Motivation - or the lack thereof...

[EhlersRS]

Kelly,

Glad you're making progress! I've heard about the homemade Acetone/ATF lubricant and need to try that. I used PB Blaster on the rusty bolts on my car (mostly under the fender and hood) and my garage smelled for days!

Robert S.

[Virto]

Back from my little mini-vacation and I'm going to try to whip up some Acetone/ATF and soak the water pump bolts - hopefully I can get the shroud off easily.

When installing the new pump, should I use some kind of silicone sealant or RTV?

[Zed Head]

If the surfaces are cleaned up well, the stock gasket should do the job alone.

[Virto]

Alright, so, today's project was a pain in the tail end, but we're on schedule.

I think I found the cause of some of my front-end rattle. Turns out the radiator shroud wasn't actually bolted to the radiator. Pulled the top hose, managed to get the fan and clutch removed from the water pump after much swearing, and started soaking the hell out of the water pump bolts.

The pulley shows a lot of buildup, but it should scrub clean with a little elbow grease. The pump itself looks like crap, but so does most of the stuff under the hood.

I'll be soaking the bolts for the next week or so before removing the pump. I'll have a look at the shroud and see if it needs some kind of repair that might explain why it wasn't actually attached to the radiator.

[Virto]

Been sick the last few days, so very little real progress to report. I managed to break the fan loose from the clutch - I have no doubt it's original - and paid the price of very cut knuckles.

The pulley is pretty crapped up, but it should clean up just fine with a little steel wool. The water pump bolts have gotten another soaking with ATF/Acetone and will get a couple more during the week - the pump is the project for the weekend.

[Wade Nelson]

I know the gas in the tank is old, but it didn't have any issue starting on it. .

Don't run one second longer than you absolutely have to on old gas. It will varnish up an intake valve which will then stick in its guide and then the motor won't start, or will run VERY badly.

I know this from working on lawnmowers. They'd start right up in the spring (after sitting all winter with stale fuel) and never restart. That's when the owners brought them to us..."but it started just FINE!"

So we'd tear the engine down, pull the intake valve out, chuck it in a drill press and use emery cloth to remove all the varnish from the stem. (Repeatedly spraying it with carb cleaner only worked SOME of the time...)

Pull a hose and use your fuel pump to pump all your old fuel out into several 5 gallon gas cans, whatever. Try not to ignite it.

I also see Wal-Mart has a $29 "oil drain pump" that could probably be used to pump gasoline, provided you're damned careful about it....

Edited June 10, 2013 by Wade Nelson

[Virto]

Gotcha. There's probably 5-8 gallons of gas left in the tank.

Is there some kind of treatment or additive that I should run through after I drain the tank and add fresh gas?

Do we think it would be better to siphon out via the filler tube versus running the pump, on the possibility that there might be sediment that could clog the pump screen? Rather that some kind of mechanical pump that creates heat or might risk a spark, I bet I could use a fish-tank vacuum siphon with one of those little bulb starters, versus mouthing the hose...

[siteunseen]

Am I missing something? My '77 has a drain plug on the passengers side. You could get one of those plastic containers that fit under beds for storing thing, X-mas decorations etc. Here's one: Z Tech Tips Ball and Socket Compression Rod (AtlanticZ.ca)

Click on it. It's not about ball sockets.

Edited June 15, 2013 by siteunseen

[Virto]

Yes, there's a drain plug - I ended up finding that article after I'd already siphoned the tank, but it's good for future reference.

Today's update: The water pump has been replaced, although one of the short bolts did break off right at the first thread (top, driver's side, roughly 2 o'clock position). The other bolts came out just fine, although one of the thick, long bolts was very corroded and was a major pain to get out via much wiggling and swearing.

I know some folks have had good luck with one missing bolt, although it's usually the 11 o'clock bolt - so I figured we'd go ahead and try it. It does leak from that area, but it's not extreme. I think I try pulling it and using a gasket sealer and then replace it again. The new fan clutch and everything seem to work very well, and the leak at the pump is not severe.

Now, I found the obvious point of failure in the old pump - the bearings failed and the impeller ground against the internal baffle. Explains why I couldn't turn it by hand.

So, now the car idles well and I'll keep at the water leak issue, but I'm going to have to move ahead with the fuel pump, which sounds like a banshee, and the car's desire to stumble when it's given basically any throttle. It reacts pretty violently when given any gas, stumbling and almost making a backfiring sound. I took a couple vids but they don't sound very clear. I'm going to try cleaning them up and uploading them later.

[Fred Sigarto]

Go for it Kelly, I'm handicapped with CMT, back in 2000 it took me 7 hrs to put my seats in after getting it repaired. Had to tape the washer, lock washer & nut together to get them started on the studs.

[Virto]

I'll say it can be an interesting experience trying to wrench on a bolt when you only have intermittent feeling in your fingers.

I'm going to give it the old college try when it comes to getting it back on the road. Getting that pump in was possibly the most "mechanic" like thing I'd ever done on my own. Now I just need to get it to stop leaking...

I'm going to have to make a new post looking for help with the engine's lack of desire to rev. I'm trying to do what I can with limited time and even more limited tools, but I'll try to mud through. Most of my budget is already gone in the short term, after getting the car tagged again (it had been a couple of years) and insured.