Final Engine Assembly Questions

Yes, cast aluminum can be welded.

 

@Mcruff I need to grind a little off the intake manifold to install the HEI distributor, so one of the bolts (#7; front LH side) needs to come out. Since I didn’t put it in (the engine rebuilder did) I’m not sure what to dress the bolt threads with when I put it back - what would you recommend?

Also, can I lubricate the distributor gear and shaft with engine assembly lube, or should I use the break in oil?

 

To fit an HEI you will need to replace that bolt with a button head cap screw (hex drive) Fascenal or MCmaster carr will have them, you might then need to grind a little off the intake manifold in that area, make sure your HEI seats all the way down for sure or the oil pump will not run. I would put assembly lube on the distributor drive gear.

 

Thanks @Mcruff. I’m having a darn hard time getting the HEI down. I can’t even get the old Delco one down either....

To the point that I did an “idiot check” and when I look down the distributor “tube” shouldn’t I see the gear?

When I look down I see a flat surface and the gear appears farther aft towards the block. This is the fuel pump eccentric (I think). It feels like the gear on either distributor is hitting this surface, is something assembled wrong inside?

It looks to me like the fuel pump eccentric and distributor gear got put on in the wrong order (43/44 got transposed)???

if that’s the case, I am not very happy...

 

It seems like you would be able to tell definitively by looking in the fuel pump hole.

 

Yup. Back to the rebuilder she goes. I hate going backwards.

 

Well that's no bloody good at all.

 

That's a bummer but at least you've positively identified the problem.

 

i can't believe someone would do that when they're being paid (and probably not an insignificant amount) to rebuild it.

 

Does it matter if the priming tool turns clockwise vs counter-clockwise? I'm at about the same point, and I've never done a "first start". My engine was primed by the builder, but it's been on the stand for 6 months, so I'd assume needs to be primed again.

Yikes on the engine being assembled wrong! Good thing you figured it out.

 

I see what you made me do
went out to garage and looked at the 231 on stand . distributor already out of engine
yep assembly error . good you found it long before it was completely installed in jeep

 

Do you guys think that he will need to pull the oil pan off, or does the timing chain and water pump assembly come out without needing to remove the pan?

 

It's best to remove the pan and replace the pan gasket in one piece. Otherwise you need to cut off the front potion of the pan gasket under the timing cover and replace that section with a new piece of gasket. It can lead to possible leaks where the gasket was cut and replaced. It may never leak, but why risk it on a brand new engine. The shop should make it right.

You can see where the timing gasket set comes with a the front portion of the pan gasket here: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fel-tcs45930/make/buick. While the pan gasket is normally one-piece: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fel-os13398c1/make/buick

 

whatever happens, it shouldn't matter to you. he's gonna fix it, and at no extra cost. i would start to suspect the quality of the rest of the rebuild if he swapped something like that around.

 

Yeah that thought did cross my mind, but not much I can do now but hope everything else is right. He did go above and beyond during the build, and he also offered to come do the fix in my garage, but we have a baby that sleeps right through the wall so I’m taking it back to him in Reno this afternoon. He’s going to do the oil pan gasket and re-prime the system and take care of everything else too.

 

On the alt spacing. While getting the dist drive gear swapped around you need to get the alt bracket welded. After the water-pump has been re-installed and alt brkt installed you need to get the proper belt and place on engine for proper alignment. Then you need to measure the space front and back of alt foot. It should be a snug fit before tightening mounting bolt or you will break it all over again. Oh and you not the first one on this forum to do that.

 

Prime direction of distributor rotation.

 

When you install the distributor, put some oil or grease on the o ring at the top. Will help it slip in easier

 

Should be getting the engine back (again) today. The builder was very cool about the whole thing and is event delivering it back to me at home.

Now I’m cleaning the old OEM engine insulator pads. A couple years ago I bought new ones from KW and I just found them in a box. They appear to be symmetrical, and the original ones look different and are stamped “RIGHT” and “LEFT.”

I have a vague memory of someone dropping a V6 in with new Kaiser Willys pads and having trouble getting the trans and transfer case to line up straight.

anyone have any input here - the old ones are cleaning up pretty good so I’m thinking about painting them and putting them back in.

Old:

Reproduction KW:

 

Your factory mounts look like they've shifted longitudinally a bit. If it were me, I'd use new ones.

Note: left and right are different. It's discussed in this thread: Motor Mounts