I have a slant candidate that could use bearings. I would like to know if the slant six is an easy one to do this while engine is in vehicle. It looks like getting the pan off the truck is not a problem.

I have, back in the day, replaced rods and mains with engine in car with many different engines, but never a slant six.

Anyone here have experience doing this?. I await info as I am too old for trial and errors.

I did a forum search and did note a good article on the rear main seal. Now need to know if all the mains roll out and or if other problems?
Gl/6

I did the oil pan gasket in my '74 D100 with the engine in place. I would never do it that way again. The engine is just too easy to pull to mess with doing bottom end work in the vehicle.

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Joshua

I've done it and it isn't terribly difficult but as Joshie says, it's easier to pull the engine.

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David Kight
'62 Valiant Signet, White
'98 Dodge Dakota
'06 Jeep Liberty

Growing older is unavoidable but growing up is strictly optional.

I am not masochistic enough to want to repeat that experience. While it can be done, after having experienced the taste of well used motor-oil, why put yourself through such an experience again?

When it comes to "Things I will not ever do again," Changing rods and mains in the car rates right behind head gaskets on a binder diesel, in the truck.

Both jobs draw a vacuum.

CJ

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Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

Rods are easy. Mains on the other hand.......

Well, My thought process says 8 hours in and out with new rods and mains vs. I estimate 4 hours with leaving it in car. A little oil on my face will just smooth out some wrinkles. I am 72 years of age so the small stuff don't bother me much.

I know me, and what I likely will do if the engine sits on a stand out of car,...

Ex: ,.. hmm easy to change oil pump,.. hmm, easy to change out timing chain and sprockets. hmmm how about rings,..etc, etc.

Not what I wantrd to do.!! Yet, I may. may not, pull it out of vehicle after hearing these/other inputs.

Been there done that, yet I am still open and listening. I have no slant internal experience, cept I did change out the head and set in a super six intake on my other one recently. Gl/6

Whoa. Seventy two and still playing with cars? You rock. I've thought about doing the same thing with my Satellite....but damn its tight down there, even for a B body!

The best part about doing it in the truck is that if the crank needs polished you can hold emery cloth around it and have an assistant turn the crank with the starter.

Yes, I have seen it done.

No, it wasn't me.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

gl/6

I'm another glad your still willing to mess with old dirty cars at your age! I hope I can!

I would suggest it depends what sort of shop/gear you have availble?

If you have a car lift then doing it in might not be 'so' bad!

But if you are working on the floor I think pulling it and doing it on a stand would be a hell of a lot easier. I know when I do mine up it will come out for sure!

Good luck!

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AP6

I do some of my best work laying down!

Hello gl/6,

I'm a '64d100 person. I do swetplines so don't know about something as new as a '74, but I can't see how a newer vehicle could have gotten simpler than a '64. First, I would never do a car without pulling the engine, but then I am thick enough I use big jackstands!

Second, it seems from your question that all you want to do is change bearings, not the connecting rods, right? Well it is so easy on a old D100 I, having changed bearings both ways (in and out of truck), would just hop under a truck and do it.

Seems I lived under mine a couple of summers ago because I like to never got the pan gasket to block sealed. you need to be very careful to get the timing chain cover gasket ears sealed under the pan gasket and sealed, and that darn little square corner gasket at the back of the pan is one I ended up having to put a small amount of sealant outside the corners because a pinhole was always happening in the corner lettting oil leak out, seemingly a rear main seal leak til I figured it out.

Understand I know where Joshie is coming from about the aggravation factor from working underneath. There are three problem areas. First is the timing chain gasket, second is that rear main seal gasket, and the third is the tiny area to put a socket extension shaft into to get a socket onto the three or four pan bolts closest to the rear on each side. Before you start get together a socket extension about a foot long having a 1/4 inch drive. Those smaller sockets and thinner shaft let you slide between the pan and obstructions to start the bolts. Since you are not using huge torque on the bolts the 1/4 inch drive works fine. (I do use a 1/4 inch drive torque wrench from harbor Freight for this).

I drain the oil, pop off the pan, and just let any other oil in the block drain out overnight. It tends to accumulate on the bearing to rod cap bolts and can be easily collected on a rag the next morning. The bearing caps are numbered so you can keep them where they need to be. The number 3 and 4 mains always seem to stick for me, so I use a 3/8 wood dowel to tap them loose with a hammer. Then it is just a matter of putting in the new ones and putting the pan back on.

On the other hand I don't think I would change rods from underneath. If I was gonna start moving into rod work, my inclination would be to swap in a cam, do some headwork, and so on. If something so serious as rod damage had happened i would want to see if something else up top was hurt, is why.

If you have a pan with the sump in front I would offer you a spare pan I don't need. I like to have the replacement pan all gasketed up and left to dry overnight, and it is so much easier to to have a pan all fixed up and bolt on rather than take one out, clean it, prep it, gasket it, let it dry and then put it in. Having a spare all fixed up may save you about 4 hours in the middle of your job.

One last thing, you might consider using allen head bolts for the pan. many of the hex head pan bolts require you use a socket spacer because the bolt goes too far down into the socket when you are upside down. Now this doesn't seem like a big deal til you move your hand 100 degrees from vertical and drop the bolt or the spacer, lose them somehow, and so on. There is a point in reassembly when all depends on the first bolt going in. That is the one you drop. Then you get to re RTP your pan. Much easier to have a allen head screw pegged onto its adapter "socket".

rock
'64d100

Hi Rock, I think all posts were terrific. Your sweptline hits me right on. Mine is sweptline also, It is a 66 D100 stick.

I am blessed with an ear for loose rods, but not yet so bad that the crank is hurt. Between my ears and my foot I have loosening. Just a smidge. Very drivable still, even for a distance. I have to do the rods as part of my neccesity for sweet runnin machinery. I just figured why do the rods without doing the mains for a rear seal as well as oil pressure.

Nice to get a post from a D100 as well as others. I am not wanting to pioneer. Ha, Ha, Gl/6

P.S. This is a budget do,!! LOL