Today was the day. Today was the day I started to dismantle the engine and begin to find what happened. So far I have the following out of the car:
Cam cover
Cam gears
Cams
Intake manifold
Exhaust manifold
Alternator
Cylinder head
Catalytic converter
Oil pan
Crankcase
Pistons 1-4
Bold items were done today.
So right now it looks like I'm in the market for pistons. Am I going to upgrade? Not planning on it. Why? Because I want to drive the car, not have it sit for another month or more while I wait to find and afford awesome pistons. I've learned that she can be tore down in a few hours to the point where the pistons can be pulled, so I'm no longer intimidated by that phase of the project.
So what's the problem? Well I have some scarring on 3 of the piston skirts (by this I mean more than normal wear), so I'm going to go ahead and assume the rear main bearing is shot. The unexpected part is there is no major damage on the cylinder walls. I'll still hone them out, though. FYI the top of the pistons still look new.
The rod bearings look fantastic as well as the exposed portions of the crank. I have to say that all-in-all I'm happy with the condition of the internals. There were no shavings in the oil, oil pan or crankcase. The oil pickup screen looked great, too.
Now I'm off to search for pistons, gaskets, crank bearing(s) and goop to hold her together. What are the odds I can have her up and running two weekends from now?
