Open Engine Surgery

I got the new exhaust fully on the motorhome the other day. Took it for my normal spin. Like normal lately, it gives off a lot of blue smoke (oil burning) after I start it up after it has sat for a day or two. It clears up just fine once all the oil gets burned off.

Today was another day off. I talked to the machine shop at work yesterday and the price they quoted me for a valve job wasn't too bad. Substantial, but not too bad. I don't think I even get any sort of discount on that one for working there. Not a big deal.

I got a late start on the project today, didn't even start until 2pm. I did it though. I pulled the heads off. This is by far the deepest I have ever gone into an engine. No parades in my honor until after it's put back together and running again though, please.

The passenger side was a delight. All the exhaust manifold bolts came out very easy. I only had difficulty with getting one head bolt out and that was the lower one at the front of the engine. Just weird spacing but with a longer extension it was a breeze. Only after bloodying up my hands in a few places by trying to do it without an extension.

There was a point tonight that I didn't believe I'd get both heads off today. I was even running a scenario through my head that involved taking the entire engine out. The exhaust manifold on the driver's side proved difficult to remove. 3 of 6 bolts came out easy. The remaining three put up a fight. I finally got one of them to play nicely and come out the way it should. The other two ended up breaking off. Annoying, but considering the alternatives I was looking at in my mind I still consider it a win.

Now tomorrow I bring them to work with me for the valve job. I'm not sure how fast the guys in the shop will be able to get this done, but I'm really hoping they'll have it done by Friday afternoon so I can reinstall it all this weekend. Fingers crossed.

Seems I've been doing a lot of that. Finger crossing. Not much else you can do when you're doing work like this for the first time in your life. But hey, it's going to run like a champ again when I get it all put back together, right? If it does, my focus will turn to the interior of the motorhome. Just a few odds and ends.

Could I be a week or so away from really making the motorhome thing happen? I don't know how soon I'd move into it still, but it seems like the obstacles are becoming few.