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Putting headers on a LT1 F body is a freaking nightmare. Changing plugs on that car with stock manifolds is cruel. LS1 cars a bit better but still PITA. Putting a fuel pump in a third or 4th gen the correct way is enough to make a Vegan eat a steak raw.
I worked on a 97 5.0 Explorer today. What a clusterfuck POS designed truck.
Putting a fuel pump in a third or 4th gen the correct way is enough to make a Vegan eat a steak raw.
I worked on a 97 5.0 Explorer today. What a clusterfuck POS designed truck.
The correct way is to cut a damned trap door and to hell with the purists. I actually have a 5.0L explorer story. Got one with 290K miles on it, and the HVAC was stuck on heat due to a broken blend door. I knew it was going to be a $1500 truck max, and there was no ******* way I was pulling the dash to get at that door. Took a dremel and a razor knife and cut the bottom out of the heater box, pulled the door out the bottom, popped the new one in, then used the foil HVAC tape to seal the box back up. Last I heard that truck was over 350K, still ran, and the blend door worked perfectly.
Ok, makes a little more sense now. Usually what I do with a mod motor with stock manifolds is leave them on the head and yank it as a combo. Headers make it trickier for sure, it's usually a shitload easier to just drop the K member and remove them. For reference, just get one of these for dealing with the 3V spark plugs.
Being a helicopter mechanic is great, but those skills don't necessarily translate to automotive. I've got dirty tricks up for sleeve for just about every brand of car, simply because I've worked on them for so long. Hands down, the worst engineered and hardest to work on vehicles on the planet are Nissan's. It's like they identified the easy way, then intentionally did the exact opposite. Every edge is literally razor sharp, nothing is accessible, and you have to disassemble half the engine to get to ANYTHING.
I've worked on Nissans too. And I agree, they suck. I made money buying, fixing and selling cars for some time as well. That's actually how I learned, when I was 12 or so, helping my dad do that because he's been a mechanic his whole life. I may not do it for a living, but I don't forget things easily lol.
Those skills do transfer over by the way. I can assemble a nut, bolt, and clamp one handed, so lockwire one handed and blind, to standard. There are a hundred things on helicopters that make car maintenance seem like a break. There isn't too much I haven't messed with, but I would say BMW is my least favorite. Way over engineered.
Here's one spot that everyone likes on a hawk. That area has beams on both sides and the rod you see. It's a three point as well, buried about 6" up between 2 beams. The phone is actually in the hole here, but you get the idea lol. We usually stick new guys on it and watch them sweat it for a day, or two, maybe longer. There are actually tougher ones than this too. At least this one you can see without a mirror lol. Also, those new guys rarely ever finish this without help. But makes them appreciate easier safeties on the aircraft.
Appreciate the link though. I'll have to pick one of those up. Also the gear drive extensions. Look like a ratchet wrench, but you drive it with a ratchet and the other side turns. The wife wants headers, so I'm not messing around this time. Would come in handy on other cars too though.
The correct way is to cut a damned trap door and to hell with the purists. I actually have a 5.0L explorer story. Got one with 290K miles on it, and the HVAC was stuck on heat due to a broken blend door. I knew it was going to be a $1500 truck max, and there was no ******* way I was pulling the dash to get at that door. Took a dremel and a razor knife and cut the bottom out of the heater box, pulled the door out the bottom, popped the new one in, then used the foil HVAC tape to seal the box back up. Last I heard that truck was over 350K, still ran, and the blend door worked perfectly.
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LOL. I did this myself. TOTALLY Agree on that, to hell with the purists. I riveted in nutplates and made a new cover for it and all that. Then sealed it with proseal, B 1/2.
Putting headers on a LT1 F body is a freaking nightmare. Changing plugs on that car with stock manifolds is cruel. LS1 cars a bit better but still PITA. Putting a fuel pump in a third or 4th gen the correct way is enough to make a Vegan eat a steak raw.
I worked on a 97 5.0 Explorer today. What a clusterfuck POS designed truck.
Yep, can be a royal *** pain on all 4th gens for the plugs, especially on the passenger side. Headers were a bitch to figure out at first, but now I can pull mine pretty fast since I've done it so many damn times. That should really count though because my whole engine bay has been rearranged, pretty much.
I've worked on Nissans too. And I agree, they suck. I made money buying, fixing and selling cars for some time as well. That's actually how I learned, when I was 12 or so, helping my dad do that because he's been a mechanic his whole life. I may not do it for a living, but I don't forget things easily lol.
Those skills do transfer over by the way. I can assemble a nut, bolt, and clamp one handed, so lockwire one handed and blind, to standard. There are a hundred things on helicopters that make car maintenance seem like a break. There isn't too much I haven't messed with, but I would say BMW is my least favorite. Way over engineered.
Here's one spot that everyone likes on a hawk. That area has beams on both sides and the rod you see. It's a three point as well, buried about 6" up between 2 beams. The phone is actually in the hole here, but you get the idea lol. We usually stick new guys on it and watch them sweat it for a day, or two, maybe longer. There are actually tougher ones than this too. At least this one you can see without a mirror lol. Also, those new guys rarely ever finish this without help. But makes them appreciate easier safeties on the aircraft.
Appreciate the link though. I'll have to pick one of those up. Also the gear drive extensions. Look like a ratchet wrench, but you drive it with a ratchet and the other side turns. The wife wants headers, so I'm not messing around this time. Would come in handy on other cars too though.
Even with the right tool I could never do safety wire worth a damn. Its all over Locomotives and subway cars
I got pretty good at it over the years. I did the one in the picture in about 10 minutes, with just a set of duckbills. You can't get your fingers in there really, so that's about the only way to do it.
04-05-2019, 03:21 PM
