One of the most remarkable things about this forum is the mixture of expertise--from journeyman master spanner turners to operators and owners down to young professionals in the field and even us rank amateurs and hobbyists. I'm on my fourth piece of old yellow iron, and I consider it an honor and privilege when folks the like of TC and Scrub Puller respond to one of my posts! If the opportunity came about, I'd happily volunteer to clean grease and carry tools for days just to be able to watch y'all work. DMiller--since your close, some day I might just send you a message and ask if I can stop by to see the old Allis.
That said--I can't help but commiserate with Steve. Though big Cats are fairly new to me, wrenching isn't--and my brother is a mechanic like few others. He had his own shop for awhile (unfortunately, his business skills aren't on the same level as his mechanicing skills...) and I would visit him there from time to time. One day he was finishing up an engine replacement on an ambulance--it was a rush job and he had it done in less than 3 days. Problem was, the first short block he got turned out to be bad (I think it had a crack) and he didn't discover it till everything was bolted up and he fired it up. Out came the engine, new block, swap all the parts, back in and refitted and out the door. That was two complete engine removals, rebuilds, and reinstalls in less than 3 days. My point is--should or could he have caught the bad block? I dunno. It was a rare thing and he ended up eating the cost. But I figure if it happened to him, it could happen to anyone. So..... do we know what's wrong with Steve's engine and the oil pressure? No. He's doing his best, which may not be as good as the worst of the likes of TC, but by golly, he DID actually have the engine running! What would the reaction have been if the oil pressure was fine and he posted a video of it running well and everything working? Lots of congratulations I'd like to think! Could be, maybe he got a bad block, a faulty pump, he missed something somewhere along the line--and yes, he should listen better. But you have to admire the guy! C'mon--there's not a fella here who hasn't bungled something sometime and ended up with egg on his face! My guess is that Steve saw the photo of the idler gear and started doubting himself, that he left it out or something and wanted to see for sure so off came the oil pan (something he was very reluctant and remiss to do). Yeah, he probably should have just pulled the filter and cranked the engine--but look at some of the comments that folks had about cranking an engine without oil pressure! I can see where that would scare someone out of cranking it. Caught between two bad choices he went the way that would do the least potential damage. He was getting advice to do an oil transfusion from another running engine, using air pressure to circulate oil, and so on. Then TC says "I would be reluctant to blow or mess about trying to stuff oil in all sorts of odd spots....". Think about that--he's getting conflicting advise from all around and so decides to do the one thing that won't hurt. And gets yelled at.
Now I'm not defending him entirely--I've been following this thread for quite some time because I've found it to be highly entertaining and educational--a rare combination. But I have an immense respect for Steve's ability to shrug off the setbacks and keep at it. Reminds me of a fellow around here that goes around smiling far too much.
But--I think that edt66ss went WAY out of bounds in his response to TC. That was entirely uncalled for.
Sorry I ramble sometimes--but it's been thinking about this all day.
-cavin
,,,and hopefully pick up some knowledge on the way..like others have said before the willing of the op to take the project on and do it yourself is hard to pass up hoping to save some $$...I cant fault the guy for trying, I would do the same, but again, I would double and triple check my work against manuals and people that have done it many times before successfully.. I hope the story has a happy ending...
