Possible to access piston via the sump?

[warmblood58]

Just got off the phone with Patrick and was wondering if it is possible to pull the sump pan on the L300 to pull piston for piston/ring inspection replacement -has anyone done this? Thanks!

[warmblood58]

Hmm . . .. this many views and no one has attempted this? Pretty common on trucks of yesteryear. Anyone? Who is the resident gearhead on this site? Help! Thanks!

[jessef]

Have you looked at the manual on wiki ?

[crushers]

i want you to think this through.
how exactly are you thinking of getting the piston past the crank?
if the crank is out then how are you going to get the piston back in without cracking the rings since the bottom of the cylinder is not flat?
all you are saving is the time to remove the head.

in reality, either do the job right or don't start on it.
and, if your mech is asking this question it leads me to ask ... how many engines has this person really worked on? i would not want him anywhere near my engine.

you asked and the answer is no.

[warmblood58]

Ah, not true -this method is/was extremely common many years ago - drop sump, removing connecting rod bolts (piston that you are working on should have crank oriented in down position) push piston up and swing connecting rod for clearance and remove) This method does not work for all vehicles due to challenges with cross member clearances and certain engine layouts, rod length, etc. My question was has anyone done this to date. The other question is with the deli, do most people pull engine via passenger cabin or do they drop sub frame and lower engine that way? Is engine a pita to remove? How many hours?

[crushers]

well, IF you do attempt to replace a piston your way post up a thread with pics. this i HAVE TO SEE to believe. i have not heard of anyone doing a quality repair using this method ... ever.

but what do i know?

[Profister]

You can pull an engine through the passenger door but you have to remove the door and the seats.

[dennis_lambert]

If you are planning on installing new rings you should hone the cylinder,this is difficult to do upside down and there is a greater chance of getting debris in the crank bearings.Also how do you get a ring compressor past the crank?I dont see how its possible unless you pull the crank in which case you have to pull Trany and flywheel..Might be easyier to pull the head/
Good luck!!

[thedjjack]

I would do a leak down test to confirm it is the rings.

Though on some engines it is possible it is not a great place to be working. I would pull the motor (engine pulling is not very hard). I have a good puller if needed.

Also, if you pull the door mark around the hinge with a marker before undoing makes it easy to line up later (also works on hoods if you have one ever).

Cheers

[warmblood58]

Thanks! All good advice! Btw, what is the record time for pulling a deli motor? Curious!

[warmblood58]

Hmmm . . . some tractor designs will allow you to pull this way but for know, it looks like pulling the sump/head, removing connecting rod end caps and pushing piston out and if I went this far, it would be foolish to not replace all 4 ring sets and perhaps a valve job based upon inspection. Anyone have a good engine pulling procedure for the deli as I have never had to pull an engine from inside a cab before, lots of patience and padding required I am certain -

[DadzGift]

I'm really interested to see if anyone has done been able to access the piston from the sump on a L300...

[RickJ]

I have removed pistons and rods in this manner on 60's ERA Paxman RPH diesels. Well sorta anyways as you cannot remove the sump pan to access so everything must be done through the crankcase doors. But then again, it was designed that way. I am sore just reminiscing...