolt doesnt pose me any issues down the road its the only thing in the back of my head but Ive never torqued them down so I dont think there is any real force on the bolt and I have blue locktite on the threads which should keep it from backing out.

[Rusty_S85]

Good progress. And you are right, powder coating will chip, so it is easier to touch up paint.

And I like the plan to make it look stock but RUN! And I think it will.

But it is a shame that it is taking so long to get the push rods. But I think you mean Aug 5, 2021. Surely the parts are from the US so they shouldn't be sitting on a ship. And I know that there is a shortage of drivers, but still...

Hope you rattling cages will do some good.

Yep, I also didnt want to be sitting at a red light and having every kid with a mustang or honda wanting to race me every single day so I figured lets tone everything back make it run good pull hard but idle and sound fairly stock.

August 5, 2021 is when I bought them correct, I keep hitting 0 in place of 1 since 2020 was so screwed up with the shut down it just doesnt feel like 2021 to me even here in November. They are from the US, the pushrods are Manley push rods its their swedged end 5/16" push rods with 0.120" wall thickness in 6.400" length. Its the length that Crane recommended for my camshaft in their catalog length wise, When I did the 1/2 lift method I was getting between 6.533" and 6.580" length which I would have to round down to 6.500" length or round up to 6.600" and when I set the pushrod to that length it put the resting position of the roller tip on the outboard side of the center of the valve which I did not like. The 6.400" puts the roller tip just barely inboard of the center line of the valve which I am more comfortable with.

I hope so too and I hope the cam gear bolt doesnt pose me any issues down the road its the only thing in the back of my head but Ive never torqued them down so I dont think there is any real force on the bolt and I have blue locktite on the threads which should keep it from backing out.

Finally got word this week pertaining to my pushrods that were supposed to ship on Nov 8, yesterday after a week Jegs finally informed me they are rescheduled to ship on Nov 15 so they were delayed for a third time.

The brackets and pulleys minus powersteering pump mount and the pulley have been stripped to bare metal and primered and painted. Will be painting the front side tomorrow as it takes 24 hours for the paint to cure fully so I can flip them over. I am not too impressed with the underhood black which I have never used before, it just looks too dull to me but it is supposed to be the correct OE low gloss formula 10-15% gloss.

I also yesterday brought my headers to work to modify them to fit, I used the torch to heat cylinder 5 header tube in the area where it was hitting the cylinder head and then I used a large 2 lb sledge hammer and let the weight fall on the header tube after it was glowing red. I flattened the spot out enough to where I thought it would clear and sure enough my test fit shows that it fits with enough of an airgap that there shouldnt be an issue with radiant heat.

Two photos of the spot that I flattened out. This flat spot did not collapse the tube enough to cause any adverse effect to exhaust flow I feel.

And a photo of the clearance with the felpro header gasket with two header bolts finger tight. Without the gasket there was enough gap to see light between the head and the header with the gasket once crushed down I do not believe it will close the gap up to that point.

So now I need to decide on what ceramic coating to get color wise and the ship them out to be coated. Once I get them back I can install them and tighten the bolts up as I plan on dropping the engine in with the headers on since they are no more than exhaust manifolds.

I will have to post photos of the brackets and the pulleys later cause I may very well strip them down and re do them cause I am not fully happy with how they have came out but maybe they will come out better tomorrow when I spray the front side and recoat the back side with a second coat.

I will post how everything came out with the 2K engine primer though.

[Gary Lewis]

Finally got word this week pertaining to my pushrods that were supposed to ship on Nov 8, yesterday after a week Jegs finally informed me they are rescheduled to ship on Nov 15 so they were delayed for a third time.

The brackets and pulleys minus powersteering pump mount and the pulley have been stripped to bare metal and primered and painted. Will be painting the front side tomorrow as it takes 24 hours for the paint to cure fully so I can flip them over. I am not too impressed with the underhood black which I have never used before, it just looks too dull to me but it is supposed to be the correct OE low gloss formula 10-15% gloss.

I also yesterday brought my headers to work to modify them to fit, I used the torch to heat cylinder 5 header tube in the area where it was hitting the cylinder head and then I used a large 2 lb sledge hammer and let the weight fall on the header tube after it was glowing red. I flattened the spot out enough to where I thought it would clear and sure enough my test fit shows that it fits with enough of an airgap that there shouldnt be an issue with radiant heat.

