Hell, what am I worried about - its not a daily driver.. here I go!

 

Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, HOW much gas is in the fuel rail?

(No pressure after sitting for four days, but a lot of gas.)

 

did it take all 4 rags?

 

Gasoline does not compress in any appreciable amount, therefore no real pressure existed.
The only pressure comes from the fuel pump when it is running, turn off the fuel pump and there will be no pressure, just a pipe filled with gasoline.

The SRT and NA are very similar.

 

Took two. But they are 16x16s and kinda think and fluffy.

(Well, think and gassy now....)

 

See, that is what I was thinking - when people say, "Careful, that gas will spray out", I wonder "Where is the expansion chamber?" I was gonna ask that question, never did. Now I know - it ain't no where.


I didn't think gasoline would compress much more or less than water - I am remminded of the time when the air chamber in the water well tank leaked down and the pump would cycle on and off...

 

A popsicle stick? What am I missing here? What did you use it for?

I wasn going to use the RTV nozzle thing to place the RTV - am I about to make a mistake?

 

I used it to "screed" the RTV into the groove. Like when one is pouring concrete. To make sure there are no gaps.

 

I used the flat side of my pocket knife blade to 'smooth' the sealant in the groove and make sure there were no gaps anywhere where sealant might not have filled. Never thought about using a popsicle stick. I like that idea!

 

Ok, that stuff you recommended Max seems to be hard to find (the Green stuff to clean the old seal off).

So, after a lot of google searches, I used a toothbrush dipped in gasoline ('cause I am that un-PC) - did it sitting out in the back yard away from everything/everyone. MOST of the stuff melted away under the tooth brush, but I had a few spots that would not yield. I dipped a brass brush in gasoline and did some LIGHT action, and the remaining bits melted away.

I then went over everything with "Purple Power" and a garden hose. Everything is sitting in the sun drying now.

Cleaning well enough to paint them might be taking on more than I am ready for - given my living conditions (no dishwasher, limited space) I'm thinking I'll just seal the covers and see how good I do. IF this works, I will look later this summer for a replacement set that I can take my time with and clean, reseal and paint.

First, I want to see if I can seal these things so they wont leak. On the first try.

 

Sounds like what I did Mark.
I too resorted to the brass brush, mine turned out fine.
They never leaked up to the point I installed the black crinkle ones from Max.

 

I am tempted to do a half-assed job of painting them, but no - it would look worse than original.
Just getting them clean and to NOT leak will be a victory.

THEN, to clean the oil that bleed onto the rest of the engine - it actually made it all the way forward to the water pump - not a LOT, but enough to make it look bad.

 

Use solient green. WAIT ! that's people !
Use Simple Green or Grease Lightnin 50/50 with water.
I spray GL 50/50 onto a warm engine, let sit 5 minutes, then hose 'er off.
Blow dry ( leaf blower ), spray with CD3 and it's right back outside the factory door.
Might want to drop the belly pan first. ( if the base has one )

 

Liquids are a 'positive displacement' medium. A little bit of compression generates a lot of 'pressure'. Gasses (notice I did not say 'gas') takes a larger volume to 'pressurize' as liquid does because it isn't a 'positive displacement' medium. Simply put, a given volume of a liquid, you would need an exponentially larger amount of a gas (in volume) to reach the same pressure of that liquid. This simple explanation does not take into account the densities of the liquid, or gas, used in the comparison.


In the example of the water/air in an expansion tank of a well system, the air could only 'escape' in one of two ways. A leaking Schrader valve (used to initially charge the air chamber of the expansion tank), or a rupture (leak) in the rubber 'bladder' that separates the air from the water in said expansion tank. This membrane (air separator internal to the expansion tank) keeps the air and water apart because if it wasn't there, the water would -s l o w l y- absorb the air and the result would be a constant 'short cycling' of the well pump (read paragraph above about liquid being a 'positive displacement' medium).


Gasoline is a petroleum distillate, it spreads quickly, chills like ice on skin, and a little seems like an awful lot. I know I panic when even an ounce spills out of anything (especially a motor or painted/cleaned area). When the Schrader valve releases the system pressure, it does nothing to 'reduce' the volume of the gasoline in the fuel rail/fuel lines (especially if the surrounding temperature has 'warmed' things up after initially relieving the system pressure). TTFN!


.

 

Looks like I'm having signs of this as well. Will check to see what the issue is once we arrive home tomorrow afternoon.

 

I'm in the process of replacing my valve cover gaskets, there's pretty good seepage from the both ends (drivers side), as well as the breather covers.

Is the return fuel line connection a NPTF design, or is there an O-ring to create a proper seal, that may or may not need replacement? I've already utilized a paint marker to identify the proper face up, with an approximate thread location, when reinstalling the connection.

Thank you in advance.
Keith

 

I've had mine loose, don't recall any O ring ......

 

Alrighty then, going with plan A and will match up face and thread location when reinstalling.

Thank you.

 

If you have a set of metric taps, it's not a bad idea to chase out all the bolt holes.
I'm pretty sure the factory installed them with some sort of thread lock.

 

Definitely agree! Although I personally don't own a metric tap set, with my LX build (6 years ago) I replaced the stock bolts with ARP's. I then utilized one of the longer OEM bolts, and milled two flats, and chased out the bolt holes. Since I'll be utilizing NW's SS Allen bolts () as replacements, I may just use the same technique. This is actually the first time though I read about thread locker be used from the factory. Thanks for the heads up.