| Author |
Message |
Arnaldo Torres (Caribe)
Member
Username: Caribe
Post Number: 364
Registered: 2-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, June 23, 2002 - 10:39 pm: | |
Well, thanks to David Feinberg, I got that transmission rod to engage to complete the re-assembly. At this point, I am going to run the engine for a while just to make sure the thermostats are opening up appropriately, the fans turning on at temperature, and that the car does not overheat. I filled the cooling system with water to help flush the system. Once the cooling system is checked out, I will drain the water and refill with a coolant/water mix.
Once done with the coolant, I will focus on getting the brake system properly flushed, and refilled.
I can't believe I am geting so close to the end. Imagine, a Testarossa Major Service with a total parts tally of less than $1400.00, a lot of elbow grease, and done. And hopefully good for another 40K or 50K miles. I can just hope so. Anyway, I am not done yet, but it seems that anything else can be handled with the engine in car which is most important. |
Arnaldo Torres (Caribe)
Member
Username: Caribe
Post Number: 359
Registered: 2-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, June 23, 2002 - 6:21 pm: | |
Well, to those of you that have been following my Major Service saga (Phase I, Phase II), I am finally reaching the end of this job. I have spent the last two days replacing the engine into the car. To lower the car over the subassembly, I used two different sets of car jacks due to different minimum jack heights. I allowed about 1/2" to 1" clearance between the jack and the chassis for each descending step. Hydraulic jacks are very unreliable when coming down, hence the short steps. The most difficult part coming down was ensuring the alingment of the subassembly with the chassis. The fact that I had a movable cart under the front of the engine helped a lot during the alingment process.
Anyway, needles to say, lowering the car took a long time and some subassembly repositioning to get it done. I lower the car as far down as I could go depending on the minimum height offered by my set of car jacks. That left me with about another 4" to 5" to go. To complete the merge, I devised some wood platforms that allowed me to raise the subassembly the rest of the way. The platforms were big enough to allow me to move the subassembly as required to ensure proper alingment with the chassis. Final assembly on all sides was completed by careful use of the hydraulic jacks.
Once the subassembly was reattached with the car, I ran down my list of connections and things to replace. That went rather quickly (I am so glad I made that list).The last thing on my list of connections was the Transmission connecting rod which I am still not able to properly connect (Any help on this will be greatly appreciated!). Given the fact that the car was still basically in neutral, I decided to prep the engine for ignition. Replaced all fluids, reverified all connections by running down my list, and finally, turned the battery swith back on.
First thing I did before firing up the car was running the fuel pumps and going around checking for leaks. Good, no leaks (not yet, that is)! Finally, after all duly prayers, I fired up the engine. My God, what a sound. Finally, after about five weeks, the engine is once more turning on its own. To be exact, it came up and I quickly shut it down since I realized the throttle cable was pulling too much on the throttle an the engine was accelerating rapidly. I went back, removed the air box, rechecked the connection, recheck the path of the cable through the engine compartment, and found that it was a bit out of line and indeed pulling more than required. Corrected, refired the engine and let it idle for a few minutes.
After the warmup, I checked my connections again, went under the car, and what do you know, a little puddle of something was just below the car. I dove under the car, and realized that it was a fuel leak. Dam, one of the few hoses that I did not replace, the left bank fuel return line was actually leaking at the connection with the tank. I painfully tighten the clamp, but no luck, it was leaking just above the clamp. Disconnected the hose, got a new one and reinstalled. Ran the fuel pumps first, no leaks, good! Fired up the engine ran for a few minutes, no leaks. Great, I am done, except for my little trouble with the transmission rod, and the brake bleeding that I might go ahead and start soon. If I can figure out how to install that rod soon, I should be on the road by the end of the week, let's just hope! |
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