Replacing block drain plugs with petcocks
The block drain location on the driver's side of the engine block. There was a drain plug installed originally, and one of the previous owners of the truck replaced the hex-head bolt with an Allen-head bolt. He then apparently epoxied the bolt in, because the bolthead immediately stripped out. Using an extractor and a LOT of elbow grease, I finally got the bolt removed. I needed to remove the front driveshaft and the oil filter to get to a position to remove the plug. Instead of installing another bolt, I got a petcock with a 90° bend. This is known on TheDieselStop as a BajaGringo drain, after the gentleman who came up with the idea. This allows you to hook a hose to the petcock and drain coolant out of the engine block without making a mess, and if clean buckets are used, you can even re-use old coolant if you so wish.
The BajaGringo drain installed on the passenger's side. Note that the starter has been removed. I needed to do this in order to remove the old Allen-head drain plug.
Removing external parts and accessories
Heads, gaskets, and the block after head removal
Removing timing gear cover and camshaft
Cleaning the ins and outs of the engine
Final engine block cleaning with compresed air
Installing BajaGringo drains
Assembling and testing the oil cooler
First steps of modifications for the turbocharger
Comparing the stock head bolts to ARP studs (lengthy!)
Installing the intake manifold and injector pump
Assembling and installing the turbocharger