nmchuck Posted September 8, 2022 Author Share Posted September 8, 2022 Moved on to figuring out the engine miss. New plugs and wires went in, old plugs definitely need helpAC5E663C-9EBD-4C25-BA67-080B174A198C.jpeg Unfortunately #2 cylinder still not firing. Ran a compression check of all cylinders ranged from 112 to 122 psi except #2. This read 0 a couple of times, then 35, back to zero then 125. Basically all over the place. Pulled the valve cover tonight and found this, notice something missing? 9A973503-237C-4886-B100-CF70159C6D54.jpeg Fished this little jewel out with a magnet So speculating what may have happened is the awful gas in this thing I ran it on before draining the tank caused it. Valve and spring seem to be ok, will know more after I try a different pushrod. Lesson learned, drain all old fuel before attempting to start an engine that has sat for an extended period of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 8, 2022 Share Posted September 8, 2022 Moved on to figuring out the engine miss. New plugs and wires went in, old plugs definitely need helpAC5E663C-9EBD-4C25-BA67-080B174A198C.jpeg Unfortunately #2 cylinder still not firing. Ran a compression check of all cylinders ranged from 112 to 122 psi except #2. This read 0 a couple of times, then 35, back to zero then 125. Basically all over the place. Pulled the valve cover tonight and found this, notice something missing? It looks like that cylinder has magically dispensed with the need for a push rod. Cool! There are engines now with electric and hydraulic "push rods", but I've not seen one with a magical push rod. Does it use mushrooms? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmchuck Posted September 15, 2022 Author Share Posted September 15, 2022 It looks like that cylinder has magically dispensed with the need for a push rod. Cool! There are engines now with electric and hydraulic "push rods", but I've not seen one with a magical push rod. Does it use mushrooms? I managed to get the bent pushrod replaced and it is definitely running better. Funny how a functioning intake valve can make a difference. I moved on to see about wheel bearing noise out of the right front wheel. pulled it down and found the inner bearing was destroyed, and the spindle is shot too. My guess is a previous owner couldn't get the old bearing off and took a torch to assist. There are gouge marks under where the bearing rides from a torch (guessing) and you can see hammer marks and where they filed and ground with something to get surfaces flat. Obviously, this failed and ruined the bearing. It also ruined the studs that mount the spindle. Long story short, I'm now waiting on parts to fix it correct. Dove into trying to figure out why the heat/AC controls aren't working. Read through Gary's documentation on here about vacuum routing and need a little help. I can confirm vacuum going into the firewall but was not able to pull the lines off a connector to see if it is supplying to the various valves. Anyone have a trick on diagnosing the control unit or how to pull the hoses out? I didn't want to put much force while pulling on them in fear of breaking something. here is a connector I found behind the radio I was tugging on a bit with no luck Thanks all, still chipping away at it all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 15, 2022 Share Posted September 15, 2022 I managed to get the bent pushrod replaced and it is definitely running better. Funny how a functioning intake valve can make a difference. I moved on to see about wheel bearing noise out of the right front wheel. pulled it down and found the inner bearing was destroyed, and the spindle is shot too. My guess is a previous owner couldn't get the old bearing off and took a torch to assist. There are gouge marks under where the bearing rides from a torch (guessing) and you can see hammer marks and where they filed and ground with something to get surfaces flat. Obviously, this failed and ruined the bearing. It also ruined the studs that mount the spindle. Long story short, I'm now waiting on parts to fix it correct. Dove into trying to figure out why the heat/AC controls aren't working. Read through Gary's documentation on here about vacuum routing and need a little help. I can confirm vacuum going into the firewall but was not able to pull the lines off a connector to see if it is supplying to the various valves. Anyone have a trick on diagnosing the control unit or how to pull the hoses out? I didn't want to put much force while pulling on them in fear of breaking something. here is a connector I found behind the radio I was tugging on a bit with no luck Thanks all, still chipping away at it all Yes, you are certainly chipping away. The push rod should have made quite a difference. And the wheel bearings and spindle will as well, although it is a shame they did that to it. On the vacuum, the lines don't come off of that connector. The two halves of the connector come apart with the lines still attached to the halves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmchuck Posted September 17, 2022 Author Share Posted