93 Splash in SC, V8-Swap version

[scotts90ranger]

There are downsides for using stainless in tricky situations: it work hardens when you don't want it to and is annoyingly hard to drill, and it's generally softer than grade 5 in bolt situations... oh and if you use stainless nuts on stainless bolts, if you hear a squeak or look at it wrong you now have a galled mess that will no longer be reusable. It has it's place but has a tendency to be annoying when the process should be simple...

Annoyingly here the fastener company we used to use got bought out and no longer allowed walk in customers and ordering got harder so we switched, back in the day it was great though... I haven't asked any dumb questions about weird hardware lately so haven't experienced the new company yet... lol

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

There are downsides for using stainless in tricky situations: it work hardens when you don't want it to and is annoyingly hard to drill, and it's generally softer than grade 5 in bolt situations... oh and if you use stainless nuts on stainless bolts, if you hear a squeak or look at it wrong you now have a galled mess that will no longer be reusable. It has it's place but has a tendency to be annoying when the process should be simple...

Annoyingly here the fastener company we used to use got bought out and no longer allowed walk in customers and ordering got harder so we switched, back in the day it was great though... I haven't asked any dumb questions about weird hardware lately so haven't experienced the new company yet... lol

This is the reason I try to stick to “passivated” stainless when possible and use them where it’s ok to. As much as I like stainless living here in the rust belt, it’s really not good for all situations. I use them wherever I can, but certainly not everywhere.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I snapped one off in my cylinder head when I was trying to use them for valve cover bolts. Normal hardware SS store stuff.

I went to ARP stainless and never looked back.

That said I have regular hardware store GR5 bolts for my timing cover/water pump.

 

[Curious Hound]

There are downsides for using stainless in tricky situations: it work hardens when you don't want it to and is annoyingly hard to drill, and it's generally softer than grade 5 in bolt situations... oh and if you use stainless nuts on stainless bolts, if you hear a squeak or look at it wrong you now have a galled mess that will no longer be reusable. It has it's place but has a tendency to be annoying when the process should be simple...

And that is why I avoid stainless. I'm in South Carolina and I'm getting old. I don't think stainless was worth the aggravation in this particular case. If I used good parts and did the job right, I should never need to disassemble it in my remaining lifetime.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

And that is why I avoid stainless. I'm in South Carolina and I'm getting old. I don't think stainless was worth the aggravation in this particular case. If I used good parts and did the job right, I should never need to disassemble it in my remaining lifetime.

Dang, you just jinxed your water pump...

 

[Curious Hound]

Dang, you just jinxed your water pump...

I thought about that.

 

[Curious Hound]

SPent the afternoon cleaning up my exhaust manifolds. Nothing great. I just wanted to knock the worst of the rust off mating surfaces. I have a "porting and polishing" sanding roll set. So I tried my hand at smoothing things up on the inside just a little bit. The passenger side manifold has/had a buildup of something inside. I don't know what it is. It's light gray and bumpy and pretty hard. Reminds me of calcium deposits in plumbing pipes. I attacked what I could reach with the little sandpaper rolls and even a rotary burr. But I can't reach a lot of it. I sacrificed 3 steel tube brushes I had by chucking them up in my drill. That got some of it. But the brushes were really too small and too soft to knock it out effectively. Eventually, my mandrel bent. I have more mandrels on order, one of which is 10" long. It probably won't do a prefect job. But will hopefully make me "more satisfied".

Also found a crack on one of the ears for a mounting bolt. I don't think that's a major issue. The bolt will still clamp down on it and hold adequately. Heck. I've had a broken stud on one of my 3.0l manifolds for years and it hasn't affected anything.

I still need to finish inspecting the transmission sub assemblies and order parts for that rebuild. Although the 4r70w is fairly common, the 96 and 97 model years seem to be slightly oddball, caught in transtion from the AODE years and that variation of kits are less common. Any recommendations on where to order the transmission rebuild kit from? Best brand to look for? Brands to avoid?