Sorry for replying to an old post but I just wanted to give an update and ask a couple questions.
I unbolted the down-pipe, removed the upper mounts, jacked the engine up, removed the lower mount bracket and dropped the oil pan. The mount bolts are hellacious and it was hell getting the oil pan off this car due to the interfering pickup tube. I used a 15mm pivoting ratchet wrench to remove the mount bolts.
Anyway, I removed the rod caps and someone has been in this engine - big time. Three rod journals are trashed and it has mixed bearings; std, 0.010 etc. I made the decision to rebuild the short block.
Question: What should I replace on the transmission while I have this thing apart?
Question: I would like to eliminate the balance shaft. Should I just mig weld the rear oil galley closed or is there a better/safer way? I was thinking milling a rod down to fit the hole and just spot welding it in.
Thanks in advance for any replies.
