Found my camshaft! - Pulling motor on 1948 Dodge.

[keithb7]

Hopefully you aren't under a time crunch to re-power your car. Best to take your time if you can. Have fun. Enjoy the process and new learnings. Frustrated? Tired? Head back in to the living room and the fireplace. When you get the urge, go back out another day.

 

I'm 1 year-in so far from when I pulled my engine. Lol. Yet I'm quite enjoying the process. No complaints only fun, when I want to.

Edited November 20, 2021 by keithb7

[Bryan]

Put my motor stand together today.  Not much space to work.  Took thermostat cover off to look, no thermostat. Tried heating and loosening a few head bolts, they didn't budge. Had 2 wrenches interlocked and flexing them, no go.  Sprayed some more penetrating oil at the bolt bases from the thermostat opening.

[Bryan]

On lunch break to get warm.  Decided to loosen the head bolts while I have it in the car. Imagine trying to do it on a rollable motor stand. All but 3 loosened. Using a torque wrench and not exerting more than 100 ft/lbs on it. Using oil, my Map torch, regular hammer to tap the heads. When I get one slightly loose, I tighten it back up to take tension off the adjacent bolt.  Dang, when they pop it scares the crap out of me.  Glad on videos people say that is normal.

[Sniper]

I did mine on an engine stand, fun, not.

 

They do make a noise when they break free. 

[Bryan]

Well, reckon it turned out somewhat okay. Was hoping to get all the head bolts out without popping any.  Managed to break 2.  Thought they were moving a little back and forth, just popped.  Same area as the manifold bolts I had problems with.   We need to do a survey to see how many people have removed a head without breaking a bolt.

[Bryan]

Well, ordered a set of battery cables plus a 4AWG 36" cable I'll run from the battery ground to near the headlight terminal.  I measured my old cables' copper diameter..was getting between .34 and .36 inch at the same point, but 90 degrees difference. Must be a little out of round.  Looks like they were all 00.

[Bryan]

Also got out there and measured for a new terminal and fender grommet.

[knuckleharley]

2 hours ago, Bryan said:

Also got out there and measured for a new terminal and fender grommet.

I sure wish I were as organized as you. It would have made a lot of things go smoother.

[knuckleharley]

On 11/23/2021 at 4:23 PM, Bryan said:

Well, reckon it turned out somewhat okay. Was hoping to get all the head bolts out without popping any.  Managed to break 2.  Thought they were moving a little back and forth, just popped.  Same area as the manifold bolts I had problems with.   We need to do a survey to see how many people have removed a head without breaking a bolt.

Chances are it is going to be a low number.

 

One thing that seems to help is to not use a breaker bar,but use an impact wrench instead. The vibrations really seem to help. I usually just use it for a few seconds,and then reverse it and tighen down a little again. Sometimes it seems like the back and forth vibrations really loosen the rust. I am sure the heat the impact also helps.

 

The hardest thing for ME,is practicing patience. I have to force myself to take it slow and just repeat,repeat,repeat until it either breaks free or breaks. 

 

BTW,the impact doesn't have to be one of thos monster "takes two men to pick it up" thing,either. If the book calls for 90 ft lbs of torque to tighten,back off from that some if you can. The key here is vibration,not monster torque.

[Sniper]

I guess I got lucky, I didn't use an impact, my compressor was fubar.  Been bad long enough that I have gotten out of the habit of using air tools.  I was showing my son how to take those bolts out without breaking them, good thing I didn't break any or he may have gotten a class in sailor speak, lol.

[knuckleharley]

1 hour ago, Sniper said:

I guess I got lucky, I didn't use an impact, my compressor was fubar.  Been bad long enough that I have gotten out of the habit of using air tools.  I was showing my son how to take those bolts out without breaking them, good thing I didn't break any or he may have gotten a class in sailor speak, lol.

It may not have worked,anyway. Nothing always works. Worth a try if you have a good compressor,though.

[Bryan]

5 hours ago, knuckleharley said:

It may not have worked, anyway. Nothing always works. Worth a try if you have a good compressor,though.

Yeah, I think I'm in that category.. ?.  Don't have a compressor, but I did give those 2 bolts several raps, at several different times with a hammer, alternating with heating with a Map gas torch (heating the bolt, sometimes the block where the bolt is), etc. Burnt the carbon out of the ports. Was using a torque wrench and wasn't exceeding a 100 ft/lbs.  What got me is I thought the bolt was moving. I would tighten/loosen and saw it was moving about an 1/8" each way. Guess it was just flexing.   I stayed rather calm afterwards, was just disappointing because thought I was taking enough care.  Now a back & forth whether I should leave them for the shop or try myself..If a machine shop doesn't charge much I'll leave them..these days with prices I don't know.

[Bryan]

Bought cloth covered tracer marked wiring to redo my rotten wires.  Still torn between trying to make it as original as possible and using better materials.  One thing is the sheathing..each park light, head light and horn wire group had some kind of rubber tubing that was bound to the wires. Not shrink tubing..almost like rubber hose but tight.  The run from the fender terminal towards the firewall had the horn, park and head lights combined in one bundle, then the park light split off to the firewall, the horn to the horn relay, and the headlights to the dimmer switch.  This was only wrapped with electrical tape.   I'm thinking about adding 2 more colored park wires for the turn signals, and making 3 separate runs (horn, park & headlights) each in its own rubber tubing/corrugated tubing/ shrink wrap (one of these).  I like corrugated split tubing, but it also comes sealed without the split.  Like it but it doesn't look original.  Shrink tubing would look original, but isn't as thick and durable, and once it's on you can't get it off or get the wires out. Rubber tubes (like heater hose) - you'd have a time pushing the wire thru if it was not oversized..and I don't think rubber (new Chinese crap) would last very long.  Does anyone know of different sheathings other than what I've mentioned?

