The 1939 Pontiac

The 1939 Pontiac
The story of my two Pontiacs

Friday, 1 August 2014

How to remove the engine


I now need to get my head around the complexities of removing the engine and taking it somewhere for a possible re-bore, new pistons, rings and valves. Having now removed the dog box I will need to remove the engine, not a trivial task. I have researched the steps to remove the engine which are as follows:

Steps to remove the engine
1. Remove the floor center plate.

2. Disconnect and remove the selector control cable from the transmission.

3.  Disconnect the outer lever from the transmission shift shaft.

4. Disconnect the gasoline line at the fuel pump.

5. Disconnect the oil pressure gauge line.

6. Disconnect the throttle control rods.

7. Disconnect the wiring at the generator.

8. Disconnect the wiring at the starter etc.

9. Disconnect the windshield wiper tube at the manifolds.

10. Disconnect the heat indicator at the head.

11. Disconnect the engine ground strap.

12. Disconnect the clutch control bracket at the flywheel housing.
13. Disconnect the clutch throw-out fork.

14.  Disconnect the speedometer cable from the transmission 

15. Disconnect the front end support (2 bolts).


16. Disconnect the exhaust pipe at the manifold.

17. Disconnect the rear universal joint and propeller shaft.




18. Attach a chain hoist to the engine and remove the bolts from the rear engine mountings.

19. Lift the engine free of the rear engine support cross member.


20. Remove the engine from the frame pulling forward.

Reverse the above operations when re-installing the engine. Pay special attention to:
·         Clutch pedal lash
·         Safety shift adjustments
·         Install two new exhaust pipe gaskets
·         Adjustment of throttle range

Off with the dog box and head


I started the car using jumper lead. It is not running that well –maybe only on 5 cylinders. The car is blowing a lot of blue smoke. I decided I need to take the plunge and remove the head to inspect and find the reason so much smoke is being blown. I started by draining the radiator of water. The drain plug broke off the bottom tank of the radiator –Bugger. So a change of plan is now required. I now need to remove the “dog-box” to get at the radiator and remove it. After that it will be off with the head to see what is going on there.

So the steps to remove the dog-box are as follows:

  1. Remove the bonnet by unbolting the two bolts either side of the bulkhead and the two bolts in the centre of the bulkhead and lift the bonnet off.
  2. Remove the battery.
  3. Remove the water from the radiator using the drain plug on the bottom (which broke off).
  4. Removed the bumper by undoing the four bolts that attach to the bumper.
  5. Disconnect the radiator hose on the top.
  6. Disconnect the radiator hose on the bottom.
  7. Disconnected the fuel lines from the fuel pump. (I need to ensure the lines are upgraded before re-assembly).
  8. Disconnected the wires to the electric fuel pump.
  9. Disconnected the two bolts under the radiator which attached it to the centre cross member.
  10. Undid the bolts that attach the front mudguards to the side of the bulkhead.  A total of five bolts should be there however one is missing. Two the bolts (on each side) go all the way through the bulkheads and attach on the inside, one at door hinge height and the other lower. Therefore needed to secure the nuts on the inside of the car to undo them using a ring spanner.  Bolts are half inch however I have lost my half inch socket.

Once all the fastenings were removed it was then a matter of lifting up the dog-box and removing it. This step was not as easy as first imagined. Used the trolley-jack under the radiator to lift it up a bit and after lots of pulling and wriggling slow worked the dog-box off. The dog box is not light, there is a bit of weight in the radiator for a start. It is also very awkward to handle. After the dog box is off a whole new world opens up.


 

Loosened and removed the head bolts and the head wouldn’t budge. Banged some screw drivers into the gap because I thought the head was simply stuck on. The heard a crack noise and discovered there was still a heat bolt attached (it looked different to the others). I cracked the head –Bugger. I removed the head which now has a large and is now useless. Luckily I have a spare engine with an OK head. The inside of the engine is bad news. There is a lot of oil in each of the cylinders and it is no wonder it throws a lot of smoke out the back. The rings must be the wrong size or else fitted wrong.  The pots look oK. Now I have to remove the engine –the mission just got that much bigger.