Pulling the engine on a 83 FC

[bluebird3208]

I have finally decided to fix the head leak on my otherwise cherry 83
FC . Pulling the heads on one of these does not look like any fun at
all. I am considering pulling the whole engine so that if I find that
the problem on the rebuilt engine is more than a simple gasket, I will
have the option of changing out the engine. Has anyone pulled the
engine before, if so how did you go about it, and what all had to be
removed to get it out. I have tryed to find an acceptable engine to
replace the 3208, but have not found anything that will reasonably fit
and give me more horsepower. If there is an option I am willing to
give it a go, but I do not want to reinvent the wheel.

Jim Hutchings
83 FCRB
Yorba Linda, CA

[Mike Hohnstein]

I've got a 83FCRB I found in Texas, blown engine. Had it hauled to Milwaukee
and spent 18 months getting it ready for use. I have a lot of experience with
the 3208, enough to know I would consider an alternative. There is none that
will fit in the confines of the FC with out major modifications that are ill
advised to undertake. Got my start with 3208s due to my L8000 Phord toter home
that is so powered. I have spent way too much time and money making a hot rod
out of the truck and I have succeeded. It's turned up to 375 hp marine specs
and has a 13 speed Roadranger and 4:11 rear ratio. Loafs at 80 mph @ 2150 rpm.
The problem with the bird is the small engine bay, nothing else comes close to
fitting. Being familiar with the western topography, an FC is going to be a
slow ride. My bird has a very well tuned 250 hp and it's a turd back here with
no grades. Rolling hills give it a hard time, it won't keep up with the trucks,
that's for sure. I plan on hanging a charge air cooler in front of the radiator
and move the bumper ahead to accommodate. Will have to craft a radiator shell
over the cooler to make it look good, this will enable the tune up to 300hp
specs. I might have a chance of staying with most of the traffic after this
work.
My recommendation is install a fresh engine if you need to pull the heads. It's
doubtful there is enough short block life remaining to justify cutting corners.
Real hard to beat a reman Cat deal. There is no way I would consider tying to
do a cylinder head service in chassis, but that's me.
I used a reman engine from another source, engine is good but the injector pump
went out at 4000 miles and the bastards didn't stand behind it. I'm lucky the
engine is a good runner, no leaks and no oil consumption. Cat has a nation wide
warrantee and tons of facilities. I don't love Cat or the 3208 however there
are few choices with a FC.
Mike Hohnstein
Germantown, WI
83FC35

----- Original Message -----
From: bluebird3208
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, January 07, 2006 5:28 PM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Pulling the engine on a 83 FC


I have finally decided to fix the head leak on my otherwise cherry 83
FC . Pulling the heads on one of these does not look like any fun at
all. I am considering pulling the whole engine so that if I find that
the problem on the rebuilt engine is more than a simple gasket, I will
have the option of changing out the engine. Has anyone pulled the
engine before, if so how did you go about it, and what all had to be
removed to get it out. I have tryed to find an acceptable engine to
replace the 3208, but have not found anything that will reasonably fit
and give me more horsepower. If there is an option I am willing to
give it a go, but I do not want to reinvent the wheel.

Jim Hutchings
83 FCRB
Yorba Linda, CA





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[bluebird3208]

I am going to pull the engine on my 83 FC to do the heads. It seams
like this is the easiest way to get to everything, and insure a
quaility job. If anyone has pulled the engine before please outline
the basic steps. Or let me know if I am crazy to pull the engine. I
have a nice flat spot and a forklift.

Jim Hutchings
83 FC
Yorba Linda CA

[Mike Hohnstein]

Perhaps my posted response to your issue was missed or I didn't get to the main
question you asked.
I have personally removed and replaced the whole drive train in a 83 FC, I used
a fork lift under the front cross member and truck transmission jack under the
transmission. Pulled the whole package out. I feel it would much more
difficult to deal with the engine transmission separation in chassis. You may
find the fly wheel inner bore, where the torque converter pilots, excessively
worn. Very common problem and the flywheels can be difficult to find. It's
acceptable to bore and resleeve. The converter pilot should be checked for size
and roundness. I had my trans and converter rebuilt (150k miles) many hard
parts needed replacement, consider the wisdom of stretching the service life of
a Allison.
I replaced all the accessories on the engine when it was out and replaced as a
completed module. I did do some trimming on the frame rails for clearance and
replaced the front airbags as they were very accessible with the drive train out
of the way. I fitted the exhaust system with thermal blankets after the engine
was in the hole, it would have been easier to do before installation.
It's a tight fit but it sounds like you have the basic tools needed to do the
job. If you do exchange the engine beware of the crank shaft fly wheel bolt
discrepancy. Most cranks require some bolt holes to be plugged as some fly
wheels don't use all the available holes. Missing that one results in a major
oil leak. I wouldn't do the job with out a Cat engine shop manual #
SEBRO541-03.
Mike Hohnstein
Germantown, WI
83FC35
----- Original Message -----
From: bluebird3208
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2006 4:33 PM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Pulling the engine on a 83 FC


I am going to pull the engine on my 83 FC to do the heads. It seams
like this is the easiest way to get to everything, and insure a
quaility job. If anyone has pulled the engine before please outline
the basic steps. Or let me know if I am crazy to pull the engine. I
have a nice flat spot and a forklift.

