I suppose the only way I'm going to see what my running pressure is, is to install the new gauge I bought. If I install a "T" where the existing sending unit is will both the electrical and mechanical gauges work? The reasoni ask is because the factory gauge is easy to see and the new gauge had to be installed below the dash. I want to be able to both quickly glance and see my pressure and if I want see it more precisely.

 

Yes, a tee will work fine. The factory had a tee on the 351W's that is a hex extender that gets the sending unit(s) out away from the block and the oil filter. One of those might be slick, but just putting together pipe/tubing fittings from the hardware store will work fine if you make sure you seal them well when you put them together.

And, if your new gauge uses a plastic tube to get the pressure to the gauge, make absolutely SURE that it doesn't get close to the exhaust. Don't ask how I know, but it does involve a middle-of-the-night rescue.

 

Hahaha. Seeing as the sending unit is on top of the engine I hope that the tube doesn't come close to the exhaust manifold. If it does I've done something terribly wrong. Besides I've already done that with my clutch hose. That was fun enough. Thanks for helping. I'll be watching for more updates on your rebuild.

 

Didn't get as far as expected - for why, see below.

But, I did get the timing set installed, then the timing cover and balancer. Had forgotten to clean and prep the cover, so that took a while. Didn't find a socket the right size to press the front crank seal out, so made one on the lathe. For future reference, the ID of the opening in the timing cover is 2.560, and I have a ball joint socket that the OD was 2.560 - slightly too big. I chucked it in the lathe and turned 1/4" of it down to 2.550" and it worked perfectly. Then it was time to put the new seal in and I found a piece of 3/16" plate scrap that was the perfect size to lay in the seal and let me press on it. Went right in.

Then I measured the deck height on all the cylinders as well as the torque required to turn the crank and cam - 25 lb-ft. At that point I rolled the engine over on the stand to install the oil pump, pickup, and pan. I started assembling the parts to be ready and couldn't find the pickup. Took a while searching for it, but it was no where to be found. While pondering that I pulled the pan off the melted engine and took its pickup off - with varnish all over it. Then it hit me - I sold that nice clean pickup and a media blasted pan to someone for a Bronco he's building! A Bronco with a 3G alternator and "upgraded charging wires".

So, now I have the other pickup in the parts cleaner and am running 120 degree Simple Green through it backwards so it'll be nice and clean like the one I sold. But, I did get the oil pump installed along with, obviously, the new drive shaft. Tomorrow is a work day at church, and Wednesday I'm going to spend time w/Dad as he's not feeling well enough to go to the T-Day feast the extended family has on Thursday. So, it'll be Friday before much else happens.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and it is my hope that you feel as blessed as I know I am.

 

It was in nice shape too.

I have a spare now if you need it and it is pretty good shape too.

I loctited the oil pump and p/u tube when I installed it. I just wanted to be sure that piece wouldnt come off!



Did you get the thrust bearing in the right place?

 

This one will be clean tomorrow. That 5 gpm pump and hot Simple Green will do the trick. And, I Locktited the pump in and will do the same on the pickup.

If by thrust bearing you mean the Tinnermann nut/washer, yep. The shaft can't come out.

Anyway, thought you'd see the humor in me looking for that pickup.

 

Got the oil pump pickup, pan, and water pump installed today. Well, all but one of the bolts to the water pump as it has gone missing. And, it may turn out that I sold it like I did the oil pickup, although to someone besides Bruno.

Doesn't sound like much, but I also did the Cyber Friday thing and ordered a few things that took a fair amount of time. And, caught a bit of the LSU/Arkansas game - didn't go my way. And, since one of the purchases was a small TV for the shop so I can actually see the players instead of squinting at my computer monitor, I spent some time working out how and where to mount it. Then we had two more earthquakes today which, coupled with the one yesterday, suggests that maybe the TV ought to be fastened to the wall and not just put on a shelf high on the wall.

Anyway, the next step is the heads and I have to put them back together - after a thorough cleaning due to the minor amount of grit that may be in them after the porting exercise. Yes, I'm going on with the ported D8OE's. And, I'll put the true-dual glass packs on that came off one of my parts trucks - w/o the cat. So, maybe the goal of 15 MPG won't be achieved, but surely there'll be some improvement.

 

Good luck with that. I think all of the bolts are a different length. It was like trying to assemble a jigsaw puzzle. I would get one that was almost right , but , it would stop 1/2" from tightening up. Nobody offers a water pump bolt kit for the 351's either. They have them for every other water pump on the planet, but , no 351W.

 

Did you have the valves ground at the head shop or are you going to give them a good sound lapping at your house Gary? What kind of head gaskets are you going to use? The famous user unfriendly MLS that require special machining or like a good old composite?

I was reading where people like to use just a smidge of RTV on the head gaskets right up where the two little tabs stick out by the intake. A little RTV on the top and bottom b/c there is a grey area that doesnt seal well there.

