# Pulling my motor....



## RunninLeMans (Apr 3, 2014)

....after only ~2,000 miles. Got a knock / rap front left that I don't like the sound of. Any reason I can't unbolt the Muncie and leave it where it is, slide the motor with bell housing forward, lift and separate? I'd rather not screw with the shifter and console.

Thanks.


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## Goat Roper (Oct 28, 2014)

You don't do it that way, unbolt at the bell housing and pull the motor and leave the bell housing attached to the tranny.


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

Goat Roper said:


> You don't do it that way, unbolt at the bell housing and pull the motor and leave the bell housing attached to the tranny.


:agree

You can get it OUT that way, but you'll never get it back in without a miracle. It all has to do with 'stabbing' the transmission back into the clutch disk.

Bear


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## RunninLeMans (Apr 3, 2014)

Ok, I'll give that a try. Will report back with the autopsy.


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## Goat Roper (Oct 28, 2014)

Like Bear said you can't get the engine back in with the tranny in especially with the exhaust manifolds on the engine.
The best way is to get the whole car up on jack stands and pull the tranny, bell housing then the engine.
Put it back in reverse order.
Hooking up the linkages is no big deal, take pictures if this is your first time.
Let us know what you find.


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## RunninLeMans (Apr 3, 2014)

Thanks, Goat Roper. I pulled the original with the 2-apeed attached, and put this one in with the Muncie attached, but the interior was still all apart at the time. It took awhile to get the shifter and the console right where it needs to be, so I was trying to leave the tranny alone, but I hear what you're saying about getting the splined shaft back into the clutch plate by wrestling with the biggest piece. 

My other dilemma is what to do once I get it out. Waaay back when I started, I thought I could get through the 326 for $2K or less, by the time I was done it was over $3K and I regretted not starting with a bigger block. Now that I have to dismantle it, anything beyond a simple fix will cause considerable philosophical discussions over what to do next. I'll be going back and reading lots of old posts over the next couple weeks....


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## chuckha62 (Apr 5, 2010)

What if you take a totally different tack? How about finding a 389 or 400 and building it? You could build one and swap it into place. I don't want to disparage your 326, but truth be told, if you're going to be dropping some coin anyway, it may as well be on a significant performance (and hopefully a reliability) upgrade.


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## RunninLeMans (Apr 3, 2014)

Yea, that's the road I'll be going down if any real money needs to be spent.....


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## RunninLeMans (Apr 3, 2014)

Well, we got it apart and it had the #3 and #4 rod bearings were badly scored and #6 spun, some streaking on the #2 main bearing and the #2 cam bearing scored as well. My machinist thinks that oil delivery was likely the culprit, as the rest of the motor shows no sign of dirt damage. There were some bits and shavings of bearings in the bottom of the pan, but no grit, and cam and crankshaft journals all looked pretty good, although a couple crank journals will need polishing or grinding. So, after some head scratching, we're going to do the necessary machine work and re-assemble with new bearings. While we're at it, we're going to deck the block - that was never done and the quench was still high at 0.065" and compression at 170 psi. Basically the things that I tried to work around in my garage will get fixed by a real engine builder. We did visit a 389 block and 092 heads that he has in his shop, but I don't want to give up so easily on this motor since the damage was minimal. Good news is he says he can turn it around in a couple weeks and it'll be $800 or less including parts. Hope to be back on the road for Labor Day!


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## chuckha62 (Apr 5, 2010)

Nice. Get it drivable and build a 389 or 400 to swap in later. Enjoy in the meantime.


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## RunninLeMans (Apr 3, 2014)

Thought I'd follow up on this old thread. I left my 326 with a guy way downeast Maine who grew up building race engines with his dad. He now works as a machinist in a paper mill that is one of my clients, so I get up there pretty frequently. He's one of those guys who really does know, and remember, everything. He has a full machine shop and just does special projects for friends and guys he grew up with. He had the motor almost a year (so much for getting it back in a couple weeks!), I got it back last August, but I hung out with him while he resized rods, ground the crank and talked about the best way to zero-deck the block. He did all that, line-bored the block for the crank, re-honed the cylinders, re-did the valve guides and seals, and then spent some time 'fixing' the porting job that I had done, really did a fabulous job. I got the car together last October but didn't really get to tuning until this spring. Still a work in progress, but it runs great and has a ton more power than the crappy out-of-round, badly clearanced motor I started with. You can only do so much in the average hone-owner's garage, I guess. Now I'm working on getting the tri-power installed and functioning. Will try to work up a video when I get it sorted out. 

For all the trouble and money, do I wish I'd started with a 421 block four years ago? Sometimes, but it is a LeMans, so something about making the most of the 326 still has its appeal. Keep you posted....


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