The Fiasco continues… 

The adventure continues. I’m used to oil pumps taking a bit of elbow grease, but this is ridiculous. As the oil pump is located behind the front case, and the front case is wedged in between the oil pan and head, the head pretty much had to be removed. Wow.

As if that weren’t enough, I’d already sprayed things down with TWO cans of heavy duty degreaser gel and pressure washed the engine bay TWICE. Then I saw how filthy things were under the intake manifold (which was easier to remove with the head).

THE ORIGINAL LEAK

My driveway was getting pretty oily before this filter fiasco, and here’s the culprit. This little plug, when the head is installed, is located within an inch of the firewall. It’s probably doable without pulling the head, but it’s not the sort of thing any rookie is going to want to try blind.

FINALLY!

I’ve almost got access to that infernal oil pump.  Almost. Oh, and see that exhaust pipe on the left in the picture below? It’s a 3-bolt connection. Only one bolt (stud) had a nut on it. The rest of my exhaust leak!

The exhaust side wasn’t as filthy as the intake side, thanks to those two prior pressure washings.

FINAL CLEANING

At the advise of my mentors on 4x4wire.com, I removed the old head gasket, taped everything off, plugged things up with old rags and paper bags in preparation for yet another de-greasing, scrubbing, and pressure washing.

BEFORE: DRY SCRUB

DURING: WET SCRUB

Just look how vile and filthy this thing was. Ugh.

MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE SHOP

Believe it or not, it was below 40°F outside here in Phoenix the morning I did this, so by the time I was done spraying water everywhere, I decided to put things away before taking an AFTER shot. Next installment!

The head, intake manifold, and carburetor are still at the shop, where I’ll be going this week to separate and clean them properly. I’ve still got a few odds and ends to order before I can get this pig back on the road, but it’s getting closer. I’ve even tracked down another exhaust manifold (although it’s cracked too).