Two photos of the spot that I flattened out. This flat spot did not collapse the tube enough to cause any adverse effect to exhaust flow I feel.

And a photo of the clearance with the felpro header gasket with two header bolts finger tight. Without the gasket there was enough gap to see light between the head and the header with the gasket once crushed down I do not believe it will close the gap up to that point.

So now I need to decide on what ceramic coating to get color wise and the ship them out to be coated. Once I get them back I can install them and tighten the bolts up as I plan on dropping the engine in with the headers on since they are no more than exhaust manifolds.

I will have to post photos of the brackets and the pulleys later cause I may very well strip them down and re do them cause I am not fully happy with how they have came out but maybe they will come out better tomorrow when I spray the front side and recoat the back side with a second coat.

I will post how everything came out with the 2K engine primer though.

Well, at least you have a date for them shipping. Hopefully they will.

On the headers, I don't think you've hurt them at all.

But before you ship them out do you still need to trim the bottom of the flange a bit where it hits the angle of the head?

Show us some pics of the painted parts, although pics don't really tell much about gloss.

[Rusty_S85]

Well, at least you have a date for them shipping. Hopefully they will.

On the headers, I don't think you've hurt them at all.

But before you ship them out do you still need to trim the bottom of the flange a bit where it hits the angle of the head?

Show us some pics of the painted parts, although pics don't really tell much about gloss.

I took a 80grit cookie on my angle grinder and knocked the under side of the flange down then came back with a flat file and trued them all up to one another to be flat and level. Then I came back and filed a bevel into the back side they seem to clear the head just fine on the driverside. I need to mock up the passenger side see if they clear there too if not I can file them down a little more.

This is what I have photo wise of the under hood black on the parts.

Back side of the crank pulley, it appears there is grey primer bleeding through with the flash but considering I sprayed 3 heavy coats on it there should be none. But I am thinking of a way to suspend it so I can paint both sides with a heavy coat tomorrow to blend it all in.

This is the AC bracket back side and the back side of the AC crank pulley, I sprayed a second heavy coat on the AC bracket as it was the first I painted and I went a little thin I think as it had varying textures.

This one is hard to tell due to the flash but its the powersteering pump bracket, the AC compressor head bracket, the AC compressor brace, the AC compressor bracket spacers, the AC compressor bracket tensioner and the fan spacer. Everythign here was painted with Underhood black but the fan spacer which was painted with a heavy coat of aluma blast cast aluminum paint to bring back that fresh cast aluminum color and get away from that dull dark gray finish.

And a photo of the fan pulley, I was able to paint the back side then set the pulley on a spray can to paint the pulley groove and the face of the pulley so this pulley should be fully cured by tomorrow and may or may not get another coat depending on how it cures.

For me I am not real happy with how its coming out cause its either change in textures where I touched the part to flip it to primer the other side such as with the back side of the powersteering pump bracket or the paint is just not providing a smooth sheen and part of me also thinks the sheen is way too little. I know its supposed to replicate the OE finish of 10% - 15% gloss but even the OE would reflect a little and this paint only attempts to do that when you put a super heavy wet coat down on the verge of running.

[Gary Lewis]

Well, at least you have a date for them shipping. Hopefully they will.

On the headers, I don't think you've hurt them at all.

But before you ship them out do you still need to trim the bottom of the flange a bit where it hits the angle of the head?

Show us some pics of the painted parts, although pics don't really tell much about gloss.

I took a 80grit cookie on my angle grinder and knocked the under side of the flange down then came back with a flat file and trued them all up to one another to be flat and level. Then I came back and filed a bevel into the back side they seem to clear the head just fine on the driverside. I need to mock up the passenger side see if they clear there too if not I can file them down a little more.

This is what I have photo wise of the under hood black on the parts.

Back side of the crank pulley, it appears there is grey primer bleeding through with the flash but considering I sprayed 3 heavy coats on it there should be none. But I am thinking of a way to suspend it so I can paint both sides with a heavy coat tomorrow to blend it all in.

This is the AC bracket back side and the back side of the AC crank pulley, I sprayed a second heavy coat on the AC bracket as it was the first I painted and I went a little thin I think as it had varying textures.

