Restoring Rusty

[Oregoon]

Nice build, and I enjoyed the thread very much!

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Oregoon

Nice build, and I enjoyed the thread very much!

Thank you very much, appreciate it

[Gregski]

removed the air injection tubes from the stock exhaust manifold, I believe they were just pressed in so I was able to use a bit of gentle persuasion and slide them out and since I am going to go with long tube headers eventually there is no sense in porting and polishing these or painting them

FYI: the truck bed makes for a nice work bench, I keep forgetting that

[Gregski]

decided to clean up the cylinder head and the block a bit, it's nothing to write home about, not pristine, but cleaner, and good enough to see new leaks, am I right fellers?

Once again I used a 3:1 ratio of elbow grease to Mineral Spirits to clean this, LOL

[Gregski]

decided to use an exhaust manifold gasket when reassembling although it was pointed out to me that the truck did not come with one from Fremont California

splurged $13 large on a Fel Pro three piece gasket not only because they are "the leader in aftermarket engine sealing and the brand professionals trust "but since they usually come with instructions, LOL

installed steel faced side toward the manifold, as shown in second photo

installed 3 slotted bolt holes to the front of the left-hand bank

[Gregski]

yes The Greg owns a Torque Wrench and is not afraid to use one, tightened the six exhaust manifold bolts to 20 lb. ft.

decided I know better than the GM engineers and opted not to put the tin heat shields back on, hope I don't regret it, but it's just to hold me over a month or two till I bolt up some long tube headers

[Gregski]

so just a quick comparison of the way this exhaust manifold/head looked originally when I got the truck, and how it looks now, still work in progress but definitely better wouldn't you all agree?

[SkinnyG]

Oh! I didn't know you were cleaning those...

Next time, try Electrolysis.

Suspend the part in a tub of water and 1/4 cup Arm & Hammer washing soda.

Hook the + of a battery charger to some clean scrap iron suspended in the solution.

Hook the - of the battery charger to the part.

Turn on the charger, and walk away.

Come back later and it will be clean, gray, cast iron, ready for header paint.

Quick and dirty video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqTID6rQ5JA

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by SkinnyG

Oh! I didn't know you were cleaning those...

Next time, try Electrolysis.

You know I have tried it in the past and maybe I did something wrong cause although it was working it seemed like it would take years to remove all the rust. Like I said earlier I am not really cleaning the manifolds nor painting them I am going to swap them out for some long tube headers.

[rusty76]

I'm impressed how things clean up with mineral spirits really.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by rusty76

I'm impressed how things clean up with mineral spirits really.

Yes sir, you and me both, took me 20 years to discover this gem, and many $$$ spent on wanna be cleaning products, Simple Green, Purple Power, Orange what ever, seems like anything with a color name in it sucks, LOL

[MikeB]

Originally Posted by Gregski

Yes sir, you and me both, took me 20 years to discover this gem, and many $$$ spent on wanna be cleaning products, Simple Green, Purple Power, Orange what ever, seems like anything with a color name in it sucks, LOL

Man, you got that right! Most of that stuff is less effective than dish-washing soap and hot water!

Thank goodness we can still buy Gunk Engine Degreaser. I'll have to try mineral spirits, too.

[Gregski]

frustrated with poor lighting in my garage I finally came up with a quick fix

the problem was that I like to work with the garage door opened, well as you may know when the door is open it cover my florescent light bars so the light don't shine, so solution zip tie a 4 foot light to the hood, done and done

[Gregski]

First of all, who am I to give advice, right?! lol, jk

But in case you don't like oil and grime on your (/your wives) garage floor, here's what works for me

I bought one of these 3 foot wide and 50 foot long rolls of 4 mil plastic that painters use (the 4 mil is pretty thick so I like it, it don't tear like the thin ceran wrap junk)

Anytime I work on the truck I roll out about 4 feet of it and use scissors to cut off a piece, then I slide it under the truck, at 3 foot wide it feels nicely between the wheels even with the car not off the ground, after I am done with the job I just fold it up and stick it in the trash

[Gregski]

New Years Day two thousand fifteen, Captains Log day 116

9:00 am 30* inside a cold dark garage...

just a man in his favorite blue jeans and dirty ol' sweatshirt (ok, long johns, three T shirts underneath and two pairs of socks, geez, don't judge me - it's California in the winter)

having degreased the driver side it is time to do the same on the passenger side

[Gregski]

looking for the Bolt Whisperer?

I know you read spark plugs but I'm not sure if you can read bolts, exhaust manifold bolts for that matter

anyway, if you don't own one of these magnetic chrome trays I strongly recommend one for storing all your loose nuts and bolts during the disassembly process

so from the rear to the front of the cylinder head, the bolts around #8 were black and wet, the bolts around #6 & #4 were semi black and wet, and the last two bolts around #2 were dry, so what, so what does that mean?

my guess oil from the rocker cover gasket area leaking and seeping down and around the exhaust manifold, but that's just a guess

[Gregski]

pics of the two heat shields from the passenger side and all four together just because

the one in the upper right hand corner I tried to clean up a bit with Mineral Spirits

[Gregski]

can somebody tell me what are these do dads for, other than adding a step in order to remove the exhaust manifold bolts by having to reach for a flat screw driver to bend these tabs back in order to ... wait a minute is that what these are for, to prevent the bolts from wiggling out?!

[SkinnyG]

Originally Posted by Gregski

wait a minute is that what these are for, to prevent the bolts from wiggling out?!

Yes. A form of "lock washer." Once you get the headers on, you'll wish you had those.

[Gregski]

and here is what the passenger side (right side) exhaust manifold looks like

again, same as with the other side (driver side) note the pesky air tubes sticking out of the ports

[Gregski]

here is the passenger side (right side) manifold compared to the Hedman Hedder, again I don't think this header will fit in my truck, this is just for size/shape comparison

[Gregski]

and removed the air tubes out of this one as well, hope this shows you an extra step to take for those of you guys out there deleting the A.I.R. system by simply removing the outside tubes and plugging the holes with those brass plugs - I believe this will improve exhaust flow and is worth doing

[rusty76]

Looking good. So what is your method with the mineral spirits? Do you spray it on? Wipe on or another method. I'm curious. I am impressed how clean it gets things. Keep on keeping man.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by rusty76

So what is your method with the mineral spirits?

Simple, a can of Mineral Spirits, roll of paper towels, putty knife or flat screw driver and some small cheap brushes (nylon, brass, steel set), fine steel wool (optional).

Step 1 - use putty knife (plastic or metal) to scrape off big pieces of gunk, dirt, or grime. Use plastic one if you don't want to scratch the paint, use metal if you plan on repainting or if the surface can handle it.

Step 2 - Take paper towel fold it into a 3inch by 3 inch square and soak it with the fluid. Then unfold the towel and fold it just once and start wiping. Get the area wet, the first towel is not so much to wipe things off as it is to get the area wet. THROW DIRTY TOWEL AWAY do not reuse.

Step 3 - Use brushes to loosen hard to get off dirt. You can use a spray paint cap/lid as a cup to poor some fluid in to dip your brush. You can exchange brushes for steel wool as you progress as the area gets cleaner.

Step 4 - Get new paper towel, a dry one and wipe away what will come off. THROW DIRTY TOWEL AWAY do not reuse.

Step 5 - Repeat 2-4

important, start in the worst part, the dirties place or the one most difficult to reach and work out of that zone, also take a break, cleaning sucks, walk away or better yet finish the job the next day or the following weekend

I don't know how the pros do it, but this works for me.

[UKNOWME]

Kinda like a parts washer, without the parts washer....