Started the tear down of my 135 today. Got the engine mostly clear of attachments except manifold. Taking that off is not going to be easy. There are a few bolts that are slightly blocked by the manifold and you cannot get a socket on them. Any recommendations? Looks as though its cracked also. Took forever to get gas drained as there was about five gallons in it and I broke off the drain petcock.
Did get valve cover off and its gummed up pretty bad with milk froth inside of valve cover. Finding other things that will need to be replaced. Tack cable, fuel gauge wires etc. I have a feeling radiator may be beyond repair. Hope to make some more progress tomorrow.
The manifold can be a little tricky to remove, especially if it still has it's heat shield. It the heat shield is still there, first remove it by removing the three bolts holding it in place, two on the manifold and one on the transmission bell housing. The rest of the bolts require either using a thin-walled socket or a combination wrench, where patience really helps. As I recall, none of my manifold bolts were especially difficult to remove, but it did take a fair amount of time to remove them all. If you don't have a thin-walled socket, one can be made by taking a cheap socket and grinding it down as much as necessary.
Milky oil is usually not a good sign, meaning that the oil has been contaminated with either water or gasoline. If someone left the fuel shutoff valve open and the float valve wasn't sealing properly it can easily flood the engine with gasoline, but if the oil is contaminated with gasoline the smell will give it away. However, water contamination usually means one or more of the following three things...
1. The head gasket is blown.
2. One or more of the cylinder seals (o-rings) are leaking.
3. The block is cracked.
Obviously 1 and 2 aren't that bad, especially since you're tearing the engine down anyway, but I must warn you that number 3 is a very real possibility. The Continental Z-129, Z-134 and Z-145 engines all share a potentially fatal flaw, if the engine has been overheated it can cause the block to crack between the cylinders, either at the top or at the bottom near the main bearings. A cracked block can be repaired using furnace brazing (very expensive) or a method that involves drilling holes through the block and adding sealant at the crack then installing tension rods to pull everything together.
