Engine replacement: Day one.

On Monday of this week, I picked up the engine that will be going into the amazon. Lee Boerner had an engine out of a '75 240 taking up space in his garage and many of the pieces needed for a rebuild. New pistons, bearings, a crank and other bits were included.



We loaded the block into the back of my '80 245, securing it using straps, and a tire to sort of "cup" the oil pan.

Off to the garage the whole thing went. Rob at Vol-Tech is graciously allowing me access to his garage and tools for this project.

First, we unloaded the engine and placed it on a stand. The next step was to take it apart. The engine had to come apart. I started removing bolts left and right on the engine, keeping (decent) track of what goes where. Eventually I had taken the oil pan off, gotten the crank and camshaft out.

The fun part was getting the pistons to come free. Rob pushed on them from above and it was my task to catch them before they hit the ground.

The engine must have had a knock, as piston 2 was missing half of it's bearing.




This block is absolutely filthy. It might be the dirtiest block I've ever dealt with. It's a strange sticky oily film. I've always wondered how people can let the engine in their car get so grungy. It only takes a few minutes (and a few quarters) every few months to keep things nice and shiny! See this VClassics article.



By the end of the day I had the new engine completely apart and loaded back into my wagon. I put a liner down on the cargo floor because of how nasty (dirty-wise) the new block. Without the pistons or crank in the engine it's surprisingly light! I was able to lift the engine completely by my self!

The next day, the engine is off to the machine shop. You can read more about that in my next entry.