That's an easy thing to miss. Don't beat yourself up.

 

frustrating none the less, going to dealer to see if they will man up on this one.

 

Was that the truck on walking man motors lot over on 11th. Seems like I saw that truck somewhere. Sorry to hear about the misfortune. If it does need a rebuild I have a few FE parts laying around.

 

That is bad news, hopefully the dealer will own up to it. Good Luck.

 

they told me was as is, figures.

 

i herd maybe its just the head and that would fix it. do u all think that's all it would take?

 

No way for us to tell. If it has no compression it could be the head, head gasket, block, rings, etc. If it has compression enough to start then we could diagnose a bit, like watch for bubbles in the coolant. Have you run a leak-down test to see where the air goes. But, w/o more info......

 

If there was no coolant in the motor the oil in the motor was acting as the coolant and is probably burned leaving no protection. There is a possibility the head is warped and will need to be decked. If its still cranking hard the cylinder walls may be scared *** well. Truthfully I would tear it down and make 100% is not going to leave you on the road again. That's my $.02 worth.

 

how they tested for compression is a very old trick. they pulled a plug and stuck a finger in hole and tried to crank, it barely did anything. it should blew his finger out the hole at the least.

he said he can get me a salvage motor for $350 and installed for $150 for a total of $500. do u think it is a good deal? would take me till july to save enough though.

 

You can't build a motor for less than $1000. I recently had a friend who has his own engine machine shop do all of the machine work for me and acquire the parts - at his cost. He charged me $997 and I supplied the cam. So, $350 for a running engine isn't a bad deal, although I'd want some guarantees on what shape the engine was in.

 

was told it would have a 90 day warnety on the used motor

 

That would work. If it runs well for 90 days then you should be fine. But, I wouldn't plan on racing it as it may not be covered if you blow it up.

By the way, you know I'm sure that a 360 and a 390 are essentially the same from a mounting standpoint. So, unless someone else sees a reason not to, I would be looking for a 390 instead of a 360.

 

i been told my exhaust wouldn't bolt up to a 390 due to wider heads, is that not true?

 

The difference is internal according to everything I've read and this thread: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/4...-my-truck.html. So your exhaust should bolt right up.

 

352,360,390,406,427,428 all have the same dimensions and can take each others place. There are some differences in the exhaust bolt pattern but the actual size of the heads are the same. A salvage yard could give you a 352 and you would not be able to tell the difference from a 390 unless you check the stroke. Almost all FE blocks have a 352 cast into the front drivers side so don't let that throw you off. If you can buy a $350 running motor and it have a warranty that's not a bad deal at all. I have spent more than that on non runners.