Cleaned up the top of the engine some more. Removed all sensors and wiring harness from the driver’s side. I bought some penetrating fluid from Ace and it really helped. It also made the front door lock work a lot better. Removed 4 bolts from the driver’s side exhaust manifold.
Before tidying things up a bit
All the wiring is now off to the side. Only 4 or 5 things still attached to the block..
Current look at the engine
Disconnected the power steering pump and A/C compressor from the accessory mounting bracket and removed it. I couldn’t find a hidden bolt so it seemed like it was on there pretty good. One of my goals was to not drain the steering fluid or empty the A/C charge. I ended up draining some of the power steering fluid because I couldn’t get the pump off the bracket without disconnecting one line. Rats.
My work table is getting a bit crowded.
My brother James wanted to take stuff apart so he came over the help. I like his shirt. It shows the relationship between pirate population (dwindling) to global temperature (rising) over the years. If more people drove an electric car maybe the pirates could make a come back.
We took the hood off and stored it on the roof.
About as expert as it gets
We took the fuel tank out to see how batteries might fit back there. If you ever have to remove a fuel tank from an f-body, make sure you raise the car high enough and lower the rear end low enough. Otherwise your jack and stands are all being used and you find out you’re about an inch off. In our case we just bent the fuel tank filler tube because we shouldn’t need it again…
The fuel tank was awfully dusty and I kept shaking it loose while holding it over my head. James said he only did it once.
Don't let my wife see me inside this dirty. I don't know why I'm sideways?
It felt good to make progress last week, so I was anxious to try and get the radiator out. I started by redraining the radiator by removing some hoses connecting it to the water pump. The fans are pretty simple to get off, just lift up off the supports and pull them down under the car. They’re heavy though. Next up is the radiator, but I don’t want to remove the condenser. I’m trying to avoid emptying the A/C system because I can’t get the charge out without emptying it to the atmosphere. Also, I hope to reuse it when everything is put back together.
The trick to the radiator is the same as the fans – go out the bottom. You have to lift the radiator up a little and wiggle it over the frame mount. Before it will go anywhere you need to remove all the hoses and the coolant level sensor. Mine was pretty gunked up and it’s clear that is why the low coolant light is on. Being careful to separate the condenser from the radiator, especially at the passenger side bottom, the radiator comes out pretty smoothly. The fins will gash your knuckles fast though.
Next up I hope to remove the exhaust manifold and catalytic converters. I need to see what I need to remove the power steering pump and A/C compressor from the engine prior to pulling it. I hope to leave all the lines for those systems connected to avoid draining and refilling.
In the event this doesn't work out, I'll put another engine in so I need to remember where all the wires went
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