Rear main on jbear boat

Earlier in the week dad showed up with his boat. He didn't know the scope of the job. In talk before he got here I told him the job would be no problem. I didn't make clear how large the job would be. He did okay as I pulled the transmission. Got a little nervious as I to chisel one of exhaust manifolds. really started to come apart as we rolled the motor over and started to take the lower end apart. All in all, the job went really well. New rod and main bearings, new oil pump, new rear main seal, new left side exhaust manifold. We didn't even get the boat that dirty. Heared it still took him most of Sun. to clean it when he got home to Fla. Just so everyone knows, he does know the difference between a screwdriver and a wrench. Be sure to ask him about his trailer story.

Poor JBear...I can almost see his face; "you're gonna do what?!!?"    

hey John so good you're having your son work on your boat!!!
We all really wanna know your side of thes story!

What a joy to have a son that can take apart anything and get it back together again with no parts left over. Must have something to do with those years of Voc Automotives in high school, after school job for his auto class teacher, almost 10 years in the Navy as a MM, working at dealerships and shops after the service and running his own shop for a few years. We all know he didn't learn any of this stuff from me!
We had a great time doing this job. Yes I was surprised at the scope of the job, just figured it was some kind of gasket...wrong. Only took 2 calls to the dr...he did help Dennis talk me into doing (paying for) a little extra work like bearings all around and a new oil pump plus a new damper thing in the tranny.No drip from the valve covers and no water drip from the manifold. Sweet. Plus 2 fun days spent handing my son tools. We do have some pictures I believe. None with me with tools in hand tho.

The trailer. Went fine all the way from Florida to NC onto Ky and then to the frozen north. Left out Sunday morning early (aside; temp gauge in the truck read 41 at 5:30am) rode all the way to beautiful Renfro Valley KY just fine. At our last gas stop before Tennessee I walked back to check the tires and hubs like I do at each stop and went "holycrap" the trailer tires were bald in 1 spot and had tread in the next. Knew something was amiss. Continued on to our place at a reduced speed. Pulled in late Sunday evening after 13.5 hours on the road. The captain and coke plus all my buddies were waiting on the deck.So put the boat in the next morning and the wheels just about fell off. Took the hubs apart (well my friend Mark did) and the bearings just came out in pieces. So $330 later I was all set...new bearings and tires. Made it home just fine.

AdamT..got your message. Need to talk to ya in person.

What a trip! To bad Kristof and Chantal could not be along for the ride.

john

I have heard thru the grape vine that John was even giving out all the fishing hot spots in the Green Lake area! What a guy

Chuck,
It really doesn't matter. The important thing is the crew found the problem and got it running.

Now, the important lesson of the operation was that you now know how handy a volt/ohm meter is!

Actually I was admiring the mopar engine.

I just told Eddie today that since helping Dennis that I was noew ready to help him with his rebuild. He did not seem all that excited. He did allow me to ride along to the parts store today.

john