360 decisions

[Germy]

I'm going to talk to the machinist. If he can just get me set up with everything, that will be easiest

 

[Germy]

Question, my heads came back as year marked 78? On the chart. It said to use replacement parts from a 72 head. I'm just trying to get an oil pump housing and they are asking for year of engine.

 

[jeepboy45]

The oil pump is "housed" in the timing cover. Are they saying you need to replace the end cover of the pump housing? I cant see that going bad.

Do you need to replace your timing cover?

You can use feeler gauges and plasti-gage to check tolerances of the pump housing. If you need more descriptions on that, just ask.

 

[Germy]

I need the housing, and the pump, I have a timing cover. The cover was blasted. So I just need the housing and the pump repair kit?

 

[Germy]

Is there a piece in the timing cover that I need

 

[jeepboy45]

You should probably have a jeep technical manual.

The timing cover IS the housing for the oil pump.

Both gears (one gear sits on the shaft secured in the cover AND the other gear is affixed to the shaft which will stick THROUGH the cover and engage the distributor) are housed in the oil pump "housing" which is actually part of the timing cover.

When you get an oil pump for an AMC V8, you are just getting both gears (one mounted to a shaft, and another which you will put on the shaft already in the timing cover), a gasket, long spring, and a funny metal "piston" which is part of the oil pump pressure relief.

Did someone actually see your timing cover and say you needed a new one?

You may not need a new timing cover at all. However, there are several reasons you may need to get a new timing cover: if the timing chain was very loose, it might have "slapped" the inside walls of the cover, water passages could be severely pitted or completely corroded through, oil pump housing could be severely worn leaving a too much clearance between the gears and the housing walls, etc etc.

When you have your timing cover and are ready to work with the oil pump parts, you need to be conscious of lots of details. There are oil pump modifications that can be done to the oil pump housing. Check for various threads on this subject. I'll attach diagrams if you cant find other threads. You also should check clearances between the gears and housing. Also it would be a good idea to get your hands on Plasti-gage and check the pump gears for clearance once the cover plate is bolted on and torqued correctly WITH a gasket. (BTW: do not use gasket sealer on the oil pump end cover plate) If the end clearance between the gears and pump cover plate is wrong, that is a fairly easy fix. You can buy a part to accomplish this, or you can actually fix the problem yourself.

If I havent mentioned this yet, get the jeep technical service manual or a really good manual of another brand. If its a good one, it will go into detail about the oil pump.

Trust me, buy a good manual. If you can actually find a "jeep technical service manual", buy it.

EDIT: I guess what I'm saying is .... take your time with the oil pump. Its a very small box of parts and the initial thought is, "I'll bolt it together in 5 minutes".. DONT DO THAT. You want to have good oil pressure in your new engine. Ensure this by spending time getting to know how this important part works, and actually go through the appropriate methods of checking it...

 

[jeepboy45]

here are some oil system mods:

Check out the oil pump sketches. Take em or leave em. I chose just to be very mindful of tolerances and opted not drill out passageways, but that was just my choice.

 

[Germy]

Dropped block off today. .03 over, pistons, rods ring bearings, bead blasted. Hopefully I'll have it back this time next week

 

[Germy]

He kept saying that he would look for higher compression four barrel pistons? Anyone familiar? I'll talk to him this week and clarify.

 

[Germy]

Talked to machinist today. He is using standard pistons, Rehabed the rods, ground crank, replaced all bearings and is waiting on cam and gaskets. So by Monday or Tuesday I'll have it back.

 

[jeepboy45]

Talked to machinist today. He is using standard pistons, Rehabed the rods, ground crank, replaced all bearings and is waiting on cam and gaskets. So by Monday or Tuesday I'll have it back.

EXCELLENT !

Now for the fun of assembling it all... Be methodical, careful, and think about everything as you are doing it. All will go well. Pay attention to oil pump, and related clearances. I used plastigage on all bearings and pump. Never tried it before and I wasnt in a hurry, so I figured it was worth doing. I would recommend using it on the oil pump surface whenever building an AMC.
Its an important clearance that you can easily change to tighten it up.

 

[Germy]

Thanks for the heads up! Pumped!

 

[Germy]

Short block being picked up on Monday. When I bring it home, should I paint that back and install flywheel before putting on stand?

 

[Gunner Actual]

Nah, install it on the stand and paint it while its on it. That's how I always did

 

[jeepboy45]

Short block being picked up on Monday. When I bring it home, should I paint that back and install flywheel before putting on stand?

X2 on what Gunner said.
Besides, to put the flywheel on, you'd need the crank installed. Do all the assembly first, then when you take the engine off the stand with a hoist, you can do flywheel, right before mating to tranny. (I was assuming you are gonna mate the engine and tranny before you put it in the Jeep)

 

[Germy]

Actually, the Transmission and transfer are still in, just pulled the block. It is coming back as a short block, so the hard stuff is done, cam and timing installed as well

 

[Germy]

Ok, what order and what torque spec for head bolts. 4 lower and 4 upper. First time

 

[jeepboy45]

Ok, what order and what torque spec for head bolts. 4 lower and 4 upper. First time

I did mine in increments of 60 - 90 - 110 ft lbs...

There is a torque sequence that ABSOLUTELY NEEDS TO BE FOLLOWED.

Book say you can go 80 - then to 110

There are more than just 4 lower and 4 upper...There are 14 per head...

You NEED to get a decent book on AMC engines. A thorough book on your Jeep would be even more ideal.

I did a search and found TWO other torque sequence options...I am skeptical of them..

This is a pic of the page right from my 1979 CJ technical service manual. It shows torque sequence on the head.

 

[Germy]

Thanks for the guidance. Got a manual. The motors total was 1300. Full gasket set, oil pump, pistons,bearings, rods, ground crank, .03 overbore and a bigger cam with timing set. I think that the price is fair for a short block

 

[Germy]

View attachment 12254
Shiny!