4.3L to ?? swap.

[DeCaff2007]

this is why i don't throw anything out until 2 or 3 weeks AFTER the vehicle is running/driving. i save everything old gaskets, old hoses, parts boxes/bags, even rusty stuff that i have to cut out, etc. takes up some room for awhile but it has saved me LOTS over the years...

Yes, well, I may have been premature in that rant. We'll see in the morning.

Schurkey, yes, we throw stuff out. Personally, I cannot stand clutter. There's enough of that going on in my brain; I don't need it physically in front of me.

Hell, when I was tearing down the 300ci for my Wife's Buick, I threw out the main bearing cap bolts because they were disgusting and I thought FOR SURE that they were torque to yield. Turns out tha I was completely wrong and it took us more time than I would have liked to source new hardware.

 

[Schurkey]

@Schurkey, If you'll notice, the footnote on the attachment I posted specifically point out the difference between a strut rod bracket (for automatic) and a spacer (for a manual), like you said.

This again causes confusion because I have strut rod brackets and a manual trans. I'm inclined to further agree that this is a Service Manual issue and not some random, pieced together truck which just happens to have parts from everything.

Hold the strut rods up against your manual transmission. I bet they won't fit--no place to bolt them to.

 

[DeCaff2007]

Hold the strut rods up against your manual transmission. I bet they won't fit--no place to bolt them to.

Uhm, well, I'm pretty sure they came off the V6 with the MT. Yes, because I remember thinking to myself when tearing out the V6, "Why are these rods down here?" Again, I'll check all of this in the morning.

 

[Orpedcrow]

@Schurkey, I looked in the Service Manual. I'm EFFED once again. This is copied and pasted right from the manual. See the part circled in red?

You must be registered for see images attach

Well, that was still there from my V6 yet, so I removed both of them and, assuming I wouldn't need them, tossed them out.

Unless those mounts are substantially different for the V8, I'm going to have to source those plates somehow.

Those look like they’re probably v6 mounts.

 

[DeCaff2007]

Well, so much for perhaps getting the engine dropped in today. I was all psyched up for this last night.... only to realize that I don't have a clutch pilot bearing. You all would think that's the FIRST thing I would have ordered. Can't get one until tomorrow. That means Monday with my work schedule lol.

I'm still going to check out the mounts/strut rods/etc.... today.

SMH....

 

[DeCaff2007]

OK! Good news. The Service Manual is totally incorrect (which, makes me wonder what else is wrong). The mounts fit perfectly.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

That's one problem solved. Also, I was going back through my old pics and found how the oil cooler lines should be run. I have them upside down. They actually DON'T BELONG on this truck, but since the engine was equipped with, so it shall be.

You must be registered for see images attach

Lastly, there IS in fact a place to bolt those strut rods onto the manual transmission. They are circled in red.

You must be registered for see images attach

This is ridiculous. For want of a clutch pilot bearing, my progress is on hold for the rest of the weekend.

 

[Erik the Awful]

Believe me, We (the Wife and I) contemplate getting the HELL out of demmy PA every day. But until that winning lottery ticket comes our way......

Move to Mississippi and you'll feel like you won the lottery.

Cost of Living Data Series | Missouri Economic Research and Information Center

Missouri had the seventh lowest cost of living in the United States for the second quarter of 2023. In general, the most expensive areas to live were Hawaii, Alaska, the Northeast, and the West Coast. The least expensive areas were the Midwest and Southern states. MERIC derives the cost of...

meric.mo.gov

I've known people that went to the Sandbox, and they said it's bad, but it's a dry heat.

That depends on where you go. My first time to the sandbox I was on an island in the Arabian Sea. It was 120°F during the day with 70+% humidity. Our tents were air conditioned down to about 85°F, and the sun was so bright that you'd need to put your sunglasses on before you stepped outside. You'd step outside and your sunglasses would immediately fog up, and then over the next ten seconds they'd clear back up.

The second and third times I went to Qatar, and both times I went during winter when temperature is around "down" around 110°F and the humidity is up at 60-70%. Everybody stunk of sweat all the time, and after a week you get nose-blind to it.

California was the one place where I experienced a dry heat. I was comfortable-ish in 100°F heat so long as I stayed out of the sun.

 

[DeCaff2007]

Ok I have more to add, and this is for clarification purposes. I went through all of my old pics in an attempt to figure out what bracket is for what.

Here's all four spacers that I have. 2 are for the V6, 2 are for the V8.... then of course driver side and passenger side.

You must be registered for see images attach

Now, here's the two for the V6. The top bracket is for the driver side and the bottom bracket is for the passenger side. I won't be using these, but this is for information purposes.

You must be registered for see images attach

These are the V8 brackets. I didn't have a clear pic of either one of these, but by process of elimination.. the top bracket is for the PASSENGER side, the bottom bracket is for the DRIVER side.

You must be registered for see images attach

I feel better now that I have that sorted out. Time to clean up the hardware and bolt them on.

 

[Schurkey]

OK! Good news. The Service Manual is totally incorrect (which, makes me wonder what else is wrong). The mounts fit perfectly.

Yup.

Lastly, there IS in fact a place to bolt those strut rods onto the manual transmission.

Kewl. Not what I expected.

For want of a clutch pilot bearing, my progress is on hold for the rest of the weekend.

If this were me, I'd be installing a bronze bushing rather than a roller bearing. This assumes that GM hasn't done silly things with the diameter of the pilot on the input shaft, like turn it Metric instead of whatever diameter they were using in the middle-'60s when the bronze bushing was practically universal.

I've seen too many pilot bearings ruined by rough installation of the transmission. If you're lucky, the bearing fails immediately. If you're not lucky, you get the whole thing installed, exhaust and accessories connected, it runs for a thousand miles, and THEN the bearing falls apart, which then ruins the pilot on the end of the input shaft.

This would be someone who shall remain nameless but who's initials are ME, on a 1980 Honda Civic, about 1986. ME had to have the trans input shaft pilot turned on a lathe, and a steel sleeve fitted over it, and the sleeve turned, to return it to proper diameter. But that's not the only example I've seen.

 

[DeCaff2007]

If this were me, I'd be installing a bronze bushing rather than a roller bearing.

Where exactly do I get one of those?