Quote:
Originally Posted by jwintersteller
Quote:
Originally Posted by BogusBlake
Quote:
Originally Posted by jwintersteller
What was the total hours you put into it?
Cheers,
John
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Including the coolant flush, 30 hours of active work. I spent probably another 4 on reading, research, and shopping.
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That doesn't sound bad at all. Even including the 4 hours of r, r and s, 34 hours to take that on for the first time seems very reasonable to me.
Thanks again for the posting it all.
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Yeah, it really wasn't bad. That said, I am very disciplined in the shop and careful to follow written technical procedures as part of my job. If you can avoid the temptation to deviate, this project is just a matter of following the instructions. Here's a few general shop tips that reduce errors and frustration:
- As others have said, get a box of ziploc bags and label them for the fasteners of each individual component you remove.
- Take before/after pictures of each step, both disasembly and assembly. If something doesn't work, you can go back and QA yourself (you might notice a missing connector in a picture that you didn't before). Sometimes I even take a picture of the group of parts and fasteners removed during that step. If you have any left over, then you'll know.
- Take the screws out one at a time and note (is use a sharpie on the actual part) if one of them is different.
- Don't collect fasteners in your hands while removing others. Take one out, put in your bag or parts dish, then take the next one out. Don't put your bag of fasteners on top of the engine.
- Label the parts themselves as you take them off and stack them generally in the order in which you removed them. (This is also helpful when you have "help". "Hey wife- hand me the kromulator"
- If you unplug a connector, label both ends. I used blue tape so I could see it. Remove the tape when you reconnect.
- Use wadded up shop towels to plug ANY hole that leads somewhere important as soon as that opening is exposed.
- Use one tool at a time and don't set them on the engine. When you're done with that tool, put it back in your box, not your workbench. At the end of each working period and periodically, check your box for missing tools.
- Keep old and new parts in separate areas.
- Don't throw ANYTHING away until you're completely done. This includes the bags and boxes things came in.
- Don't put a part in the "toss" pile until you've visually identified its replacement. Even gaskets and seals.
- Handle old parts carefully until you've installed their replacement.
- Do one step at a time. Stop and check your work after each.
- Go slow enough to maintain cleanliness on both your workpiece and your workspace.
- Don't be stupid; a human installed these parts without using magic. If something takes more than normal effort to do, stop and think it over.
- Don't do critical steps / tasks when you're tired or fatigued.
Above all, understand what you are doing- You are working on a system which is critical to the fundamental operation of your engine. Read the procedure first, then read it again while looking at your parts, do the procedure, then re-read the procedure while looking at your completed work. Then move on with confidence.