Just about ready to put the VG back together, so i'm looking to pick the collective brain here for any tips, tricks, time savers, or ways to get more work done per beer consumed...

hopefully that covers it
thanks

 

Use air tools.

 

- beers down tha drain
- donate to charity next sixpack money; allWays
- wash uself, DirtyErnie: cleanness is no.1 =in&out

 

ziplock plastic baggies and a black sharpie become extremely convenient for almost any big job

 

cleanliness is key. you want ZERO dirt in that engine when you put it back together.
before you start, clean out the entire garage. sweep out any and all dirt, then take a leaf blower and go over the entire thing to blow the dust out of the corners. let the dust settle, then do it again... and again.. and again.. until you don't kick up any dust.

then wait an hour or so to let the crap dissipate out of the air... THEN unpack your fresh engine and start putting it together.

assembly lube is your friend as well.

follow the FSM to the letter on everything except the distributor and timing belt tensioning. they're both messed up. see other threads on here about those two issues.

 

Two words: Duct tape

 

....I want a new motor........

 

Ah yes, Sweden... the land of 400% tax on alcohol...
beer is for afterwards... and i make my own.




anhyoo, yeah. all good advice, and thanks everyone. unfortunately it seems i've already broken all of those intelligent, and general, rules.
Anything a little more VG specific out there?
Thanks guys.

 

See the last line in my post above.. those two things will FUBAR your build if you don't heed the warnings. otherwise, just follow the FSM to the letter.

 

dont use air tools on the build up, torque everything by hand with a torque wrench

if you think it is going to take you more than one day to build then throw a plastic bag around the engine and such when you leave it.

 

Is he maybe talking about doing upgrads while doing a rebuild? Like cams and such? BC Im doing something similar in preping my VG for a turbo. Wondering other then porting intake I can go to increse performance. Like maybe a cam or any thing else?

~Alex

 

Add a couple of white-out pens for the list (useful for hoses and connectors). I use a fairly simple scheme:

1 <-> 1
2 <-> 2
3 <-> 3

(so on and so forth)

 

ah yes. hand-torque, assembly lube, and i'll definately read the stickies about the belt tension and distro.

I'm as far as putting the block on the engine stand and washing it out/WD-40 all of it.
oil pan is cleaned and straightened as necessary. All the parts are basically in boxes, buckets, and the back seat, so it might be a biznatch, but i have nothing but time right now. it's going to be a stock rebuild with a re-man crank, due to someone driving it about 300 miles with a spun rod bearing. oddly enough it was only *JUST* out of spec to be re-surfaced. damn these things are tough. I do have expert engine-building help, just that they hate: A) Imports in general, and B) anything to do with Ford motor company.
and it's a mercury villager... [damned automotive collaborations] although the old guy was impresssed with the heft and amount of iron in that little 3.0...

but i digress.
thanks, guys.(and gals?)