Restoring Rusty

[Gregski]

removing the tailgate handle linkage is equivalent to the lost art of building a ship in a bottle

surprisingly installation went ultra smoothly, and the gate even latches and unlatches, amazing

I assembled it and fitted it

[Gregski]

How long before this freak paints it green? I bet it being black is driving him crazy?

[Gregski]

meanwhile under the truck, progress continues

this being a one man operation, I had to improvise (since the transmission adapter I borrowed did not fit inside the hole of my floor jack) I decided to make a transmission hammock out of tie downs

this allowed me to separate the tranny from the bell housing and suspend it, without any small animals getting hurt in the process

[Gregski]

removing the gearshifter was a major pain, that's why I waited till absolutely necessary, I read a bunch of advice about pressing down on the ball joint thingie and twisting, that may have worked in '76 but not 40 years later

and to my surprise there was no YouTube video on it

what finally worked was a suggestion I read on some forum, a guy said just tap it with a 2x4 down and counter clock wise, I swear 4 taps and she was out

once again ProMark 3000 to the rescue

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by greg64

Hey Greg. Look, I've been there and done that. Let me pass along some of what I learned... Removing the transmission seems like the "easy" (that's a bunch of BS) way to do this job. But let me tell you, having an sm465 myself, they weight 180 lbs with no fluid. Taking it out is hard enough, but putting it back is a real bear. And that assumes you have a way to support the transmission on your floor jack. Just the cup end on the jack isn't going to cut it, and lifting that transmission in dangerous. I almost crushed my arm one time.

Next, even after you get the tranny out, doing the rear main seal is still a b1tch! Ya, it can be done, but it's an awkward job lying on your back.

I found, counterintuitive as this sounds, it's easier to block up the transmission in place, then disconnect the bell housing bolts at the engine, and pull the whole engine. This makes the seal job, and removing the pan way easier, as is realigning the clutch disc. Of course this assumes you have an engine hoist.

The other benefit is you don't have to fight with the driveshaft (those centre carrier bolts are pleasant). And you don't have to remove the tranny crossmember. Man, I spent hours getting one of those out on a parts truck I had. The lower bolts are easy, it's the upper ones under the cab.

Greg, this is where I was when I saw / read you post. I was literally sitting on the garage floor right next to my Muncie on the floor right next to me

[Gregski]

so then we were looking at this

hardest part of the bell housing removal was the clutch pedal bracket / linkage and a weird cotter pin I wasted a lot of time on removing before I finally crawled inside the engine compartment and got it out that way

[Gregski]

removed the bell housing with that clutch pedal lever thing attached to it, and it didn't separate till it was on the garage floor, live and learn

not sure it is supposed to be charcoal black on the inside like that

[Gregski]

so now we are looking at this, this is where we stop tonights' progress

tomorrow, clutch removal

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by greg64

Also, now that you have the driveshaft out anyway, check the u-joint condition, and grease them up.

And (you knew there had to be more) is your engine an original 74, or is it possibly newer? If you can see the crank flange, if its bolt circle is 3.58" it's pre-86 and uses the two piece seal (easier to change). If its bolt circle is 3", then it's the later engine and a one piece seal.

I recon it's original the number on the block is a TJD

TJD 1974 350 conv.cab - 160 4 C-10 & 1500

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Slonaker

I have never replaced one, but this looks like it might help.

http://www.73-87.com/7387garage/drivetrain/rearseal.htm

Slonaker

Thanks Slonaker, we'll give that a shot

[greg64]

Hey Greg, that Pro Mark 3000 looks like a useful tool, do you sell those?

Well, obviously you've gone the transmission route, and that will work, so keep up the good work you're doing. One nice thing is that you have unbolted the tranny floor cover. When putting the tranny back in, you can span the hole with the Pro Mark 3000, and use ratchet straps to safely hold the tranny from above.

Good luck with the seal, and the hunting at the pick a part.

[Gregski]

my arm rests arrived the other day, check out this shipping, is this why we are paying $28 bucks for shipping cause someone at LMC forgot to get some smaller shipping boxes?

they also shipped the window seal kit separately in another package, I wonder if they didn't have enuff room in this box for both parts plus all the free air they sent me? LOL

the new pads are all one piece of hard foam painted with black textured paint, there is no metal base bracket nor vinyl covering, wonder if the other suppliers like Brothers sell the same stuff?

~ Hi me, this is me three years in the future! With another product WARNING: these are junk, the driver side one didn't even last a year. It's a design flaw, how can you screw on foam (with no metal backing) to the doors and expect it to hold / stay on when you pull on them. Lame, Don't buy these! ~

[rusty76]

Looking good and good score on the tailgate.!

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by rusty76

Looking good and good score on the tailgate.!

Thanks, and I think that tailgate will work great, I am pretty happy with it.

[Gregski]

progress continued today, as I removed the pressure plate and the clutch plate

I definitely need a new clutch plate as there may only be a 1/6th of an inch to the rivets, and it would be a shame to replace it and not replace the pressure plate (see the worn out fingers, I think that's what those three things in the middle are called, please correct me if I am wrong), so I will be replacing them as a set, as well as the throwout bearing

hey less parts to clean, right!?

[Gregski]

that left us with the Fly Wheel

[Gregski]

six bolts later the fly wheel was off, I think the dowel alignment pin was missing

[Gregski]

now we could see the situation, and find another broken starter tooth purched up in there stuck with some old grease, imagine what would happen if that thing vibrated loose and fell between the starter and the fly wheel teeth, ouch

well this confirms I have the old style block with the two piece main seal but we already knew that

actually this place does not look too bad I expected it to be soaked in oil, notice the purdy freeze plugs, geez two more

[Gregski]

ok, why are we doing all this? oh yeah, we need to replace the rear main oil seal

drain the oil. drop the oil pan, and remove the oil pump (man this sounds very familiar)

undue two bolts on the rear main and tap it with the baby sledge to loosen it up, try not to drop it, yet watch it slip out of your hand and into the oil bath below, geez I'm slippin (pun)

[Jake Wade]

Don't forget to install a new pilot bushing/bearing and check the wear on that flywheel, it may need resurfacing.

[Gregski]

ah the Holy Grail, the infamous two piece rear mail oil seal

... so how long did that take ?

2... 3... hours

What? TWO DAYS !!!

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Jake Wade

Don't forget to install a new pilot bushing/bearing and check the wear on that flywheel, it may need resurfacing.

Thanks Jake, do you think a place like Pep Boys can resurface a flywheel? Is it like turning brake drums? And is it even worth it, a new one is $75 bucks. Mine feels nice and smooth though no ridges.

[Gregski]

I N T E R M I S S I O N

~ End of Act One ~

[y5mgisi]

lol looks like you do in fact have know what you are doing.

[Gregski]

Sunday morning, tea a& toast and under the truck by 8 am

put in a solid 2 hours of cleaning already this morning [hey you know me]

the good - I could sit up in the trans tunnel (though the edges are guillotine sharp)

the bad - still hard to reach around the top of where the bell housing mounts (need that clean so I can easily see where new leaks emerge if any)

the ugly - engine cross member (yup got side tracked and removed about 45 lbs of dirt and grime from this beast) I recon no one at GM won the Nobel Piece Prize for the lip design on the bottom of that thing, though it's great for haulin' dirt and grime

pic of what I started with