Snoopy76 Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 Ok, here's the story. I bought a '81 720 4x4 from a friend. It had been parked for several years, best guess would be over four. Now that I've put money and sweat equity into it and have it somewhat road worthy, it's leaking fluids. I have noticed a few oil slicks in the driveway at home, and a real nice green and black one at work the other day. Now for the questions. How hard will it be to pull the engine and replace all the gaskets? Will this even be feasible? Are there any specialty tools needed to do such a job? I'm looking at a Fel-Pro gasket set from NAPA as its only about $10 more than online, and would support my local economy. Are there better gasket sets available for under $100? I know that some people would say that if I'm going this far, to just rebuild it, but that's not financially possible at this point. Plus a PO had written the compression on the valve cover, and all cylinders were 120-125, and oil pressure is in the 40-45 psi range. any thoughts?? Quote Link to comment
Eagle_Adam Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 i would do a compression test, if its even then all you need is basic tools, a motor stand, and a cherry picker. Ive re-gasketed a few motors in the last 6 months Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 120 isn't much for compression although if they are all close to the same it will run smooth. It may not burn oil either but above 150 would be better, 170 would be nice. Do the compression test yourself on a warm motor. After each cylinder squirt a couple of tablespoonfuls of motor oil in the hole and take a second reading. If it jumps up then the rings are getting tired. If not then the valves are getting tired. As for the oil leaks, power wash it thoroughly and let dry. Park over cardboard and every day inspect the oil pan and valve cover area for fresh oil. It may just need a valve cover gasket and and an over flow hose to the coolant recovery bottle. The front differential may also be leaking so changing all the engine gaskets is expensive and time consuming and doesn't really fix anything. Quote Link to comment
Snoopy76 Posted January 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2013 I pressure washed everything the best I could at a local car wash. They probably hate me now. Oh well, I'll get over it. When I got home to look everything over, I noticed that the top of the radiator was cold. Oh shit!! Upon checking the gaskets over, it would appear that the pan gasket is newer, and I know the valve cover gasket is brand new, I replaced it when I adjusted the valves. It looks like the majority of the oil is coming from the front of the crankshaft. What I would call the front main seal. I have undertaken replacing all of the heater and radiator hoses. What a job!! Who would have thought that finding a 10 inch piece of 7/8 (22mm) hose would be so freaking impossible. This seems to be the size needed to go from the lower radiator nipple to a nipple on the underside of the intake manifold. What a pain in the ass!! Having to pull the oil filter to remove and replace this one hose!! I could kill the engineer that thought this was a good idea! Quote Link to comment
ggzilla Posted January 22, 2013 Report Share Posted January 22, 2013 Top of the radiator is cold on all my cars recently (it's been close to freezing here) even though the engine is fully warm. Don't you have an O'Reillys in Central Point? They have .75" heater hose and sell it by the foot. > Do the compression test yourself on a warm motor. After each cylinder squirt a couple of tablespoonfuls of motor oil in the hole and take a second reading. If it jumps up then the rings are getting tired. If not then the valves are getting tired. Tired valves will not cause 120 psi in all cylinders. If all read 120 with a dry compression test and still read 120 with a wet compression test it means the gauge is low reading. All is good. Quote Link to comment
Snoopy76 Posted January 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2013 Thanks ggzilla. The top of my radiator was cold because it was low on coolant after driving it for less than five miles....... Scary, right?? Sadly, the 0.75 inch heater hose O'Reillys has will almost slide inside the hose I'm trying to replace. And the hose I'm trying to replace will almost slide inside the 1 inch hose. Kinda stuck.... Luckily Carquest said they were able to order me some hose, I've just been too busy to make it down there to pick it up now that it should be in.... And I'll get to the compression test once i have it running again, because I think if i fired the engine now BAD things would happen... like pumping all the oil out of where the filter is supposed to be. Plus theres no coolant in it right now.... makes me think I should wait. Unless someone wants me to video it, and then donate a newer EFI V6..... Quote Link to comment
ggzilla Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 Sounds like a plan. So the hose needed is in between 7/8" and 1"? Quote Link to comment
Snoopy76 Posted January 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2013 Actually ggzilla, the size i needed was 7/8", between 3/4" and 1".... That being said, if the location of the hose had been a little more accesible, I probably could have stretched the 3/4" onto the nipples. But it being where it was, I was more comfortable getting the proper size of hose for the application. I got everything back together the other day, but haven't taken it for a ride yet as I've been pretty busy with other projects. Yesterday I was helping a young friend of mine put a stereo in her '83 Mazda B2000..... What a chore!!! Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.