Another thing, my head gaskets had a front and rear designation, but , didnt have a top and bottom designated. They were the same gasket to a tee. There was not a left and right. According to tech support one went on upside down if you will. Which in turn wasnt "really" upside down. There should be cut outs for the water ports on the gasket that got to the back of the block. As long as you have those in the right place it shouldnt matter unless yours have a top designated.

 

Bruno,

One gasket is indeed flipped.
If you don't, the water passage will not line up and the flow to that head (DS IIRC) will be cut off.

I built a Bronco years ago and this gave me fits because I didn't realize it.
I was only looking at the block and not the passages in the bottom of the heads.

It was a lesson that cost me multiple thermostats, water pumps, a 4 row super cooling radiator and more than a few gray hairs before I figured out my mistake.

Glad I can laugh at it now.
I haven't built another 351 since.

 

Jim I wondered what kind of problems that would cause if I didnt install it right. I was going to do the head install on a Saturday. I ended up having to wait until the following Monday night after I contacted tech support to do the install. I am glad I did now. Another thing that was getting my goat was the calipers on the front end of this thing. You can indeed install them upside down to where the bleed screw isnt at the top of the hydraulic system. I noticed I couldnt determine which way was up with them. So I contacted my mechanic neighbor and got the skinny on which way they go before I screwed something up. I just read a thread where a guy was pulling his hair out trying to bleed his brakes. He went through about $50.00 in brake fluid until he posted up and asked what the deal was. Turned out the parts store gave him two of the same so he had one side on upside down and couldnt get all the air out b/c of it.

Sometimes it pays off to wait another day or so until there is clarity on proper installation.

 

All too often rebuilt parts aren't packaged/labeled correctly.

This is one reason that I like to go to the parts store with my core in hand when getting rebuilt parts.

Always open the box and compare the two side by side before leaving the store.
When you decide to fix -whatever- on a Sunday evening and you have to go to work at 6AM with your only vehicle torn half apart is NOT the time to discover you got something in error.

 

Gee, I'm faaaar behind on my own thread!

I did have the valves ground at the machine shop, but that was before I ported them. Not the right way round. Now I have to lap them to fix a minor problem or two the chuck on the grinder created. (Not me. Chuck did it.)

Yes, I know exactly what you mean about those bolts. It is as if Ford went out of their way to make it difficult. I thought I took plenty of picures, but they were all with the bolts torqued down and the length is a bit difficult to see as the heads seem to always be in the way. As previously said, I'm using the Permatex gasket sealer and I do put it on the threads of the water pump bolts since some of them go into water passages. Lotsa fun when the bolt stops 1/4" short of tightening down since now the goo is well distributed on not only the threads but the shank. At least the wipes with cleaner on them from Lowes takes that stuff off.

I'm using the Fel Pro head gaskets that came with the gasket set. Haven't looked to see how they are marked, but will look closely and compare them to the heads to ensure I don't have a problem. Thanks for the tip.

As for parts store trips, I not only take my core with me and open the box to compare, but refuse to take a previously-opened box. The latter is because I've been burned several times when someone opened the box and took out a crucial part, like a gasket, and then returned it. The exception to that rule is if it is a unit with no gasket, like an alternator.

 

I did a power steering gearbox on my F 250 a couple of yrs ago. I dont know if someone at the rebuild factory screwed up or if these things were built this way for a reason. I took my old one to the parts store to match. Perfect match so I gave them my old one and went home to do the install. When I was done I went to back out of the driveway and to my suprise the steering wheel was all of the sudden functioning backwards. In theory I suppose if the tie rod ends attaches to the front or back of the spindle arm it would make the difference. It was indeed a suprise. So back to the parts store I went. Now not only did I have to visually inspect the part , but , I had to see it operate side by side with the old one.

My dad always taught me take the old part in rather you got a core for it or not. Helps to get the right one. Also sometimes there might be a fitting or something else that doesnt come with the new one that must be removed from the old part. Yeah that makes things difficult when you dont install it for a day or two and the parts store has long sent the core in days ago.

 

Got a bit done in spite of little time today. Had thought about the missing water pump bolt and realized the particular one also holds on the swing arm for the alternator. Sure enough, it was in the bag mark "alternator". So I installed it.

Then I lapped all the valves lightly to see that there aren't any problems with the seats and they all looked great - even in strong lighting. Guess Chuck didn't mess up after all. Given that I washed each head thoroughly with brake cleaner and installed the valves, seals, springs, and keepers, with the stems lubed with the Engine Assembly stuff. Those swirl-polished valves sure look good.

Lastly I installed the 5/8" plug bolts in the back end of the heads to seal the Thermactor ports. The heads of the bolts have a good flat surface on the under side that'll seal against the head, but I also used the Permatex extra high temp RTV on the threads to seal them. That's the way I did it last time and they were well sealed for several thousand miles.

Tomorrow it'll be time to install the heads and valve train, making sure to get the head gaskets on correctly. I'll let you know how far I get.