[TodFitch]

Instead of plastic corrugated, heat shrink, or rubber hose, etc. you could use “auto loom” as sold by the vendors who stock antique car wiring supplies. For example: https://www.store.ynzyesterdaysparts.com/wire-cover/auto-loom.html

[Eneto-55]

3 hours ago, Bryan said:

Bought cloth covered tracer marked wiring to redo my rotten wires.  Still torn between trying to make it as original as possible and using better materials.  One thing is the sheathing..each park light, head light and horn wire group had some kind of rubber tubing that was bound to the wires. Not shrink tubing..almost like rubber hose but tight.  The run from the fender terminal towards the firewall had the horn, park and head lights combined in one bundle, then the park light split off to the firewall, the horn to the horn relay, and the headlights to the dimmer switch.  This was only wrapped with electrical tape.   I'm thinking about adding 2 more colored park wires for the turn signals, and making 3 separate runs (horn, park & headlights) each in its own rubber tubing/corrugated tubing/ shrink wrap (one of these).  I like corrugated split tubing, but it also comes sealed without the split.  Like it but it doesn't look original.  Shrink tubing would look original, but isn't as thick and durable, and once it's on you can't get it off or get the wires out. Rubber tubes (like heater hose) - you'd have a time pushing the wire thru if it was not oversized..and I don't think rubber (new Chinese crap) would last very long.  Does anyone know of different sheathings other than what I've mentioned?

My 46 Plymouth also has that (probably) same rubber bonded over the headlight harnesses.  I've looked everywhere I can think of for some fairly thin walled rubber hose/tubing, but everything is plastic now-a-days, or it's really heavy-wall reinforced hose.  I was planning to run the headlight ground wires back to the terminal on the inner fender anyway, then found a piece of old style rubber coated electric wire in the dumpster behind our local hardware store.  It's long enough for both headlight harnesses, and has a good (high) strand count.  The only disadvantage is that it is not tinned copper, just copper.  (I'm currently at least planning to get marine grade tinned copper wire.  Most other wire suppliers don't even tell you the strand count.)  But still looking for a rubber grommet the right size for where the wire goes into the headlight bucket.

 

[By the way, thanks for posting all of these pictures of the wiring.  I'm copying them even though I have a Plymouth.  Most of it looks identical in layout, etc.]

Edited November 26, 2021 by Eneto-55

[Eneto-55]

On 11/10/2021 at 1:32 PM, Dodgeb4ya said:

Do not remove the gland nut with the sender bulb stuck in it.

If the sender bulb will not easily pull out of the gland nut remove the small soft plug above the sender and wedge the sender bulb out with a wide screw driver.

You already got your out, and I reckon you knew this, but it's a good idea to thread a plug into the gland nut (in place of the temp bulb) to take it out, so it doesn't get crushed or deform.

[knuckleharley]

4 minutes ago, Eneto-55 said:

You already got your out, and I reckon you knew this, but it's a good idea to thread a plug into the gland nut (in place of the temp bulb) to take it out, so it doesn't get crushed or deform.

Am I the only one that doesn't know what a gland nut is?

[Sniper]

A gland nut is simple a threaded device that allows a shaft or similar shape to pass thru and seals it against leakage.

 

The nut on a water hose valve is a type of gland nut. 

[Bryan]

1 hour ago, Eneto-55 said:

My 46 Plymouth also has that (probably) same rubber bonded over the headlight harnesses.  I've looked everywhere I can think of for some fairly thin walled rubber hose/tubing, but everything is plastic now-a-days, or it's really heavy-wall reinforced hose.  

[By the way, thanks for posting all of these pictures of the wiring.  I'm copying them even though I have a Plymouth.  Most of it looks identical in layout, etc.]

I found that McMaster-Carr has a lot of good cable sheaths, but you would never know it. They have even the smallest under "cable carriers".  Go to the lower part of the page on this link. extension cords | McMaster-Carr    This says extension cords but its the link for cable carriers & sheathing.

Edited November 27, 2021 by Bryan

[Bryan]

Like this example...

[knuckleharley]

1 hour ago, Sniper said:

A gland nut is simple a threaded device that allows a shaft or similar shape to pass thru and seals it against leakage.

 

The nut on a water hose valve is a type of gland nut. 

Thanks!

[Bryan]

Been on the road most of the day visiting step son. Came back and my wires from Rhode I wiring were in.   Look good to me.   Yellow for park light, got a brown and a green for turn signal wires.   12 AWG black for headlight, already had a 10 AWG red wire from Ton's on Ebay, going to use 12 AWG gray for separate ground.  10 AWG green horn wire.  Only difference in the Ton's wire is that the tracers are in the wrong direction. Braided same quality.  Last four pics are original wires. Still need to buy some 5ft lengths of solid colors from Ton's.

[Bryan]

If Ton's on Ebay would reverse the direction of their tracers theirs would be more like the original. Dashes on the RIW are longer.   Heck, if I was really trying to fool a judge..I'd take the unfaded good original wires that were well wrapped and splice them on the ends of modern PVC wiring with wraps covering the PVC wire..

[knuckleharley]

Quote

 Only difference in the Ton's wire is that the tracers are in the wrong direction.

What are tracers,and what does that mean?

[Bryan]

11 minutes ago, knuckleharley said:

What are tracers,and what does that mean?

The little colored dashes on top of a different color of wire.