Jim Hutchings
83 FC
Yorba Linda CA





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[Jim]

_____

From: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Mike Hohnstein
Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2006 4:00 PM
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [WanderlodgeForum] Pulling the engine on a 83 FC



Perhaps my posted response to your issue was missed or I didn't get to the
main question you asked.
I have personally removed and replaced the whole drive train in a 83 FC, I
used a fork lift under the front cross member and truck transmission jack
under the transmission. Pulled the whole package out. I feel it would much
more difficult to deal with the engine transmission separation in chassis.
You may find the fly wheel inner bore, where the torque converter pilots,
excessively worn. Very common problem and the flywheels can be difficult to
find. It's acceptable to bore and resleeve. The converter pilot should be
checked for size and roundness. I had my trans and converter rebuilt (150k
miles) many hard parts needed replacement, consider the wisdom of stretching
the service life of a Allison.
I replaced all the accessories on the engine when it was out and replaced as
a completed module. I did do some trimming on the frame rails for clearance
and replaced the front airbags as they were very accessible with the drive
train out of the way. I fitted the exhaust system with thermal blankets
after the engine was in the hole, it would have been easier to do before
installation.
It's a tight fit but it sounds like you have the basic tools needed to do
the job. If you do exchange the engine beware of the crank shaft fly wheel
bolt discrepancy. Most cranks require some bolt holes to be plugged as some
fly wheels don't use all the available holes. Missing that one results in a
major oil leak. I wouldn't do the job with out a Cat engine shop manual #
SEBRO541-03.
Mike Hohnstein
Germantown, WI
83FC35
----- Original Message -----
From: bluebird3208
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2006 4:33 PM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Pulling the engine on a 83 FC


I am going to pull the engine on my 83 FC to do the heads. It seams
like this is the easiest way to get to everything, and insure a
quaility job. If anyone has pulled the engine before please outline
the basic steps. Or let me know if I am crazy to pull the engine. I
have a nice flat spot and a forklift.

Jim Hutchings
83 FC
Yorba Linda CA


Thanks for the post. I may replace the engine with a rebuild if I do not
find an obvious head gasket leak. Then engine and trans only have 20,000
miles on them since rebuild. The problem was I was not the one who did the
rebuild. The previous owner reused the head bolts, and one of them snapped.
I managed to get the old bolt out in frame and replace it but the damage was
done. Thanks for the tips, I have redone every oil gasket on the engine and
stopped all the leaks but one.. The rear seal area, Ill bet it is the lack
of bolts in the fly wheel.



Jim Hutchings
83 FC
Yorba Linda CA


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[Jon]

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "bluebird3208"
wrote:
>
> I have finally decided to fix the head leak on my otherwise cherry 83
> FC . Pulling the heads on one of these does not look like any fun at
> all. I am considering pulling the whole engine so that if I find that
> the problem on the rebuilt engine is more than a simple gasket, I will
> have the option of changing out the engine. Has anyone pulled the
> engine before, if so how did you go about it, and what all had to be
> removed to get it out. I have tryed to find an acceptable engine to
> replace the 3208, but have not found anything that will reasonably fit
> and give me more horsepower. If there is an option I am willing to
> give it a go, but I do not want to reinvent the wheel.
>
> Jim Hutchings
> 83 FCRB
> Yorba Linda, CA

Jim this Jon up here in Washington and I was wondering how you
determind that you had a head leak? And the other question is how many
miles do you have on your FC. I'm kind of interested just to know as I
know some of these engines run for 300 thousand miles and no problem
and Im trying figure out what will cause one of these engines to fail
at low miliage. Jon
Jon Lechich
1978 Wanderlodge
Bremerton Washington


>

[Jim]

_____

From: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Jon
Sent: Sunday, January 08, 2006 7:48 PM
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: Pulling the engine on a 83 FC



--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "bluebird3208"
wrote:
>
> I have finally decided to fix the head leak on my otherwise cherry 83
> FC . Pulling the heads on one of these does not look like any fun at
> all. I am considering pulling the whole engine so that if I find that
> the problem on the rebuilt engine is more than a simple gasket, I will
> have the option of changing out the engine. Has anyone pulled the
> engine before, if so how did you go about it, and what all had to be
> removed to get it out. I have tryed to find an acceptable engine to
> replace the 3208, but have not found anything that will reasonably fit
> and give me more horsepower. If there is an option I am willing to
> give it a go, but I do not want to reinvent the wheel.
>
> Jim Hutchings
> 83 FCRB
> Yorba Linda, CA

Jim this Jon up here in Washington and I was wondering how you
determind that you had a head leak? And the other question is how many
miles do you have on your FC. I'm kind of interested just to know as I
know some of these engines run for 300 thousand miles and no problem
and Im trying figure out what will cause one of these engines to fail
at low miliage. Jon
Jon Lechich
1978 Wanderlodge
Bremerton Washington


>The failure on this engine is due to the fact that the previous owner used
the old head bolts to reassemble the engine without testing them first. I
know I have a leak due to three things: The engine overheats slightly.
There are air bubbles and too much pressure in the radiator. I purchased a
product of combustion detector made for radiators and the test showed
exhaust gas in the radiator. In addition I had a water leak at a head bolt.
When I tried to tighten it, it snapped. I managed to remove it in frame and
replace it, but the damage was done long ago. So to answer your question the
engine did not fail. the mechanic did. This is turbo charged model
generating 250 HP, these engines can be pushed up to 425 HP but only in
marine use. Why? because in the ocean you have unlimited cooling capacity.
So the main enemy of these engines in over the road vehicles is heat. If
you take them up a grade on a hot day and lug them the whole way it is just
a matter of time.

Early failures are due to improper build, maintenance, and operator
abuse. Other than that they will go a long time.


Jim Hutchings
> 83 FCRB
> Yorba Linda, CA






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