Of course, it's all old news now; the MGB in question is parked outside
with 80 miles on the new rings. But Matt Silveira said something that
reminded me of a tip for the list:
~ The main problem you'll have with "doing it in the dirt" is that you
~ will be spoiling the ground (or cement) you will have to work upon.
We put the engine on a pair of large particle board sheets we happened
to have lying around the garage. They absorbed much of the spilled
oil -- and in case anyone else is thinking about this, no matter how
long you drain the oil or coolant, you *will* spill some when you turn
the engine over on its side to take the pan off.
BTW, several additional tips:
- Ramps are a Big Win, as long as you don't have to take the
wheels off, of course, I could get to everything I needed
to pretty easily. Be careful, however, to wipe the tires
with a rag before you crawl under; I got some grit on my
face (fortunately not *in* my eyes) when I rubbed against
the tire while crawling under the car.
- AIR TOOLS! AIR TOOLS! AIR TOOLS! There is no substitute,
save paying someone else to do the work for you.
- Just for fun, the next time you have an MGB starter out of
the car, spray some Brakleen in the solenoid. Otherwise if
the solenoid arm returns slowly and you can hear it ringing
on the flywheel, you'll wish you'd cleaned the crud out of
it before you installed it in the car, when it would have
been easy to do, instead of waiting till it's installed
when it's a huge blody pain in the bum.
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