Durango_Boy wrote:
Yesterday I finished disassembly. The rod bearings were all dry and clamping the crank, preventing it from spinning. This not only made it impossible to disconnect the flex plate from the torque converter but it also meant it was going to be extremely difficult to get to all the fasteners holding the rod caps on.

First I got the easy ones out but the ones holding the crank tight were also the ones at the top of their rotation, complicating things. Ugggg.

One by one I got all the pistons out using a small arsenal of various wrenches and ratchets and attachments so I could get all the fasteners. Once out, I had a few final things to disconnect before yanking out the all but bare block.

Stripped everything, put the mains back in, and loaded the block and piston / rods into the truck and dropped them off at the machine shop.

The +.020 block is getting a light hone, new cam bearings, and a full checkup. The bearings didn't actually spin in the journals...I misused that term in an earlier post. The main bearings got chewed up but the crank spinning dry but the bearings did not actually turn in the block...which is a reason this will all end up okay after a new crank.

The rods are being checked as a precaution, but again, the bearings did not spin so a new set of bearings to match the new crank and I'll be ready to get everything ready for reassembly.