The transmission

Today we scrubbed down the transmission  using marvel mystery oil , goo off and mineral solvant
This combination with a good brush really shines up that old corrosion , it comes off with just a bit of elbow grease.
The mounting bracket was not installed properly ,with the wrong bushing so the whole thing wore out in no time . This may be why the car did not shift well and may also be a factor ,why the owner did not drive the car after all this work was done  . The new bushing was installed incorrectly with the wrong side shims so the result, total failure of the shift linkage after a very short time.
The transmission itself was on great shape with a new throughout bearing and arm .
Lets see what the clutch plate reveals . I think its new also.

cleaning aluminum engine block

A question came up by a friend recommending a hot cleaning for the engine.
I said NO and here is why.


HOT TANK

Hot tanking is the traditional way to clean dirty cast iron engine blocks, heads etc. The hot tank is just a big metal tank with a very nasty, caustic hot water solution in it. The parts are submerged in the solution and allowed to soak for many hours with the solution slowly circulating around them. This is sometimes referred to “vatting” or "boiling" the block, because it is being soaked in a large “vat” of almost boiling liquid. A hot tank does a good job of cleaning engine parts but does not always remove all of the rust and old paint. Because of environmental rules and regulations, a lot of shops are doing away with this method of cleaning.

Aluminum parts cannot be cleaned in a hot tank as they will dissolve. 

Also on the question of magnaflux on the block, It wont work because its aluminum



Before we go into the “how” of magnetic particle inspection, let’s look at where it will work and where it will not. First of all, being magnetic, it requires a ferrous metal base. For the most part, with our oldercars and trucks, that’s not a problem. Most engines and engine parts are iron or iron-alloy based. It won’t work on aluminum engine blocks, pistons or other aluminum parts; pot metal (not used for an engine block, but frequently for components), copper or brass, and most stainless steel. The MPI has to set up a magnetic field within the metal so that the identification powder – usually an iron oxide – will react to the magnetic waves.

The engine in detail

The heart of the car is out.
It wasn't easy the unit should have come out with the head on and transmission attached.
I couldn't get the speedometer cable off the front of the engine so I had to cut it , bummer but I do have parts from the other 77 Alfa that can be used, Thats what its for.

Today i will move the engine into the shop and that will be it for the winter.
My first problem was cutting the speedo cable , that thing is hard.
Looks like some engine bay cleanup as well.

transmission

The transmission should have come out with the engine.
What i did not like was I had to disassemble the front console and remove the shift handle.
Also the tach cable broke so that has to be replaced.
Once it was separated it came out easy. Its not heavy and I put it into the shop by hand.
When it came out it rolled on the floor and a fair amount
of water came out of the upper shift housing. It must have been there for some time and it may have gotten there the first year I had the car and just covered it up for the winter.

The transmission has a newer throughout bearing as well as a new arm
 This drive train has definitely been overhauled. The bell housing was full of oil to show that the rear seal has been leaking for a while.
It needs a good cleanup and washdown.

The drive shaft came out easy

The drive shaft came out easy .It seems the engine was out of the car at one other time in its life and the hardware was not at all rusted in. This was good.
The front damper was cracked so i did not put a collar around it
You can tighten a hose clamp around the damper and it will act the same as the retaining collar that came with the new one. This makes installation a lot easier later.
I do need to replace this one ,its cracked.
When you remove it ,loosen the  the center barring support but don't remove the nuts
Remove the support plate across the shaft.

Take the bolts off that are attached to the transmission
Put your parking brake on and then remove the drive shaft from the differential
remove the center bolts and the hole unit will slide back.
Before disassemble take a chisel and hammer and mark the collars on both ends so you can assemble them the same way later.
The drive shaft is one of the most expensive parts of the car.

Engine removal overall

When i decided to pull the head because could not get the performance that i wanted . I should have made the decision to pull the entire engine and transmission at the same time . The hole processes would have been easier and taken less time than demount the engine ,pulling the drive shaft and then the transmission and engine separately.

Lesson learned.
When it comes time to install the system again i will do it as an entire assembly.

hearth transplant

The engine out of the car?

The engine has to come out of the car.
It started with the head having to come off because the seals where all dried out.
When I ran it for the last time ,i blew out the rear crankshaft seal. So out comes the engine.
There are no real instructions on removing it so in my fascinate wisdom i chose to separate the engine from the transmission and pull it that way.

Its separated but i cant clear the front cross member with the oil pan and I cant pull the transmission back without removing the entire drive shaft and the new nice center console that I spent all summer rebuilding. Two years ago I sealed up the shifter so that now also needs to be disassembled again.

 I really dont want to remove all that interior

rear drive shaft

middle section

front

All these parts are balanced so removing them is going to be a chore








I am basically stuck I should have just done the whole trans and engine together  Now i have to wait until next year. Its getting cold outside and not much time left to work on it