Peter Zimmermann

douglas:
Your taillight lens with the funky lens border was probably a used lens that somebody put on the car at one point; or the lens with the nice, correct, black frame was a new lens that someone put on (and the other one is merely a faded remnant of what it once was). One more thing to add to the list for your next Perf-Prod run!

jake: When a 915 leaks from the nose area (closest to the firewall) it usually comes from the shift fork seal, which can be a bit of a stinker to replace. The big problem with that leak, if that's what's leaking, is that 10x what you see on the garage floor finds its way into the car's center tunnel. This can cause a variety of problems, including saturation of carpet pieces, terrible smells (especially after the car is parked in the hot sun with the windows closed), etc. That seal doesn't have to work very hard, so rarely needs replacement, but failure can usually be explained by engine removal. Huh?, you might say. Believe it or not, most people don't realize that when you've removed the engine, and you've left the trans hanging from the axles for a period of time, more often than not the shift fork seal will be destroyed by pressure against the shaft at the tunnel. The way to avoid this is to always, after the engine is out, jack up the trans into its normal position in the car, put a bolt through one of the upper bell housing holes (where the engine studs fit), and connect a coat hangar or similar between the bolt and the nearest upper shock tower, and let the trans hang from the wire. At this point I would remove the rear access cover to the tunnel (under the interior carpet) and check the tunnel for unwanted oil! By the way, simply removing or installing the engine will not damage the seal, only prolonged pressure over time will do that.

The other possibility is the reverse light switch, which is a very rare leak to have. Good luck with it!

jakeflyer

Peter: Thanks for your help--again, and again. I will replace the reverse light switch and the shift fork seal in the spare tranny before putting it in the car. In the mean time I will do the check out you suggest on the installed transmission. The awkward placement, hassle of adding tranny oil, and having to drop it out to fix it, does make the odd engine leak seem attractive, say what? And my doc asks if I get any exercise. My son got concerned with my gasping as I was breaking the bolts off the S flywheel. I told him to let me do it, that it would make me live another 15 years if didnt kill me in the next 5 minutes.

Amber Gramps

jake, I am now after three days finally getting the pain out of my neck from working under the car. Can you believe that this morning I went out and tried to get the nuts off the studs and I got them off. I'm still going with the new ones I can pick up in the morning. I guess three days soaking an a coffee cup of PB Blaster took it's tole...

jakeflyer

That is REALLY nifty stuff. Soak 48 to 72 hours and anything comes loose. Pep Boys also sells a can of spray cold stuff that can spray on the stud and it will shrink it for removal. Had my neck broken in 3 place and my back in 2 places on an oil drilling rig in Arkansas decades ago. I understand your pain.

Amber Gramps

Pete, you have a PM...

Amber Gramps

I hope every one here knows what a freind we have in Peter Zimmermann.

Pete, #1 went in with the right short socket. #6 required another trip out tool hunting. I got a swivel top 13/16 plug socket and took the rubber out once I had it started. Your trick with the grease worked like a charm. I went in what I thought was way too many turns, backed it out and I still had grease on two courses of threads. I went back in with it and this is when I discovered I needed yet another socket. What a day. Now I really owe you a steak. You where right all along. The socket was getting hung up and not staying with the plug. This only took about 13 hours today. She fired right up and just purrrrs. Sounds so sweet and doesn't shake at all, tap at all. She is begging me to take her around the block. I gotta go.

just a side note: Don't ever be affraid to ask the hard questions. Pete may as well have turned the wrenches for me he helped me so much today. I know many of you could have hepled me thru this and many of you have helped me in the past, but today Pete went the extra mile for a stranger. The valves were a piece of cake, the plugs were a killer.

The youtube video has finally posted:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psigFRUPVRI

flatsixnut

I give you big props Doug. I have wanted to get my hand dirty with some exploritory surgery on my car but i have been too scared to screw something up. The way I figure it is...if it aint broke....I just may brake it. The prior owner told me he had just done the valves a few weeks before i bought the car...i have always wanted to just recheck them.

I wish I had a larger garage. I have no idea where I would put an engine if I had to pull it. I have a single car garage and would really love to drop the engine to do a nice going over. Although one thing that keeps me from doing any work on her is that it would cut out the time I can drive her.

Amber Gramps

I almost don't believeit myself. I am the biggest chicken when it comes to working alone. I always have to have a helper or be the helper. this job I jumped into and found myself enjoying it, but overwhelmed with the echoes of a mechanic that I talked to mid-job who said a rebuild could run $12,000. That really had me on edge. Pete spent hours walking me thru every step making sure I had done everything right. It was the plugs that were the killer. Adjusting the valves were no big deal. remove distributor, wires, valve covers, oil, and heater tube (A/C deleted). Next its set the distributor and the crank and follow the order in the book. set them all at .004 and it's really that simple. the stud replacement and plugs was the hard part.

old man neri

I did my plugs and I didn't even read anything on it or did it twice. I just pulled and replaced. Is there some catch that I am missing, some tricky part I forgot to do....I hope not.


-matt

Amber Gramps

the big go or no go issue here is the size and shape of the tool. I started with a socket that was too long and too big in diameter. I went thru 5 different sockets before I found one that would work in #6. Plugs 2, 3, 4, & 5 were all no problem. It was #1 with the cam housing and #6 with the oil cooler that posed the problem. The tool that finally worked was a short, thin wall, swivel top on a short extension.....As Droops pointed out. I started out with a long, thick wall socket and an extension that put my ratchet up against the oil cooler and didn't allow the corect angle. As I tried to thread the spark plug back in the socket would hang-up on the finns inside the head and loose contact with the spark plug. It felt like the plug was stripped 'cause the socket just kept spinning and spinning. Pete suggested I try putting a line of grease on the plug to see if it was even going into the hole. after a try or two I realized what was going on and started trying different tools. Pete was also thinking it could have been debris left over fron the gaskets. Using a really large dental mirror helped.

old man neri

That would explain it. My socket set came with a spark plug socket. It is thin walled and has a little rubber on the inside to gently grip the plug. Now I am not as afraid, you guys had me all worried I had done something wrong because it was too easy.