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My 710 has had a leak around the oil pan for quite a while. I bought a gasket and pulled the pan. I then decided it looked ratty, so I sandblasted the pan and painted it. When I went to reassemble it I couldn't figure out what I had done with the gasket. I also have a 712, which is in pieces for a ground-up makeover, and the engine is on a stand in my shed with multiple leaks of its own. I ended up ordering a complete engine gasket set from SAV knowing I would need it for the 712 engine. There are a lot of gaskets and seals on the engine! I stole the pan gasket for the 710, figuring the original one I bought will turn up sometime.

Today I'm planning to install the pan back on the 710. To honor Jim L., I actually checked the service manual first. All it says is, "Fasten oil sump only with appropriate strain washers; do not use spring rings or serrated lock washers!" Not much to screw up there, except that I did manage to misplace two of the strain washers and ordered replacements from SAV along with the gasket set.

If you were me (and thank your God that you are not) and had the engine out of the truck, on a stand, and was intent on a pretty thorough restoration/preservation/upgrade/cleanup, what would you do? For examples:

-2.7 litre upgrade ($$$),
- EFI ($$$$),
- Pertronix (done)
- Civilian ignition system ($)
- ????

Thanks!

-Evan

In your situation, my experience would suggest:

1. Least money invested, biggest savings (over many years): civi ignition.
2. Biggest bang: 2.7l with Jim L.'s pistons and cam grind (awesome difference, carbs or EFI!)
3. EFI was only cost effective for me since my carbs were pretty well worn out and needed replacement (~$1500 each, I was told) or extensive rebuilding. But distributorless ignition is great (stays dry, ignores the wet!) and cold starting/running is much better. And I've had fun and learned alot about EFI, engines in general, fuel and ignition maps, tuning, dynos, etc. But schooling is expensive!

YMMV.

Enjoy the ride, whichever road you take.

Jim M.
712W w/all Jim L's upgrades, 710M w/Pertronix and civi ign.

What's a strain washer?

Strain washer: If you have the parts manual (it is actually fairly indispensable) group 1 01, part #56, 712.1.15.116.1. Or alternatively, crawl under the truck and observe the nuts holding on the oil pan/sump. Under are the washers. They are square and cupped such that the four rounded corners are the contact points with the rim of the pan. (If all you see is a deep layer of crud, it is probably time to clean the engine anyway!) The design is a clever way to spread the pressure of the nuts more evenly over the surface of the rim, rather than just right at the shoulder of the nut. The downside is they cannot be found at the corner store, and I paid $8.51 USD for a replacement.

Every now and then someone posts a modification that they think is smarter than that of the original engineers. Those who have had the time to really get to know the trucks respond that the engineers did the things they did for a well thought out reason, and we are unlikely to be able to outsmart them.

Swiss Army Vehicles here in the USA has the parts catalog online with links to the part descriptions:

http://www.pinzgauer.com/parts.php?cat= ... view=01-01

-Evan