What's this loud tapping sound from my new engine?

[robroy]

Hey Fordtastic and Jamie, thanks for replying!

I always enjoy your posts! Maybe in one of your next pictures the pickle fork can be in it too... i have no clue what one looks like.

Hey Fordtastic thanks! Here's my pickle fork:



Here's a better photo of a pickle fork I found on the Web:

Robroy, one trick I've used is a ratchet strap from the water pump to the hoist to help control the tilt of the engine. Just don't put too much load on it (more than you can lift by yourself).

Hey that's a smart idea, thanks for letting me know! I don't have a ratchet strap but should pick one up, just in case I want to try your idea out!

Thanks again for the excellent replies!
Robroy

[robroy]

Good evening! Be sure to click directly on any photos you're interested in, to see a full resolution version. I guess I can stop saying that now!

With everything disconnected and squared away, or so I thought, I gave it an easy pull. Wow, these casters actually roll on concrete! I'd only ever tired to use them on dirt or plywood before. What a luxury!



There was a little resistance so I checked it out. Here's what I found:



The T18 top plate "party hat" was hitting the cab, as usual. The reason it wouldn't duck down was new to me, though. The yoke was hanging up on the Autofab transmission mount!



By this time it was already past seven in the evening, and I didn't want to bother the neighbors with my compressor and impact wrench. So instead of removing the yoke, I decided to take the top half of the transmission mount off. After removing a couple big nylock nuts, I had to poke the bolts through the polyurethane bushing sleeves.



Successfully poked! Bolts on the left and tools on the right.



Air where bolts used to be:



Then I had to lift up on the rear of the transmission to pull the top half of the Autofab mount off. Since I don't have a floor jack at the moment, pry bars weren't working out, and I wasn't strong enough to lift it by hand, here's the funny thing I had to do:




Finally got the top half of the mount out. The paint could use a touch up, but maybe I can buff those scratches out?



Yet without the top half of the mount installed, there still wasn't enough clearance to get the transmission out with the yoke intact.



So I slid back the transmission crossmember! First I yanked its bolts out.



Here's how it looked before I tapped it away from the yoke.




Then I hovered over there and gave it some gentle taps with a five pound hammer (photo was taken before the taps):



Thanks for reading! Stay tuned to see what happened!
Robroy

[robroy]

The story continues!

The transmission fell down away from the crossmember, and the entire weight was suddenly swinging around on the end of the hoist! The angle was more severe than I'd hoped for, as you'll soon see!



Quite an angle!





I just had to take a bunch of pictures at this funny angle. It was especially good because it happened all at once and I wasn't expected it! Remember that you can click on any of these photos for full resolution versions.




After I'd had enough humor I put a fat wooden block under the oil pan and lowered the engine on to it. Then I repositioned the hoist to the rear lift plate hole. Much, much better after that!



After that I was really cooking was gas!!!



Sometimes psychos wander in to my garage and I have to run them off. Was this guy trying to swipe my engine?







I had to open the garage door to pull it further back. It was cold out there!!! Must have been as low as 50 or 55!



Here's a view of the Salinas valley and Monterey Peninsula from my front yard at night (long exposure photo):



Thanks for checking out my photos! Stay tuned for the next installment!
Robroy

[robroy]

Since I'm not strong enough to lift the T18, I grabbed it with my second engine lift.




I removed the four bolts and it pulled off easily!




The T18 is once again a free bird.



Next I pulled the bell housing. It held up well during its rigorous ten minute life time.



The pressure plate "fingers" made this interesting pattern on the throwout bearing. That's normal right?



The paint on the pressure plate held up pretty well too!





Do you remember when I was first trying to find the source of the bad noise (the big bad noise that started this adventure), I turned the engine over by hand and heard some clicking sounds from the pressure plate area?

Well here's what that was:



Those weights rattle around a little when the pressure plate's rotated, but they're supposed to tighten up when the thing's spinning around (while the engine's running), or so I think. I wiggled some of the weights and the sound was just the same, so I think that's one mystery solved, at least!

Thanks for wading through my long Saturday night update, and for the super fantastic advice!
Robroy

[Ranchero50]

Advice? A chunk of 4x4 across the engine hoist legs and you can lower the motor down so it doesn't swing around as you move it.

Jamie

[robroy]

Hey Jamie thanks for the tip! That's probably the way I should have set it down instead of resting it on those big wood blocks (between the lift legs). And I can remember reading this advice from you (I think?) before--I just forgot about it!

Thanks again Jamie!
Robroy

[Fordnatic]

Hey Robroy,

You're right about those weights on the pressure plate. They use centrifigal force to tighten the pressure on the clutch disk at higher RPM. That way the clutch can hold better without increasing the spring pressure against your leg as you press the clutch pedal. kind of like having your cake and eating it too!

[robroy]

Hey Fordnatic, thanks for replying! I guess I'm OK with those pressure plate weights then--excellent!

My next steps are to chat with Tom at FE Specialties and to build an engine caddy. Tom suggested that I cut four 2x8 boards. Two would run parallel to the engine, under the oil pan lip, I presume, and be the length of the oil pan. The other two would run perpendicular to the engine and perhaps an extra foot or two long to provide stability.

So my top question is: is the weight of the engine supposed to rest on the lip of the oil pan? Is that what's supposed to be pressing in to the tops of those 2x8's? I can imagine that being risky, since it would deform the pan. But maybe it just sinks in to the wood and causes no trouble at all!

