Mark Maras

Yup. What Zed Head said. That is an abused trans. It looks like someone tried to repeatedly stuff it into reverse with a bad clutch cyl. Even if I left the gears in it, I'd break it down (it's not difficult) and replace the synchro assys. and all new bearings. The chips and pcs. from the gear can do damage before they settle to the bottom. Also, the teeth on the synchros don't tell the whole story. The inside surface of the brass rings is a friction surface. It can show wear even when the teeth look OK.

Ah, the memories of that snap ring and the many snap ring pliers I broke. Small screwdrivers poked into the gaps you see (under or behind) will grant you a small victory while you regroup for your second assault on it.

Found one. I thought for a sec that you were going to get another cigar. The pic of the lobe with the "chip" in it. The next lobe over has an oiler hole.

Here in Portland, even in the early days of Zs, A used Z was about the same price as a new one. The plus side of buying a used one was you didn't have to wait for six months to take it home. Paid $3750.00 for my 71 in 73. Not too far off from the new car price.

All excellent descriptions. I was sinking to a lower levels with mine. I clicked on prohibited. That'll fix his wagon!

It's the eternal optimist in me. I just wanted to believe it. Probably will go for 4-5K if one of the bodies is good. Still not a bad deal. Having a parts car is like Manna from Heaven.

I hope a member or friend takes advantage of this one. C.L. Seattle. 75 and 76, car and parts car. Looks like more than enough there to finish one and sell what's left to finance the refresh. $999.00 takes it all.

Thanks John I haven't seen those types of taps and dies before. I can think of hundreds of times I could have used those tools. A good share of my time spent on a repair is dealing with broken fasteners, corroded threads, etc. These will speed things up.

Give the man a cigar. I hadn't considered the "Band-aid" theory. It's the one that makes the most sense. We screwed around with catch cans, pan baffles and windage trays on dragsters in the sixties. Even tried blocking it all off and sealing the crankcase. Oil started seeping out of any place it could. If the air being pushed and pulled up and down under pistons wasn't enough the added pressure from leakage past the rings all had to go somewhere and it did. The best catch cans were made from a windshield washer reservoir bottle. Slide in, slide out bracket made it easy to clean.

Now that the valves are adjusted. IMO it would be wise to use your friends borescope before the "Italian Tuneup". IF there is a broken ring the damage to the cylinder and piston is only going to get worse.

The crank bolt and washer DO hold the harmonic balancer to the end of the crankshaft. To prevent the h. balancer from turning independent of the crankshaft, they share a key. Here is how it is disassembled. Remove crankshaft bolt and washer. Remove six bolts, remove unwanted sheave (pulley). Reinstall the crank washer and the bolt, torque it to specs. The sheave (pulley) that you're removing has no effect on the crank bolt length.

I'd use a six point deep socket on the sheave bolts. They won't have much torque on them because of their size. Put the trans. in first, parking brake on. That should prevent the engine from turning while you're attacking the crank and the six bolts. 1/2" drive socket and a long breaker bar will ease loosening the crank bolt.

The crank washer and bolt don't hold the pulley (sheave) on. I found one in my parts and took a look at it. I don't think you're going to find a socket thin enough to get to the six bolts without removing the washer first. IMO, Remove the crank bolt and washer. At that point you can either remove the sheave(pulley) from the harmonic balancer while it's on the crank or remove the whole assy. and separate them on your workbench (Good time to clean it up and mark the timing mark(s) in a contrasting color).

If the idler bearing is OK use a stethoscope or a short piece of garden hose to one ear and listen to the AC clutch. When they start to go bad they can make a lot of noise.

What is piston soaking and what is it supposed to fix?

I get it now. You may want to look for a thin wall socket at Harbor Freight. I found one there a while back on another project. Had to buy a set of cheap sockets to get the one I wanted. At least the set was inexpensive. Removing the crank bolt isn't a hard as it may seem. I'd remove the crank bolt & washer, leave the harmonic balancer on the crank, remove the six bolts, Remove the unwanted sheave, replace the washer and bolt, torque to specs.

I've not had one apart but just looking at it, the bolts are the only thing holding it on. No need for washers or nuts on the backside, plenty of casting to thread into. If it was attached any other way, they would have used fewer bolts. I don't understand the lack of room to get to the bolts. Seems like whatever is blocking access to the bolts would also block access to the crank bolt and pulley removal.

Found it. Jan. 31 "Alum for stud removal vs vinegar - garage experiment". This is worth a try. Nothing to lose except a little time.

Don't break them! Is the hole too big to thread with a M8 heli-coil tap? If not, I'd buy the M8 Helicoil kit if that is original. Drill, tap and install a M8 helicoil. if the hole is already too big, you're probably looking at the next size up. Some alum. is going to be removed for a heli-coil or a larger bolt. Measure the depth of the hole and wrap a piece of tape around the drill bit the same distance from the end as the hole depth. Also possible to mark the bit with a Sharpie.

I'm surprised. You may have to cast your net a little farther away.

Cliff's idea is the probably the fastest easiest. Re drill it and tap it to the next size. Depending on the availability of heli-coil kits or single heli coils in your area, if you can confirm the bolt that came from that hole is metric like the rest, buy the coil(s) that you need and install it. You may have to buy the kit to get the tool.

Wow, I hope so. I hadn't thought of that possibility. Also I've never dealt with that problem so I don't know how much effect that has. Kinda makes sense tho because of the fresh build. Five good cyls. One bad. You may get by with just spinning the rings to their proper position and reassembling it. Labor and gaskets. Engine in the car. This may have a happy ending yet.

Yeah, Rossiz is right about the blocks. I wouldn't be too surprised if you can still see honing marks from the rebuild. You may be able to just re ring it if there is nothing else wrong but I'd want to know why the ring(s) broke? Got to be a reason.

Unfortunately, a poor sealing valve wouldn't leak into the crankcase or the valve cover creating the fog and pressure coming from the crankcase. A leaky intake valve would leak back into the intake port. A leaky exhaust valve would leak into the exhaust port. That much compression loss and resultant back pressure is almost certainly piston, piston rings, bore or any combination of them. Sounds like one way or another the engine is coming out.

Agree with Zed Head. Poor ring seating doesn't cause that much compression loss. It's looking like a broken ring. You'll want to take a good look at the bore in #6. A broken ring can leave vertical scratches in the bore. Give the valve cover a try. Unbolt it and give it a good bump with your palm. Unless someone glued it on both sides, it should come loose easily. As you lift it, be sure the entire gasket either stays on the head or on the valve cover.