Finally had the ability to start putting the engine back in after replacing the cracked oil cooler gasket.
I decided to split the plastic fan shroud vertically so that if I have to get to the lovejoy on that side of the engine again. I fabricated a tab in the bottom halves of the shell to keep them aligned, put the bolts back in up the sides, and pop riveted a strap across the top of the split to keep it from vibrating.
Installed various other shielding and such.
Installed the shroud, the variable volume pump on the front, and the two PTO pumps on the rear, removed the muffler and I was good to start.
Got it aligned and started lowering. Stopped about 6" from the bottom and started hooking up hoses. That appeared to be easier than trying to do that if the engine was all the way in. Got them all hooked up and set the engine down. Had to pull the right rear tire to reconnect the one hose I had to pull from that wheel motor. It helped that I put color coded zip ties on the hoses and took a lot of pictures before disassembly
The cheap harbor freight service wrenches sure made things a lot easier.
Next chance I get, I'll reinstall the 4 engine plate mounting bolts, reinstall the right rear tire and start hooking up electronics and the hydro back device. Choke and throttle linkage. Then I have add a new battery, reinstall the muffler, bleed everything, put the spark plugs back in, block it up off the ground and give it a test.
(click pictures to enlarge)