Thinking back to how Proformance Unlimited crated the engine, they actually had 2x4's coming up from the pallet at the rear of the engine that the engine was bolted to. Maybe I don't need to get this elaborate with my design!

Fordnatic, thanks again for your great reply!
Robroy

[70_F100]

Robroy:

That's the way most "crate" engines are shipped, with the engine resting on the oil pan rails.

That metal will take a lot more than you may think. Keep in mind that the extra lip around the outside is there for strength, and with the "height" of the lip being so short, it would take quite a bit to bend it. The pan, being bolted to the engine, gets its support from the block, so it won't deform.

We used to get engines in that were on "frames" like this. They also had a metal strap from the engine to the frame at the front and rear to prevent the engine from shifting. On the rear, the strap went from wooden frame to one of the bellhousing bolts, and on the front, it went from the frame to one of the bolt holes on the front of the engine. Those straps were usually about 1/8" x 1" or 1-1/2".

[robroy]

Good afternoon 70_F100, thanks for your excellent reply!

That's the way most "crate" engines are shipped, with the engine resting on the oil pan rails.

Okay doke! Thanks for letting me know.

That metal will take a lot more than you may think. Keep in mind that the extra lip around the outside is there for strength, and with the "height" of the lip being so short, it would take quite a bit to bend it. The pan, being bolted to the engine, gets its support from the block, so it won't deform.

Okay, understood! So it's OK then that the extra lip around the side will dig in to the wood? I'm pretty sure the force would cause it to sink down in, until it hits the bolt heads that hold the pan to the block.

We used to get engines in that were on "frames" like this. They also had a metal strap from the engine to the frame at the front and rear to prevent the engine from shifting. On the rear, the strap went from wooden frame to one of the bellhousing bolts, and on the front, it went from the frame to one of the bolt holes on the front of the engine. Those straps were usually about 1/8" x 1" or 1-1/2".

Excellent, thanks for the information! I'll go get some boards and straps as you've described and put something together!

Thanks again 70_F100!!!
Robroy

[fomocoguy]

My next steps are to chat with Tom at FE Specialties and to build an engine caddy. Tom suggested that I cut four 2x8 boards. Two would run parallel to the engine, under the oil pan lip, I presume, and be the length of the oil pan. The other two would run perpendicular to the engine and perhaps an extra foot or two long to provide stability.

Robroy

That sounds much better than my usual method of plopping the engine down on an old tire and ratchet strapping it to the bed rails....

[robroy]

Hey FoMoCoGuy, thanks for replying!

That sounds much better than my usual method of plopping the engine down on an old tire and ratchet strapping it to the bed rails....

That method probably works OK too!

A particular imaginary scenario always comes to my mind when hauling an engine. What would happen if I needed to make an emergency stop? I can imagine that it would take a serious amount of support to keep the engine from doing some somersaults right in to the back of my skull!

Here's today's update:

With the pressure plate, clutch and flywheel removed I got a better look at the back of the engine, and discovered that in it previous life, this engine block was painted red! It looks like the yellow was sprayed right over the old paint, at least on the back. I'll be very glad to get a good finish on this thing!




And here's the familiar pilot bearing. Any ideas on how to remove it without damaging it? I might not have to remove it for the work Tom's going to do, or I could even just leave it up to him to remove.



I measured the oil pan about a hundred times, then got some 2x8's. I came out with a desired width of around 8 and 3/8", with a depth of 22 and 1/4".





The moment of true discovery.



Here's how the front's looking so far. Notice anything fishy here?



Why yes you probably do! My oil drain plug got a little too "custom" for its own good. Thankfully it slid right in there after I removed the drain plug! I'll have to tape the hole up before taking it for the big drive. That said, I'll need to get it home too, so maybe I need to carve a groove in the wood to clear the drain spout!




And here it rests, all the way in the saddle. To my absolute shock, it seems to be working well so far!!!



On the back you can see how the oil pan brim is digging in to the wood somewhat. I guess that's no big deal!



And a side shot shows that everything lines up OK (I was amazed)!



It looks like a nice, cozy fit!



Next, I'll tie it to the cradle with steel straps!

Thanks for the excellent advice!!!
Robroy

[DuckRyder]

For the pilot bearing. if you need to remove it:

Select a dowel or other cylinder that fits the pilot hole securely.
Pack the cavity with wheel bearing grease.
Use the dowel to compress the grease. (a hammer works)

This should hydraulic the bearing out.

I'd probably ask Tom if he needed me to take it out.

[70_F100]

That even works well for the bronze bushing-types.

We used to find a used input shaft (main drive gear) and cut the gear off to use for alignment tools for installing clutches. They work VERY well for the "pack it with grease" method.

That said, since you've got a sealed bearing, it may ruin the seal if you do it this way.

I'm with DuckRyder. Don't remove it if you don't have to, and honestly, I can't see why you would have to for what you're having done.

[Ranchero50]

Suggestion. Before running it down to Tom, I would ask what he needs on the motor to do the work.

Motor mounts

Flywheel bolts

Carb linkage hardware

Alternator and front dress pulleys

Clutch bracket.

If he doesn't need them, he can't lose them if he doesn't have them.

Oh yeah, spark plug wires should have an air gap between themselves. If you use a zip tie to hold them together put another one around the first zip tie between the wire pairs and don't make any of them too tight. Before cutting the excess material flip the zip around so you can't see it and after cutting deburr the tab so it doesn't bite you later.

Jamie