rang-a-stang's summer project/build

[cu4whln]

That looks very nice!

Question : Your sideview mirrors.. are those aftermarket?
Brand? I am looking for better side mirrors.

[rang-a-stang]

Driver side is a factory remote mirror, passenger side is a really crappy cheapie from McParts.

Our factory Driver side remote mirrors are the same as a late 60s chevelle or Camaro. My original driver mirror was broken and I bought one from a 68 Chevelle On eBay and they were totally identical. Then I just found an after market passenger side mirror that looked the same as the Stock 68 Chevelle passenger mirror. Or maybe it was 68 Camaro? Either way, I just searched for 68 Chevrolet remote mirror.

[Rusty76]

Looks great. I knew we talked about it previously but having a SD sticker on your Jeep is mega cool !

[rang-a-stang]

Looks great. I knew we talked about it previously but having a SD sticker on your Jeep is mega cool !

Thanks! Some times when I cruise it I feel like a total has-been! LOL!
********************************
I mentioned a big project coming up that is not that fun in an earlier post:


WHHHHY????? Because I still do not have sufficient oil pressure. Something is wrong inside and I need to fix it. If I had a 360 I would drive it til it threw a rod, then put a hemi in it but this 401 crank/block is too valuable and damaging it has me scared. I hope to have it back on the road well before Thanksgiving, maybe even by the end of this month. I am going to do the most of my posting on theamcforum.
theamcforum thread
I pulled the engine on Saturday. Today I just stripped the front drive and intake off. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to finish inspection and find out what needs to be done. I am hoping it is something as easy as swapping in some bearings that are .001 undersize or a bad lifter but we'll see.

Other than the low oil pressure, it has been running GREAT! starts right up cold or hot, no hesitation, etc. The belt hasn't come off or squealed in a few thousand miles, either. I only have one weeping oil leak on it and that will get fixed while it is apart, too. I will also put my headers back on when it goes back in.

Fingers crossed it's something cheap and easy....

[SJTD]

Did you check the bearing clearances when you were building it? If you covered this earlier I hope you don't mind my asking.

Think this through carefully before diving in. I mean the order of investigation, not whether to proceed or not. You don't want to destroy evidence.

[SOLSAKS]

rang,

you got Any idea why your photos will not show for me any longer,....

I miss seeing the updates,...

and don't want to hassle you to email them to me each time,....

glad you got some victories on the Cherokee....

dave in NC

[rang-a-stang]

Did you check the bearing clearances when you were building it? If you covered this earlier I hope you don't mind my asking.

Think this through carefully before diving in. I mean the order of investigation, not whether to proceed or not. You don't want to destroy evidence.

My machinist measured. Mains are .0023 plus or minus .0003 and rods were .0026. I am going to verify that when I get there. I don't mind you asking at all. This thread is now 14 pages long.

Yep, going through step by step, taking lots of pictures. Most will be posted on theamcforum but some will show up here, too.

rang,

you got Any idea why your photos will not show for me any longer,....

I miss seeing the updates,...

and don't want to hassle you to email them to me each time,....

glad you got some victories on the Cherokee....

dave in NC

Hm. I don't, Dave. Weird. I see them on my personal laptop, work laptop, and my phone. I use Chrome on both laptops and safari on my phone.
*******************************************
Today I inspected all the valve train. No smoking guns. Also inspected the pump. There were some "issues" there but no enough to account for all the lost pressure. I am scared to open the bottom end now. Posting up on theamcforum. So far I have found a minor "issue" with my galley plugs and a moderate "issue" with my pump. I think I am about 1/3 done with my inspection. Tomorrow I inspect the cam and crank/rods.

[Rusty76]

Maybe not fun put still cool pulling out an engine and figuring stuff out.
Good luck on the low oil pressure and keep us posted on the fix.

[asphaltrockdweller]

Dang Rang!
You need to install a chain motor from your ceiling with all the in and out on that engine!

[Kaiserjeeps]

14 pages long...heh heh heh... You are just getting started! Well I too am patiently waiting on the oil pressure solution. The door paint work sure looks great. They never really seem to be done it seems. Good to catch up here.

