RRTEC

Thanks guys! Got them sorted thanks to your posts and the pictures I took early in the build. One of the vacuum lines was snapped so I am going to have to put a little piece of vacuum line to patch it. I'm going to finish up mounting the exhaust Thursday night and should be ready to re-install the engine Saturday.

Oil_Slickrick

Hows it been going, did you hit any snags or is it on hold?

MiataR

Wow, what an epic thread. I feel like I'm on pins and needles waiting for the (hopefully) inevitable post where the engine is cranked and back alive.

Good luck with the final stages... we're all routing for you.

RRTEC

Man,

I got snagged up on some stupid coolant line part number changes that put me on hold while I ordered new parts and have received them but been busy at work. I plan to put a little time into it this weekend.

i really appreciate the support! It's going to be epic either way this goes... lol

RRTEC

Long time no post. I'm sure a lot of you thought I gave up..... but I didn't! Life continued to get in the way, but the work has resumed. I sourced the remaining parts I needed and have slated next weekend to finish it up.

Im incredibly nervous about starting it up.. I followed the manual to a T, but the stakes are high here..

FRUNKenstein

Sweet! We are all pulling for you. That's an incredible project you took on. I'm impressed you had the stones to do it - few people would. You are so close to finishing. Even if you have a couple of hiccups between now and your first day back on the road, it will still be worth it. I'm excited to see you cross the finish line, RRTEC!

Oil_Slickrick

As he said -^^ Take your time do your checks and see how it goes. Luck and best wishes Ian

RRTEC

I realized that I never took the time to share how I flushed my coolant system out on the car last year. It was a combination of several methods so I cannot definitively say if one was enough, or not enough...

During the initial "what should I do gratuitous tool purchasing bender" I Purchased an inexpensive vacuum fill kit as I was going to need it anyway to properly fill the system. This did come in handy. But first...

1) hooked up a shop vacuum to one of the large coolant lines in the engine bay, put the vacuum on reverse and blew all the coolant and oil out of the system, and all over the driveway... I scrambled around trying to contain the oil spill of BP/Exxon proportion.. Caramel water flowed like magma from every available cavity.

2) Put a 5 gallon bucket on a cinder block in the engine bay and filled it up with water and dawn soap. I put the garden hose in the bucket on a steady stream and reversed the shop vacuum and pulled as much water/soap mix into the system as it would take. Eventually the shop vacuum needed to be emptied so I went on like that for a few hours. I ended up using hot water in some of the later passes to try and loosen up any residue that may have been trapped. I repeated this process more times then I could count. There were oil droplets in the water up to the last 10 5 gallon passes.

3) Hooked up the vacuum coolant fill tool I bought and hooked it up and proceeded to vacuum pull several 5 gallon buckets of soapy water through the system, this method took forever although did not require an much babysitting as the shop vac. It did still find some traces of oil that it sprayed out all over the engine bay.... After a few hours of that I went back to the shop vacuum and went to clear water vs soap/water.

I'm still not confident that It's all out... what a mess. I may go at it again before I stab the engine back in this weekend. I know the system is 100% dry..

billh1963

Thank you for this post. I was pondering this very issue today as I prepare to pull the engine (intermix issue) on my project car. Getting out all the old sludge is a big concern.

Any plans on pulling the radiators and having them flushed/boiled?

RRTEC

I did consider it, but in leu of that I have decided to just run straight water for about 300 miles or so and then flush the system again followed by a refill of proper coolant.

DBJoe996

I would not go so far as 300 miles on just water but do agree on draining and refilling asap. Remember, the coolant raises the boiling point and lubricates the water pump. Why not do more like a 25/75 mix coolant and distilled water? Cheap after all you have been through but adds some protection.

RRTEC

Cleaning up my thread here... here is how I ended up installing the trans mount sleeve.

https://rennlist.com/forums/996-forum/971693-inserting-transmission-mount-mk1.html

Slakker

FYI, I run water and Water Wetter in my track car and it runs about 25 degrees cooler than antifreeze.

RRTEC

Well it's been a long time coming but tomorrow I am going to put this ole girl back together...

808Bill

Best of luck!