Advice wanted. Old 280k miles...not much money

[RobbieD]

BTW, do I really need a torque wrench?

Yes. HIGHLY recommended, even considered as essential, in my opinion.

 

[bgrieves1]

Yes. HIGHLY recommended, even considered as essential, in my opinion.

I saw one at harbor freight today. Like 15 or 16 dollars. I guess I will get that one soon

 

[bgrieves1]

RobbieD, I guess I need an engine stand too. Are these pretty universal? MYbe I can get one off marketplace. They are 100 at HF so they should be cheap used

 

[bobbywalter]

Amazon.com

 

[bgrieves1]

Thank you BobbyWalter. I just bought this. Great price.

Bethany

 

[bobbywalter]

a guy i work with has one....i would not put the diesel that is in my ranger on it....but the 4.0 in the bronco would not be a problem at all.


as mentioned, make sure you id the leak. often the valve covers rot and leak or the china rail....down the back of the engine and it looks like a rear main leak and can even fool highly experienced mechanics.


i vary with the majority about opening up cologne engines....gasket sets cost more than used running engines.

for the uninitiated the exhaust can be a disaster....simply unhooking a rotten setup can be a hateful exercise of frustration. though i suspect it may have fresher manifolds on it by this vintage and may go just fine.

but i am in rust belt maximum, and just snap off or cut them and use handcuff clamps at any sign of shenanigans.

 

[bobbywalter]

Amazon.com: 2 Ton Folding Engine Hoist Cherry Picker Shop Crane Hoist Lift,Folding Engine Shop Crane Hoist Lift, Heavy Cherry Picker with 6 Wheels for Garage, Workshop,Red : Automotive

Buy 2 Ton Folding Engine Hoist Cherry Picker Shop Crane Hoist Lift,Folding Engine Shop Crane Hoist Lift, Heavy Cherry Picker with 6 Wheels for Garage, Workshop,Red: Engine Hoists & Stands - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

this is the one you actually need. both of these are cheap enough to buy now, and sell later for the same cost or even more so its cheaper then renting tools....and no time limit. in case you dont have access to a picker.

 

[bgrieves1]

Yes I bought the Torin 2 ton engine hoist on sale at TSC for about 200.. this mechanic who ripped me off said he did valve covers, but who knows. Truck returned to him 4 times in 3 months and he never replaced the fuel filter. Asked him to do a few things to get it road worthy after he talked me into buying it for $2500. And he replaced the front shocks (I read later this was an easy thing to do), but did not replace the fuel filter. Anyway. Now I will just work on it myself. I think I could have picked a better truck on my own.

 

[RobbieD]

I saw one at harbor freight today. Like 15 or 16 dollars. I guess I will get that one soon

Good. You won't regret it.

Bolts, as fasteners, have a spec, a torque value, for how tight they should be, per application. Why would you go to the trouble, and expense, of any engine or mechanical work when you're guessing at bolt tightness?

Once you have a torque wrench, and specs to go by, it'll become second nature. You might even go off the deep end and become a bolt painter like some of us*.
* In many cases of assembly, once a fastener is correctly torqued it gets hit with a paint marker, as a quality check confirmation. I like using purple.

You're making a wise investment. My "go to" torque wrench is a Craftsman basic beam wrench, which my parents gave me for my 18th birthday. It's still a solid tool, even after over 50 years of use.

RobbieD, I guess I need an engine stand too. Are these pretty universal? MYbe I can get one off marketplace. They are 100 at HF so they should be cheap used

I got one of those Harbor Freight $100 stands a while back, but I haven't used it yet.

 

[bgrieves1]

There are so many different torque wrenches....beam wrenches, etc. Any recommendations?

 

[bgrieves1]

I guess a lot of videos ....people don't use a torque wrench. I just wasn't sure it was necessary. I never thought a certain tightness on a bolt would be so important.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Yes, a paint pen used to mark the bolt head and beside it. A quick glance tells you if its moved. I do this on my race truck and all other rebuilds.

 

[bgrieves1]

Oh I see what you mean now. Wow. That precise. Who would have known that much precision was necessary

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

A beam style is nearly unbreakable and cheap too. But I prefer a click style torque wrench for ease of use when its hard to see the scale on a beam wrench. I would just buy a cheap one at harbor freight, lots of YouTube tests show they are fine.

 

[bgrieves1]

I have the Ford shop manual set. I'm sure it will tell me lots of specs on torques