348 Engine out service Part II

GeorgW - the cam lobe measured in spec. The associated shim showed no abnormal wear and the shim bucket turned smoothly with no binding, markings, etc. The second and third opinions were that it was not an immediate concern.

 

Interesting - it makes you wonder if the cam belt is not too far behind the A/C belt? In fairness though, the cam belt is more protected than the accessory belts so I can see why the accessory belts would fail first. In fact, my old cam belt looked fairly new, but the tensioners were starting to wear. The right bearing was noisy and had significant play. Part of it could have been the fact that the sprockets were reversed, but I don't know. My A/C belt looked okay, but my alternator belt was starting to glaze and crack from exposure to small amounts of oil from above.

 

All the covers (belt & cams) are now back on and the Iridium plugs arrived today. Here's a comparison between the old platinum plugs and the new Iridium ones. It makes me wonder - how much smaller can they go with these electrodes? Pretty soon you'll need a magnifying glass to gap these things.

 

I put the engine in back in last night and re-connected everything. Putting it back was actually easier than removal - probably because I know where everything is on the engine now. Will add fluids tonight and fire it up!

 

Peppi - thanks!

Here are some pics to illustrate how I put my engine back in. Not too difficult to take out/put in without a lift, although a lift would make it easier. I did this by myself in about six hours. As shown in the pictures, I backed the engine in from the side and rotated it in place and lowered the body onto the engine. Then reconnected to the chassis, double checked all connections, added fluids and lighted 'er up! After cranking for a minute to load the fuel rails, she responded with such sweet music!

 

Engine in place, lowering the chassis onto the engine - gotta watch those shock towers!....

 

Thanks guys. When I initially went to test drive I had a "check engine 5-8" light come on and one bank shut down. Also noticed the tachometer was not functioning. Following the wiring diagram I traced it back to the rpm sensor (rev sensor bank 5-8). One of the wires was damaged near the connector. I spliced the wire, reset the ECU and went for a test drive last night and all is well. The car is noticably smoother at all speeds and drives great. Best part - no leaks! Now I plan to have the seats and wheels redone and have the wheels repainted. New wheel center caps might also be in order. Funny how things like this tend to snowball...

Because several people asked - total parts cost for everything was around $1,100 which included every hose, tube, clamp and belt in or around the engine. New water pump, tensioners, filters, etc and a few other tidbits I can't remember right now. I was able to save big money by buying parts on sale over the past six months and just "collecting" them. Thanks especially to Ernie, Dino and TBakowsky for thier advice.