Hey guys, for those who don't know, this is Tux. Oh and me too.




After 7 years and about 20,000 hard miles since FULL rebuild I finally pulled out the FE to do what I should have done in the first place. Here's the plan: P&P heads, bigger cam, and freshen it up.

BLOCK: 352 block. Bore is currently 4.07 and looks great. Quick hone should work fine.

CRANK: 2UA. 390, correct? Looks real good, just a easy emery paper polish up.

MAIN BEARINGS: Looks good in spots and bad in others. Obviously getting new bearings since I'm there.

RODS: C1AE-A. That is a 390 rod, correct?

ROD BEARINGS: Have some scratches maybe from when I didnt have the dizzy seated correctly years ago and it ground off the teeth, which circulated metal. LOL. Obviously getting new rod bearings.

PISTONS: Are H304P .030

Heads: C7AE-A Complete rebuilt to tune of $700 back in 2004. Milled (not sure how far), hardend seats, new guides, exhaust valves etc. Crane 96801 valve springs. I have too much money invested in them to get anything different. I plan on doing some gasket match and runnin 'em.

Intake: 428CJ, C80E-9425-C iron intake. HEAVY AS HELL.

OK, I want to raise the compression. I am at high altitude (6000ft) so I know I can get away with more without issues. I also always run highest pump octane here (91), cause it just simply runs better in my truck. I don't run any power adder of any kind so I don't think I need any forged pistons. Nor do I have the budget for it.
So, what cast pistons can I get to raise my comp without breaking the bank?

CAM: I want a pretty agressive cam. I'd like to stick with CRANE. I am looking at the Crane 344342 grind. H- 288 camshaft & lifter kit - Fd. FE 352- 428 V8 63- 76 They sell the cam/lifter kit through Summit for $337. I already have the appropriate CRANE springs.

ROCKERS: I am running stock-style adjustable rockers 1.76 ratio.

I've got a Custom RAM HDX clutch kit on the way. I'm try to under $1200 on budget. Clutch kit is $320 of that.

I'm getting new motor mounts and harmonic balancer to help with vibrations as I'm still running the ORIGINAL FoMoCo hard-as-rock stuff, eeek!!

Any suggestions on Pistons, cam, and overall build? What else am I forgetting? Thanks!

 

Hiya Billy!!!

How about a picture of those rod and main bearings?

I'd try Blue Oval Performance or Survival Motorsports for pistons. It's likely to cost more, but Rob and Barry know engines, and won't gamble their income on inferior quality.

 

Heya Mike! You late night FTE poster..

Here's the main bearings. A couple of them are ground to copper on the edges only. Everywhere else looks fine. WTF?



And one more ODD thing.. When I pulled off the DS head I found #5 cylinder looked like this! Old water that had started to rust. I had not ran the truck in 4 months.
I started it up right before I tore it all apart for a few mins. Looks like a ring wasn't wiping properly or something?

 

That looks like evidence of a gasket leak on the side of the wet (rusty) cylinder. Was it like that when you took it off or is that a drip that occurred after you pulled the head?

If it is a head gasket leak it would explain the rust. If so you probably need more than a hone.

 

Surface rust. NOT real rust. Come on now, it's a oil filled engine that ran great, simply hadn't been started in 4 months. The liquid is from pulling the head off. The rust, I have no idea why. Coolant doesn't rust. Water does. That's what's odd. Headgasket appeared to fine, truck ran excellent, no water in oil.

 

That is why I asked if the marks on the head were from pulling the head. Coolant is over 80% water, and yes it will cause rust, just look inside your water jackets. The point is that there is only one possible source of rust inside your cylinder - water from your coolant.

It is possible that the gasket was just beginning to fail when you took it our of service.

How deep the rust may have penetrated can't be judged from a picture, so don't get testy.

 

My apologies. I meant to say, this isn't some engine that has been sitting outside, in the weather, exposed. It ran perfect for 3 minutes right before I tore it apart.

Coolant is 80% water, but is also oil filled and 'greasy' It only rusts when ithe oil seperates from the water by lack of movement, correct? When it's currently mixed up, theres no way it's gonna rust.

I was thinking that moisture was from condensation, BUT, why is only one like that and not the rest. Why did the rings not clean it off? The piston looks fine and rings move free.

On another note, I'm going to take my heads to the local machine shop and see if they can cut the guides to accept posi lock seals. These unbrellas suck. My EFI 460 had less carbon on the valves at 140,000 miles than this 390 at 20,000 miles. I'll have to take some pictures, it's BAD.

 

Actually any amount of moisture will cause rust, and water doesn't mix with oil, so it will always separate. Glycol is the main other ingredient in coolant, and it does not deter corrosion, so yes, any amount of coolant will cause rust.

It is possible that you would have condensation in only one cylinder, but there seems to be a trace on the head gasket that also suggests a leak. Either way it is a good thing you are tearing it down.

 

Ouch Billy!!! It looks like the block is cracked. At the four-o-clock position of the cylinder on the right, see the rusty area above the coolant passage? As well as I can tell, there is a crack running through the deck and down the cylinder wall, next to the pitting. I have a 390 block you can have, FREE! I've been tempted to scrap it for the money, but I'd rather give it to someone who could use it.

As for the odd wear on the bearing, I'm not sure. I have a few ideas, but I'd like to see what the older-timers have to add.

 

These were fel-pro stock style gaskets. Sprayed with copper upun install.

I was doing some research and most people suggest Fel-Pro 1020 gaskets. Or Victor R gaskets.

 

LOL, you guys are breaking my *****. The block is not cracked! I dont even see where you're looking...

 

I sure hope you don't think I'm busting your *****. I don't see the crack that Hypoid refers to.

There is a lot of moisture in that cylinder. If you ran it for a few minutes any condensation would have evaporated even if the ring was not wiping very well, the heat would have eliminated the water.

This suggests that you had a source of water entering the cylinder. The most common cause of that of which I am aware is a gasket leak. That is actually good news if you caught it early, which you seem to have done.

 

I should also point out that we can't see the head, and you may have issues there, but I assume you would have noticed a crack that would leak coolant from the head.

 

I'd like to be wrong...

Clean the gasket off the deck, give the area around the coolant passage a closer look. I have an errand to run, back later.

 

I see the suspected crack that Hypoid is referring to. The best I can describe it, it looks like between the little droplets of rust on the far right and the blob or runny looking rust directly to the left is a line that seperates the two. It runs from about the 4oclock position down(or directly up on the picture) the cylinder wall. This is the line we are seeing anyways, I hope it's not cracked but...

At least you can get a free one right? lol