Re: Changes for 2012
Just wanted to post an update...
My travels have been extensive this year - moreso than ever before. This, along with other family responsibilities, has curtailed my time with the truck. The engine has been done for a few months now, and I just had to get it installed. That's where the fun starts!
I started by trying to simply drop the engine in the hole to see what interference there was...everything! The oilpan hit the crossmember (this is the V8-S10 4X4 oil pan), the oil drain fitting I installed in the side of the oilpan, the engine motor mounts (V8-S10 swap brackets), and most importantly the steering shaft. After some discussions with others, I decided to ditch the motor mounts and went to a mid-plate and front-plate. This allowed me to lift the engine up by 3/4" and lift the back of the trans by almost one full inch. This brought my driveline angle to right at 1.4* from crank to tailshaft.
Next issue was the steering shaft interfering with the #7 primary. As you can see from the pictures, it hits pretty hard! The spacer between the head and manifold is there to push away the prinary away from the valvecovers.
After quite a few beers, my buddy came up with the idea of moving/modifying the steering column and steering shaft. I went to the junkyard and scored an Astro van steering shaft and dropped that in, but didnt get me away far enough. Thought about it a bit more (after a crapton more alcohol) and we decided to modify the steering column and shaft entry point. This is what we have so far...more pics as we make more progress.
I still have to pull out one more of the tilt pins in order to pull the steering shaft out of the column (that last pin is being a dirty whore). Once its out, we will be cutting the shaft, adding a smaller u-joint, encapsulated bearing, and refab the entry point into the engine compartment....more to come as time permits.
