Now, this looks 10 times worse than I'm sure it is (trying to keep a positive outlook here, someone please back me up here). The pallet the engine was strapped to was cracked and leaning slightly to one side. These are the only bolts bent, leading to conclude that this happened in transit/loading on the truck. There is no other external damage to the block. So, here is the question of the day: How do I get off the nuts without causing more damage? I'm weary of using a sledge because I don't want to damange the pan or bolt holes that it's threaded into. I'm thinking of cutting it flush with the nut and then getting on the nut with a neumatic impact wrench ... your thoughts?



I had planned on doing the teardown tonight, but couldn't due to family coming first. So, instead I spent 5 minutes going over the block exterior with a fine-toothed comb and taking pics of things that caught my attention. Obviously the above is the one thing that has me bothered the most. However, I found the stems of the exhaust valves to be rather interesting as well. Anyone care to enlighten me on if this is normal or not? I have torn down many engines in the past, but never paid attention to the valves in the heads because I simply had them sent out for work and never gave it a second thought.

white/very light pink hue on exhaust valve stems. This coloration was only on one cylinder.



red/pinkish hue on exhaust valve stems ... all the other cylinders where this color or a slight variation thereof.



This one caught my eye due to the waxy nature of the carbon buildup in the exhaust ports, leading me to believe that the stem seals or cylinder rings are shot. I'm leaning towards the rings because the stems are clean & red (is the red normal????)



God I hope the block is OK and I can get away with just a reringing so I can put some money into the heads.

Last edited by fastcougar; 12/17/05 06:48 AM.
For Sale: 1997 Explorer XLT V8 AWD