Michael J. Barnes Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 If you are a more experienced mechanic than me, you may want to skip this post. It could cause you stress reading about my mistakes. Also, the motor in question is a Mercruiser 4.3. It looks a lot like a car motor to me, but maybe this posting will get deleted for not belonging. I was reinstalling the big flat intake manifold at the top of the V6. Not ever having heard of inch-lbs, I thought the manual said foot-lbs. That is 12 times too much torque and I promptly broke a bolt in the block. Started to drill out the bolt. Broke a small drill bit. Watched Youtube and learned about diamond hole saws. Finished the extraction after a few hours with a saw and several bits, and prepared to reinstall the manifold for the second time. Now here is where things take a turn for the better. For one thing, the threads were still intact. For another, I rehearsed many times laying the manifold down flat without any jiggle that would smear the gluey gasket material. Finally, I am sure the second time I laid down the thick bead of Loctite gasket material fore and aft, I did a much better job. Too much frankly — it did ooze out somewhat — but the first time I think the beads were too thin and wobbly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 If at first you don’t succeed…well you know how the rest goes. You tube has some great how to tips. I just recently reviewed some on how to use a product for a non automotive repair I had never done before. The YouTube preview sure helped me a lot to have a successful outcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Huston Posted July 12, 2021 Share Posted July 12, 2021 15 minutes ago, Michael J. Barnes said: If you are a more experienced mechanic than me, you may want to skip this post. It could cause you stress reading about my mistakes. Also, the motor in question is a Mercruiser 4.3. It looks a lot like a car motor to me, but maybe this posting will get deleted for not belonging. I was reinstalling the big flat intake manifold at the top of the V6. Not ever having heard of inch-lbs, I thought the manual said foot-lbs. That is 12 times too much torque and I promptly broke a bolt in the block. Started to drill out the bolt. Broke a small drill bit. Watched Youtube and learned about diamond hole saws. Finished the extraction after a few hours with a saw and several bits, and prepared to reinstall the manifold for the second time. Now here is where things take a turn for the better. For one thing, the threads were still intact. For another, I rehearsed many times laying the manifold down flat without any jiggle that would smear the gluey gasket material. Finally, I am sure the second time I laid down the thick bead of Loctite gasket material fore and aft, I did a much better job. Too much frankly — it did ooze out somewhat — but the first time I think the beads were too thin and wobbly. Everything I know about working on antique cars I learned the hard way. A friend of mine did a frame up restoration on a 1929 Studebaker. He says he didn't restore the car just once but at least four or five times - because everything on the car was done more than once before it was done correctly. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bloom Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 Success.....quick and easy success......is a poor teacher. Failure is an amazing teacher.........brutal sometimes, but the lesson to be learned gets imprinted into your brain and you aren’t likely to forget it. “Why do you have a winch in your trailer” “why do you have extra fuel pumps in your MG” “why is the boat key attached to something that floats “ “why did you figure out after 30 years of marriage to buy five happy birthday wife, and five happy anniversary cards and keep them in your desk in your home office” I could go on and on....failure teaches you real well. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plymouthcranbrook Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 Or as has been said before” How do you get good judgement? From lots and lots of bad judgement” 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 What is the secret of your success? Good decisions! How do you make good decisions? Experience! How do you get experience? B-a-a-ad decisions! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john hess Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 7 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said: What is the secret of your success? Good decisions! How do you make good decisions? Experience! How do you get experience? B-a-a-ad decisions! yep... third wife is a keeper.... seriously though, most of us have done something that required a redo.. glad to hear you kept at it.. Had the body off the frame of my 53 5 times before finally bolting it down... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRA Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 (edited) Restoring an antique car has been a continuous learning process for me, since I started in this amazing hobby in 1999. Try and error is very common for me, once sometimes there is no written reference to go for it, or there is no avalibility of the proper professional service to help. The reality is we are very dedicated people, passionate about our cars, and we keep making a repair until it is right. I am not a mechanic, so I share the same experience of many here, work repetition is common. My list is long… Edited July 14, 2021 by JRA (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28 Chrysler Posted July 14, 2021 Share Posted July 14, 2021 The old saying "Been There Done That" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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