Silver Ex
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Well, Silver Ex is back on the road as of Monday. 75 days and some frustation, but its up and running again! It was tough to be patient, but I've got it back and its running strong...that's the main thing!
The short version of the story was the fact that the motor went back in for the final time last Thursday, was buttoned up Friday, driven over the weekend by the mechanic, and returned to me around noon on Monday.
Originally, the problem was a damaged crank and main bearings, most likely due to a previous owner using a motor flush and dumping 70K+ miles of crap into the crankcase. There were some issues during the reassembly process that caused a failure when the engine was fired about three weeks ago. Turns out the mechanic wasn't able to find info on the procedure for compressing the hydraulic valve lash adjusters before final assembly. This resulted in an exploding secondary intake manifold, some bent valves and the re-removal of the motor. But the mechanic assumed ALL of the responsibility for the damage with no complaint. He never shrunk from taking responsibility for the engine failure, and his honesty was extremely refreshing, especially in this day and age. I'm sure it wasn't cheap to have the heads milled and the valves ground, not to mention replacing the manifold and all of the labor involved with pulling, then re-installing the motor for a second time.
SOOO...the result is a new crank kit including new main bearings (this was replaced under warranty), milled heads and reground valves, new secondary intake manifold, new timing chains, gears, guides, tensioners, etc. (I had the chains and related parts installed on the mechanic's recommendation while the engine was torn down on the warranty company's dime), new driver's side exhaust manifold (found to be cracked during the engine teardown process), new gasket sets for the heads, manifolds, water pump, etc., and new oil and coolant (of course!). Almost like a total engine rebuild.
I'm going to run it kind of easy for 500 miles, change the oil, then pretty much run it like normal. She's feeling kind of "tight", but with all of the new parts, you'll have that.
Like I said...I'm just happy to have it back...
The short version of the story was the fact that the motor went back in for the final time last Thursday, was buttoned up Friday, driven over the weekend by the mechanic, and returned to me around noon on Monday.
Originally, the problem was a damaged crank and main bearings, most likely due to a previous owner using a motor flush and dumping 70K+ miles of crap into the crankcase. There were some issues during the reassembly process that caused a failure when the engine was fired about three weeks ago. Turns out the mechanic wasn't able to find info on the procedure for compressing the hydraulic valve lash adjusters before final assembly. This resulted in an exploding secondary intake manifold, some bent valves and the re-removal of the motor. But the mechanic assumed ALL of the responsibility for the damage with no complaint. He never shrunk from taking responsibility for the engine failure, and his honesty was extremely refreshing, especially in this day and age. I'm sure it wasn't cheap to have the heads milled and the valves ground, not to mention replacing the manifold and all of the labor involved with pulling, then re-installing the motor for a second time.
SOOO...the result is a new crank kit including new main bearings (this was replaced under warranty), milled heads and reground valves, new secondary intake manifold, new timing chains, gears, guides, tensioners, etc. (I had the chains and related parts installed on the mechanic's recommendation while the engine was torn down on the warranty company's dime), new driver's side exhaust manifold (found to be cracked during the engine teardown process), new gasket sets for the heads, manifolds, water pump, etc., and new oil and coolant (of course!). Almost like a total engine rebuild.
I'm going to run it kind of easy for 500 miles, change the oil, then pretty much run it like normal. She's feeling kind of "tight", but with all of the new parts, you'll have that.
Like I said...I'm just happy to have it back...
