I had to do some serious engine work on our 1999 expedition. Blown out spark plug on the passenger side and every gasket leaking except for the oil pan gasket. I took a week off work and spent 13 hours taking it apart and thought foolishly that I was half way done. The project has gotten only worse after that.
I got the driver side head cleaned up and put back on and started working on the passenger side head. One of the exhaust manifold studs broke off flush so I decided to drill it out. First road block I drilled too far into the water jacket ruining the head. So I went to the junkyard and bought another one. Once I got it home I decided to replace the spark plug threads in the back 2 cylinders so I wouldn't have any more plug blowouts. When I went to install the first insert it got stuck half way down and I couldn't get it out. So I said to hell with this and took a break for a few days.
I ran an errand Saturday for parts for another one of my cars and when I pulled in the garage I ran over one of the timing chain guides. My son was playing garage band with a friend and accidentally knocked it on the floor, oh well another 20 bucks out the window.
Today I finally got the nerve to get a drill bit to break out the jammed insert. The right size bit was 15 bucks and I picked one up on the way to work this morning. At lunch I came home to drill it out and the drill bit broke right after I tried it. So another trip to switch it out.
After work I succeeded and got the timeserts installed and need to finish cleaning the new head up and make sure there aren't any bent valves. I may actually get this car back together after all..
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