September 17, 2022 Yes, you are certainly chipping away. The push rod should have made quite a difference. And the wheel bearings and spindle will as well, although it is a shame they did that to it. On the vacuum, the lines don't come off of that connector. The two halves of the connector come apart with the lines still attached to the halves. Thanks for insight on the connectors Gary, I now see how they come apart. O was able to find the vacuum leak, right where the line enters the rubber grommet through the firewall on the engine side. I can't tell if it was chewed if off or if it just flaked apart, but a small portion was opened up. Anyone know of a source for the hard plastic vacuum line? I am striking out with the local parts stores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 17, 2022 Share Posted September 17, 2022 Thanks for insight on the connectors Gary, I now see how they come apart. O was able to find the vacuum leak, right where the line enters the rubber grommet through the firewall on the engine side. I can't tell if it was chewed if off or if it just flaked apart, but a small portion was opened up. Anyone know of a source for the hard plastic vacuum line? I am striking out with the local parts stores. That is the classic place for the leak as the line gets brittle and cracks there. I cut the line back on each side to where it wasn’t brittle, pushed a piece of small copper tubing through the grommet, and then used vacuum line to connect the plastic tubing to the copper tubing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat in tn Posted September 17, 2022 Share Posted September 17, 2022 That is the classic place for the leak as the line gets brittle and cracks there. I cut the line back on each side to where it wasn’t brittle, pushed a piece of small copper tubing through the grommet, and then used vacuum line to connect the plastic tubing to the copper tubing. in a pinch. brake line tubing happens to be the same size and does make an excellent hard run between flex points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmchuck Posted September 18, 2022 Author Share Posted September 18, 2022 That is the classic place for the leak as the line gets brittle and cracks there. I cut the line back on each side to where it wasn’t brittle, pushed a piece of small copper tubing through the grommet, and then used vacuum line to connect the plastic tubing to the copper tubing. Busy day today, managed to get the Heater/ac controls working. Found some of the hard plastic line at my friend's place with an old ford truck, was able to salvage all of the ends and replace the brittle line. The controller is the pits to get out of the dash, but I cleaned it all up and reinstalled. I dove into the heater core area as the fan was blowing mouse nest gunk out. Found a pretty good pile wedged up against the heater core. Based on warnings here, I looked at the blend door, sure enough the hinge was broken. Since I had been at it all day, I cheated (probably myself in the long run) and used heavy Gorilla tape to reattach the two sides together. I figured it may get me by for a while, and actually worked. The new heater core I ordered was aluminum, the one that came out was copper and brass. This aluminum core was a complete booger to get in place, was shaped differently at the top. I managed to get it in and closed up, but honestly thought about returning it. Tomorrow will be a flush of the cooling system again and buttoning it all back up. My spindle studs finally arrived and hopefully I can get it driving again as well. No photos on this post, all pretty boring time-consuming stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted September 18, 2022 Share Posted September 18, 2022 The new heater core I ordered was aluminum, the one that came out was copper and brass. This aluminum core was a complete booger to get in place, was shaped differently at the top. I managed to get it in and closed up, but honestly thought about returning it. This has come up before. For some reason, some of the aftermarket companies make heater cores with completely square tanks at the top, and the original units are sloped on the ends with a valley in the middle. The ones with the square tanks don't fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 18, 2022 Share Posted September 18, 2022 The new heater core I ordered was aluminum, the one that came out was copper and brass. This aluminum core was a complete booger to get in place, was shaped differently at the top. I managed to get it in and closed up, but honestly thought about returning it. This has come up before. For some reason, some of the aftermarket companies make heater cores with completely square tanks at the top, and the original units are sloped on the ends with a valley in the middle. The ones with the square tanks don't fit. Right. And I’ve had the wrong core sent in the right box - from two different sellers. It gets really frustrating!!! But glad you got it in and are making progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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