1864 cleanup, test drive, and leak found

[J-Mech]

Originally Posted by ol'George

Sealants have cut assy time drastically as well as robotic application of them as mentioned.
And that is why a crate engine today, is less costly than rebuilding by a "mechanic"
I've seen a tremendous change in things just since the early 1960's
(sorry for the hijack)

I'm sorry for the hijack also.... but it is cool.

I don't know that crate motors are always cheaper..... but they are much, much faster. Depends on the motor. I can rebuild a B5.9 Cummins much cheaper than you can get a rebuilt.... from anywhere.

Automotive engines.... yeah. Most always it is cheaper to buy new.

[sorner]

Originally Posted by J-Mech

Well..... your not a mechanic either. Believe me, it doesn't take 3 days to get to the valves on an Intrepid. Maybe 4 hours.

And your wrong about the water pump failure that only leaks coolant into the engine. While I agree it is a poor design, there is a weep hole from the pump to the outside of the motor. What usually happens is some guy who thinks he's a mechanic changes the water pump and puts silicone on the gasket. That plugs up the weep hole, then when the pump fails the coolant can't go out where it's supposed to and ends up in the motor. I have seen it a few times that it was no one's fault.... like somehow dirt got in the weep hole on the block and plugged it up. But usually it's a previous mechanics fault.

I'm definitely not a mechanic, but I stayed in a holiday inn express once. This non-mechanic has done pretty well for himself. I'm sorry if guys like me (do it yourselfers) take food off your (mechanics) tables. If someone is capable of doing something themselves, and enjoys doing it, why pay someone else to do it? There are plenty of soccer moms out there who need mechanics to change a light bulb I'm sure. I got all my information on this issue from the Dodge Intrepid.net forum, and this car was serviced by a dealer regularly prior to exploding... the water pump was never replaced in that short time. So it was hardly a previous mechanic doing something wrong with it. It was a fleet car that lasted 3 years, 51k miles. This car was not the only one that this happened to, it's ALL over the internet. That cannot be blamed on anything but poor engine design. And the 3 days was not a literal 72 straight hours of working on the car. That was probably about 4 hours spread over 3 days. Sorry I wasn't precisely clear on that. The main problem was getting the plenum off without breaking it, and all the wiring that goes along the top of the valve covers. I will be more careful with specifics from now on, thank you for pointing that out.

I don't mind the little hijack about gaskets vs sealant, and how engines are assembled and stuff, that was pretty neat. I think the original topic and point of this thread is no longer relevant to the thread contents and can be closed. I have nothing else to add, and I don't want to get into an off topic urinating contest with a moderator.

[sorner]

Mowed for two hours yesterday with the 1864. It worked great, and no leaks. So it looks like I did alright on this project. Case closed. Thanks to all that had input, and sorry for whining sometimes.