787 tear down

[stevenf]

I have a 97 challenger with twin 787s. The boat sat for 12 years due to a locked up motor... i decided to pull them both to change some seals and clean them up a bit. Turns out one starter was siezed but both engines are at 145-150 on all four cylinders!!!
I want to make these a little more reliable by doing a seal kit for each. Ive read mixed opinions on people tearing down a 787 vs having a shop do it. I am an automotive mechanic by trade. Are there any specialty tools required for the job? Im curious why most people do not recommend tackling the crank seals themselves. Are there any non obvious steps to take?

 

[jhjesse]

Price to do it yourself is basically the same as having a rebuild shop do it for you, plus you get a warranty from a rebuild shop vs. no warranty doing it yourself.

Some guys prefer to do rebuilds themselves with the satisfaction of knowing they did it themselves.

Just a matter of preference.

 

[Matt Braley]

I'd say the obvious step would be to not tear the engines down. I understand your wanting to pay it forward but it's the inner crank seals on these that tend to fail. It will require rebuilt cranks so I would blow them up first before I did all the work and spent the money.

It's possible the bearings have rusted during that long break so I could get my head around a tear down to inspect that before it potentially spreads to top end damage. But then again are you gonna put used top ends on new cranks? See I'd just run them for what they are worth and then go all the way and do it right.

To answer the tool question....yes there are a couple specialty tools. You need the flywheel puller, pto puller, and rotary shaft puller if your diving into that area. Pressure test plates would be nice also and you could use those now to put your outer seal worries to rest.