Just pulled th engine out of my 550...

[kaineb]

Well, good to know the progress continues!

Where do you live in Raleigh by the way?

Oh ya, i was all over it until i realized that i threw out the flex dish for the driveshaft and had to buy one. Unknown to me the "performance" Guibo is way more than your standard 6 banger. So $150 later at the local dealer and i have one. Ouch. So next week i will continue and should make allot of progress. The hard stuff is hopefully behind me.

I live near 401/540. Been here about 8 years now and really like it. Its a good place to move to both financially and family life.

[auaq]

I live just off of exit 5 on Lake Boone Trail rd from I-440.

[kaineb]

Its alive!!! After a year of work and lots o' money in parts she is finally running.

Startup issues:
(1) I had a dead cylinder that turned out to be the plug wasnt seated properly.
(2) The vacuum pump was leaking badly, i accidentally cut the oring bottom off when installing the pump.
(3) CEL code for thermostat MAP. The new thermostat i bought was defective, replaced and ok.


Lessons learned:
While diagnosing using the "rough" running value for all 8 cylinders on my diagnostic tool, i found #2 was the issue and had a value of +9 to +10, this was completely dead. After fixing all cylinders, showed a value of -.50~ to +.50~ respectfully. This is interesting because previous to the head work the car showed a value of +3.x~ and +5.x~ for cylinders 2 and 5. This must have meant poor combustion on #2 and very bad on #5. #5 is the cylinder that would not pull any vacuum in the machine shop. I was also advised that allot of the valves were leaking. So those of you that believe you can go that 15k suggested miles between oil changes, don't. This was a 1 owner highway mileage corporate car that was maintained solely at the dealership and look what happened. She had 133k on her when i bought it and 137k now. I hope it lasts a very long time because i do love the car despite all of the faults and issues it has had.

[White94RX]

Great! About time you finished it. Just don't sell it like schnexpl. I know that's not spelled right, or is it?

Check your pm. I responded to you

[kaineb]

Great! About time you finished it. Just don't sell it like schnexpl. I know that's not spelled right, or is it?

Check your pm. I responded to you

Ha, ya i know. It actually was still pretty far from finished last week but i just buckled down and hit it hard for 4 days. Now just have the final trans fill, testing, and underpanels left. Getting pretty close.

[auaq]

Well, glad you were able to get her running again. Just get a thorough re-check of the entire vehicle, no leaks, no noises, and hopefully you can drive the car again out on the road. Also, make a quick video of it running.

[kaineb]

Well, glad you were able to get her running again. Just get a thorough re-check of the entire vehicle, no leaks, no noises, and hopefully you can drive the car again out on the road. Also, make a quick video of it running.

Yep, thats the plan. Though the trans fill is a bit of a pain but we will get there. Best tool i bought was the trans fill bottle / pump. Hold 7-8 liters and makes it so much easier.

[BraveHelios]

I know; old thread but must find out... it looks like you replaced part number:

11417508114 (oil pump o-ring)

And I am trying to figure out where this piece fits and what must be removed to access it.

Any tips? Anyone?

[speedflc]

why would you do so much unnecessary work as prevention, I'm sorry but that's just stupid

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[forty302]

I got the heads pulled with exhaust headers and cats attached. The passenger side came out with no problems at all in about 15 minutes after removing the head bolts. The driver's side was much more difficult because the head got wedged between the block and the steering drive tube, even with the tube detached from the steering rack. I was eventually able to work it past the tube with much effort. I think it would have been easier to just lower the subframe and unbolt the header first. The head with header and cat attached is so heavy that I think it will be easier to position the head without header attached onto the block when reinstalling, anyway. To be honest, what with the difficulty of removing and reinstalling the valve covers, I think maybe the easiest method overall is to just pull the engine entirely.

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stephen max how difficult was it to disconnect the steering shaft and pushing it up into the cabin also did you have to cut the exhaust manifold stud nuts off? I may have to remove my heads due to a bad head gasket (seeps due to cleaning the secondary air with carburetor cleaner).