[levelhead]

Did you check oil pump gear to end plate clearance ? Should be close to zero.

[SC/397]

Did you check oil pump gear to end plate clearance ? Should be close to zero.

Rang-a-stang, is that the timing cover that I detailed for you?

If it is, it should be near zero with a gasket. When you tear it down, lay a straight edge across the oil pump gears and see if they stick above or, below the housing.
Check it like this.
IMG_4049 by Rick Jones, on Flickr



Yes, .0023" bearing clearance is a little too much for a street engine but not horrible. It should be no more than .002" and .0015" would be more desirable.
I don't think you can get .001' under bearings for AMC engines any more but a good machinist could resize the rods and line hone the mains to get the clearances that you want. The key thing is the machinist has to measure the bearing clearance as they are torqued in the bearing housings.

[rang-a-stang]

Maybe not fun put still cool pulling out an engine and figuring stuff out.
Good luck on the low oil pressure and keep us posted on the fix.

Yeah, would be more fun if it didn't cost $100 in gaskets, fluids, kitty litter, and other crap every time I had to do this.
Thanks! I can use all the luck I can get.

Dang Rang!
You need to install a chain motor from your ceiling with all the in and out on that engine!

Way to much truth there! LOL!! Took me less than 2 hours from pulling the truck in the garage until the engine was hanging up there. I have too much experience with this.

14 pages long...heh heh heh... You are just getting started! Well I too am patiently waiting on the oil pressure solution. The door paint work sure looks great. They never really seem to be done it seems. Good to catch up here.

I always appreciate seeing you on here, too, Kaiserjeeps. Get us some M715 pics posted!!

Did you check oil pump gear to end plate clearance ? Should be close to zero.

Yep. More below.

Rang-a-stang, is that the timing cover that I detailed for you?

If it is, it should be near zero with a gasket. When you tear it down, lay a straight edge across the oil pump gears and see if they stick above or, below the housing.
Check it like this.
[picture]
Yes, .0023" bearing clearance is a little too much for a street engine but not horrible. It should be no more than .002" and .0015" would be more desirable.
I don't think you can get .001' under bearings for AMC engines any more but a good machinist could resize the rods and line hone the mains to get the clearances that you want. The key thing is the machinist has to measure the bearing clearance as they are torqued in the bearing housings.

It is the same one! On inspection of the gears, I can see I had a contaminate go through the pump. I have significant scratches and pock marks on the cover and the gears (pictures on theamcforum thread here: click here). I am REALLY hoping my oil filter(s) caught whatever it was that damaged the gears and cover but won't know until I crack open my mains and rods later today.

I did plasti-gauge the pump gears and they are at .001 without a gasket (again, pics on theamcforum thread). It was hard to read the plastigauge because of the scratches on the cover.

I have seen a couple threads on theamcforum where folks used Pontiac rod bearings to get a .001 undersize. If I need to, I will investigate further. There is another member over there that says he has a set of .001 under size mains but I am not sure if he is willing to sell.

I figure I must have a couple problems because if it was just the clearances, my pressure would be low but not this low. So I am hoping it is the pump, the clearances, and 2 oil galley plugs that were barely leaking.

[SC/397]

Plastigage is not a good way to check the end clearance.

Lay a straight edge across and us a feeler gauge like I show in the picture.

[rang-a-stang]

Plastigage is not a good way to check the end clearance.

Lay a straight edge across and us a feeler gauge like I show in the picture.

rgr, will do. Probably while my crank and block are at the machinist.
*******************************
My bottom end is trashed. I am pretty sure I found where my oil pressure was going: main bearings have heavy gouges in them. More pictures at theamcforum but in summary all of my mains basically look like this:

Whatever went through my pump, went through my mains, too. This is gonna hurt (the wife beating me, not the cost....although the cost is gonna hurt too).
Tomorrow I will pull the heads off, Pull the oil pressure sensor, the motor mounts and flexplate. I hope I can find a decent machine shop.

Maybe my assembly lube was contaminated, maybe something got into my engine when I was adjusting rockers, maybe I spilled something into the oil pan when I was changing out the timing cover or maybe I just missed cleaning something when I was doing assembly? I don't know, but this sucks.