okay i just posted that ive got a new 460 for my 89 bronco but the install for that is a long way off ive got to rebuild it and add a lil sumthin sumthin to get that beast to move the earth

right now i wanna keep my 302 as healthy as possible. for the past few weeks ive been getting a sparatic "tick" in 4th gear at about 1500 rpm, its not a costant thing when it happens its tick...tick tick... tick tick tick tick... and it stops when i let of the gas and go easy on her at idle, i wont do that at all no matter how hard i rev it. im beggining to believe i might have a bum lifter or mabey even a bent pushrod. so i figured id plan a week to change out the lifters pushrods, rocker arms and all that. i was hoping to be able to pull of the manifold without disturbing the distributor, but i was wrong again.

being that the truck is at 120,000 i figured buying a new distributor would be best because from what i gather things like the pip sensor and ignition module go right around that time. so id like to pop a fresh new distributor in there.

the reason im here asking is because the last time i touched a distributor was on an 86 cadilliac coupe deville (head gaskets...big surprise) i was a bit of a novice at the time and im not afraid to admit i screwed it up not as bad as the guy rebuilding his trans am in our back yard years ago he put the timing gears in at 180 degrees in reverse! anyway back to the point if anyone has put in an after market distributor in a fuel injected 302 please id like as close to a blow by blow description as on how to do this without haveing to admit defeat and send it to the shop, everything how to time it and how to get her puring like she does now, without the tick lol. and again i cant thank you guys enough for the help provided in the past its what got my bronco on the road and out the inspection bay doors with a passing sticker on the first time around. thanks in advance heres the info on my truck:
1989 ford bronco, 5.0 302 v8, m5od manual trans.

 

I played distributor roulette three times with reman. Get a Motorcraft stator, rolled pin punch for the gear pin and ask someone to press the gear off for you.

Before you remove the distributor get a sharpie and mark the rotor tip to whatever the plastic ring is called. Mark that ring to distributor. Mark the distributor to block. Mark the gear to the end of the shaft.

Do not turn engine with dist. out.

Remove it. Remove pin. Press gear off. Replace stator with Motorcraft. Replace gear and pin. Align marks on everything.

Gently stab the distributor back in to the oil pump shaft starting about one or two gear teeth counterclockwise. When done you may not even need to reset the timing if it checks OK. It is all in the marking.

The tick could be spark jumping. On a dark humid night ask a helper to hold the brake and put it in gear and give it a little load. You STAND BESIDE IT NOT IN FRONT FOR SAFETY and look for arc.

 

ill check for that thanks, i dunno though it sounds mechanical mabey i was wrong to describe it as a tick its the best thing i can think of to describe it as, you can feel that sensation through the shifter, when it "ticks", its faint but you can feel it when your hands on the **** i dunno if spark jumping would do that, when i first bought the truck, the oil was almost dry due to a rotten oil pan i dunno if the previous owner drove it that way or not, im guessing its been close to dry a few times so a lifter is probable, oil pans fixed know so shes got plenty of oil valve cover gaskets need doing though.
i wish i could describe the sound, like i said happens from 3rd-5th when it pulls from 1500 up the harder it pulls the more pronounced it is, i guess you might even call it a rattleing sound

 

Motorcraft oil filter seems to very popular here, especially with the 5.0. MIght help the oil flow under the low rpm loads.

 

hmmm, alright it does have a fram on it now, come to think of it before i started the major work on the truck it had a purolator filter on it i cant recall it ever doing this before i did all the body work (truck was parked for almost a year) even with the exhaust leak i shouldve heard something its got a cherrybomb on it now
ya really think it could be oil flow? i got to admit something about this seems off, a few weeks ago the factory oil pressure gauge was jumping all over the place, sometimes it would quit all together and the engine light would come on, since i put the mechanical oil pressure gauge it hasnt done that, and the oil pressure checks out. i did relocate the oil pressure switch from the side of the block, to right above the d-side valve cover via a piece of 3/16 brake line, the reason for that is i wanted a nice hard line going up to the cab before it went to the flexible coper line to make it less likely to rupture, and if it were a lifter, wouldnt i hear it at all rpms even at idle? cause its reallllllll smooth when it idles, ill buy an oil change for it this week see if it improves any, hey what about this seafoam stuff? it says i can add it right to the oil so that it cleans all the oil galleys directly, would this help?

 

From the preferences I have read here you do not want a Fram and I have also read here Puralotor make Motorcraft filters. As far as additives, I prefer to be gentle to not risk clogging something so run a high mileage oil with more detergents. The first change after using it will resemble changing oil in a diesel.

I have the perception the pressure is read before the filter and the bypass valve is before the filter. Correct me if I am wrong. That means if the filter is not allowing flow to the galleries the bypass dumps it to the pan and the galleries may not get enough oil through the filter. Again, not sure about that.

 

Seafoam may help, if you want to, add it BEFORE your oil change and drive it a bit, then change the oil out. And dont use a Fram filter, they are supposedly Kryptonite to our trucks.

 

Use 10W-30 oil