On Saturday, September 12, I made some good progress with the Big Bear. The rear axle and engine have been removed, and most of the engine has been disassembled. I still need to split the crankcase, however. Since I’ll be away for the next 2 weekends, that will have to wait just a bit.
Earlier I observed that the steel gears had ground away sections of the crankcase. As expected, I found the aluminum bits in the oil filter. I’ll have to ensure that no aluminum grit remains in the engine or the external oil cooler lines.
When the work resumes, I’ll be removing the front and rear U-joints from the engine. I’ll also be removing the transmission shift barrel once I get some stuck Torx-head screws removed. That should allow me to split the crankcase and remove the crankshaft and transmission pieces.
