Bill Boost is the east coast Will Wren..... It'* gunna be a mean mo-sheen!

x2

I guess I haven't kept up on this stuff... been too damn busy .... I didn't realize you were pulling the bottom end! Gonna have that crank knife-edged?

??? Wha???

Like Wren..I'm going all the way, 4.3 stroker kit, mean cam, nitrous... j/k. I'm only adding a cam and was aiming to check the cam bearings at 179,000 miles. Things went bad. New piston to be purchased.

Here'* the scoop as I sent it to Chris

The scoop on my project. Not thinking fully about the main bearing caps being unbolted and not moving to come out, the motor was right side up and springs were about to be done. Putting the fitting into the plug hole fills the cylinder with air, keeping the valves held up while changing springs. We heard hissing that appeared to mean bad rings. The motor is too clean and efficient though. Odd, try next cylinder and hear it there as well. I look up from the side as a GP friend add the air to the last cylinder on that side and everything blows up in front of me. Two of the main bearing caps were propelled through the plastic catch bin another is in the remnants of said bin and the last one....it saved the day by holding the crank. By adding air, we were pushing the otherwise impossible to remove bearing caps out of the block.

To illustrate how forceful and loud the bearings hit; we were standing up by the compressor at the back of the garage and the fluid in the pan splashed right up to the front of the garage at the doors. Somehow with me being so close, I didn't get a single drop on me. End result is the last cylinder that air had been applied to was the one piston that pushed down past the bottom of the cylinder and the rings opened up. This piston had to come out the bottom. When the force hit, the piston chipped/cracked on the side, hence buying one new piston today. Dan stopped over to look over the bearings etc and on his recommendation the motor will be going back together with the current bearings. My machinist friend also stopped over and agreed that the bearings look good. He is coming by again tonight with some measuring tools to check the cam bearings.

After taking a little time to gather my thoughts and for Dan/Dave to look things over, I'll put this back together with a new piston and possibly new cam bearings. (I already have them) Meanwhile, Tony was there with nothing to do. (Insert evil grin) He and I grabbed toothbrushes and cleaned up any and all parts that were dirty from 179K miles of being on the outside of the engine. We also scrubbed down the sub frame of the car and all areas in the engine bay that are normally not easy to clean. Talk about looking good. As the night progressed we tore down the engine, cleaned every gasket surface possible and installed the new valve springs/seals/retainers.

Yesterday, Dan helped me put the new fuel pump into the truck. Overall it was quick and easy. A forty dollar fix where typically a new sending unit/pump (now one unit) is required. Truck is happy now. Later on, I wire brushed most of the engine bolts in preparation for install

I appreciate the matter-of-fact way you've addressed your oops, including how it occured and what you're doing to properly deal with it without going overboard. It'* a great way to arm others who might try this with knowledge so that maybe they won't make the same mistake.

Great pics too!

x2. You've got it down this far, hit the cylinders with a glaze breaker and slap some new rings in it. I assume there was no ridge at the top of your cylinders?

That'* the thing Don and company. Usually we'd talk about honing and replacing bearings... from the machinist and mechanic'* mouths...the bearings still look new. Mechanic couldn't believe that there was nearly 100% of the rings. He figured they would be worn down to nothing. (My cars continually amaze him..lol)

In this case, I'm going to put it back together when all the parts come together and run it another 180,000 miles.

The timing chain is definately worn and in need of replacement. Batteries on teh cam were dying and I'll get some more pictures of the parts.

Boy that sentence had me really thinking for a few seconds, until I realized that by "cam" you meant "camera".

It'* good to know that I should be looking to replace my timing chain one of these days, with over 170K on mine.