This one is hard to tell due to the flash but its the powersteering pump bracket, the AC compressor head bracket, the AC compressor brace, the AC compressor bracket spacers, the AC compressor bracket tensioner and the fan spacer. Everythign here was painted with Underhood black but the fan spacer which was painted with a heavy coat of aluma blast cast aluminum paint to bring back that fresh cast aluminum color and get away from that dull dark gray finish.

And a photo of the fan pulley, I was able to paint the back side then set the pulley on a spray can to paint the pulley groove and the face of the pulley so this pulley should be fully cured by tomorrow and may or may not get another coat depending on how it cures.

For me I am not real happy with how its coming out cause its either change in textures where I touched the part to flip it to primer the other side such as with the back side of the powersteering pump bracket or the paint is just not providing a smooth sheen and part of me also thinks the sheen is way too little. I know its supposed to replicate the OE finish of 10% - 15% gloss but even the OE would reflect a little and this paint only attempts to do that when you put a super heavy wet coat down on the verge of running.

Sounds like you have the header flange trimmed nicely, at least on one side.

And the Alumablast looks really good. But I can't tell about the black. Just no way to take a pic of black and get the gloss to look right. Good luck.

[Rusty_S85]

Sounds like you have the header flange trimmed nicely, at least on one side.

And the Alumablast looks really good. But I can't tell about the black. Just no way to take a pic of black and get the gloss to look right. Good luck.

Yep the black just doesnt photograph well unless you can get it in natural sunlight. I ran out of sunlight when the paint was dry enough to move it so I hope to get it coated tomorrow and get some good photos of it in natural light then go from there. I just have to pull the kitchen sink apart tomorrow to pull out the disposal and replace it with just a plain drain and then find out why hot and cold water has just lost volume.

Right now how ever I am in photo shop starting to work on a driverside and passengerside photo recoloring my headers in the Zirconia color of ceramic coating to see if I really want to go with that. Part of me is leaning away from black as it will just be too much black and blue on this engine and need to throw in a different color. Would love to just send to Jet Hot and let them do it but they estimated some $400 to coat my headers where I can get these coated locally for under $300. Like wise the local shop I am mailing them to they if I remember right said they check the welds and make repairs if necessary before coating. Jet Hot told me they do no repairs all they will do is coat what I send in and if there is a leak too bad.

[Rusty_S85]

Sounds like you have the header flange trimmed nicely, at least on one side.

And the Alumablast looks really good. But I can't tell about the black. Just no way to take a pic of black and get the gloss to look right. Good luck.

Yep the black just doesnt photograph well unless you can get it in natural sunlight. I ran out of sunlight when the paint was dry enough to move it so I hope to get it coated tomorrow and get some good photos of it in natural light then go from there. I just have to pull the kitchen sink apart tomorrow to pull out the disposal and replace it with just a plain drain and then find out why hot and cold water has just lost volume.

Right now how ever I am in photo shop starting to work on a driverside and passengerside photo recoloring my headers in the Zirconia color of ceramic coating to see if I really want to go with that. Part of me is leaning away from black as it will just be too much black and blue on this engine and need to throw in a different color. Would love to just send to Jet Hot and let them do it but they estimated some $400 to coat my headers where I can get these coated locally for under $300. Like wise the local shop I am mailing them to they if I remember right said they check the welds and make repairs if necessary before coating. Jet Hot told me they do no repairs all they will do is coat what I send in and if there is a leak too bad.

Painted the front side of the brackets and pulleys and things came out a bit better, I may how ever go back over the AC crank pulley again cause it was hard trying to get black paint on the inside of the four ribs that connects the pulley to the pulley mounting base.

All the pieces I repainted today in underhood black

Water pump pulley in natural sunlight to show off the 10% - 15% low gloss sheen.

Flex fan spacer in natural sunlight

Flex fan spacer atop water pump pulley

AC Compressor bracket

AC Compressor head bracket to main bracket and Powersteering pump bracket

Powersteering pump bracket

Crank pulley

AC Crank pulley

AC Bracket spacers two equal size one thinner. Two equal size ones goes on the water pump and the thinner one off sets the uneven head surface for the rear compressor bracket plate. I shouldnt have to use that spacer but painted it anyways.