Haven't updated in a while. Ran into a problem getting the crank bolt off of the s52. My impact was not strong enough to loosen it and I needed to remove it to get the lower timing cover off to replace the timing cover gasket and crank seal. The thing was torqued to 300ft lbs and since it's on the engine stand, I had no way of locking the crank in place while I loosen the big ass bolt.
Besides that, I didn't feel comfortable wrenching down that much pressure on the front of the engine since it's so long and is already putting alot of stress on the stand. God forbid if the thing were to fall or break off of the stand, I wouldn't be able to afford a new motor.
So, how did I get it off you ask? First I supported the front of the motor with a floor jack and a block of wood. Then I borrowed a piece of steel from my trusty neighbor. Broke out the torch, cut a few holes and the rest was history. Basically, I made a tool with the help of my buddy/neighbor, which held the crank in place by pressing against the garage floor while we used a breaker bar to crack the bolt loose.
So now that that's done, I'm one step closer to getting this thing done. Tomorrow I'll work on it for a little while(got a softball game), but I'll try to atleast get everything degreased and ready to put back together over the weekend. I'm going to have to take the motor off the stand to get to the rear crank seal, but that should go much easier.
Spent a day cleaning the garage, building a parts shelf and organizing tools. I'll post more pics tomorrow, but here's some pics of my homemade crank bolt tool for now:
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