Hi all, I have a 1964 F100 that I may or may not have screwed up. The other day I started leaking a lot of oil and noticed that my oil drain pan and pump gaskets were leaking. I pulled off the oil pan and pump and cleaned all of the crap out of both and put them both back on with new gaskets. I believe I got the pump in correctly. No more leaks.

Before putting the oil pump on I filled it with oil. We didn't want to pull the distributor so to prime it we pulled the wire from the ignition coil to the cap. The oil filter was brand new and wasn't filled with oil. We cranked the engine over for probably 3 minutes without starting and pulled off the oil filter and it was leaking oil everywhere so I figured that the pump was primed and working.

I also had leaks in the exhaust and valve covers so I pulled both off and replaced the gaskets. While I was in there I did a basic tune-up, spark plugs, wires, cap and rotor. I figured everything would be good so I went to start it and now it runs weird.

It had a valve tick before, so it sounds the same, but I now have an extreme power loss. I cant hardly climb a slightly graded hill in 2nd. Whenever I start out, the truck shakes and it starts to stall out but then makes an awful grinding/ squealing noise. It feels exactly like driving with the emergency brake left on(it's not, I checked, underneath too). It also blows air out of the valve covers at pre-startup. I am stumped. If anyone has any ideas I would appreciate the input.

 

Perhaps crap got on the spark plugs and it is misfiring on multiple cylinders? But if that were the case what would be causing the grinding/squealing sound when I drop the clutch and gas in?

 

Sure you didn't loosen the distributor hold down bolt, or maybe it's loose enough at least, that it was nudged during the cap and wire change? Have you verified timing?

Running a starter continuous for three minutes is Not Good, they are rated for about three seconds tops, and then need probably a 5 minute cool down. I mean, assuming you like the starter that's in there now and all and want to keep it. Not trying to beat up on you, lol. Don't do that. Battery could use a day or two on the charger I bet as well.

Make sure the valve lash is set correctly. Easy peasy. It is important to make power as well.

 

Yes, I put a timing light on it and timing is correct. I will check the distributor, but when I checked, it seemed like it was in there pretty soundly. You think maybe the starter might be stuck engaged or something?

 

Well, never thought of that exactly but. Yes, if you really smoked the starter for a few minutes that's a possibility maybe.

It will not idle very well though, and it would shudder real bad, enough where you should realize the motor is not in its happy place.

The distributor body should not turn clockwise or counterclockwise, if the hold down bolt is tight. Just so we're clear that you understand how it works?

 

It definitely does shudder really bad. But my biggest concern is the noise when I let off the clutch and gas in. All these symptoms weren't happening before, that's why I'm very confused. And yes I know how a distributor workshaha

 

Well, start with the basics, I think maybe a starter, they probably only stay spinning as long as there is battery power. In other words you'd know if it was stuck.

I might be inclined to pull the valve covers and adjust the valves since you mentioned a ticking. While you're at it, pull the plugs. This will make the engine easy to turn over by hand with a wrench on the damper bolt. Just kind of check everything out, #1 cylinder compression TDC, damper mark is lined up, rotor is pointing to #1 at distributor etc. Continue through firing order and make sure everything is mechanically OK.

 

did a tune up re check the spark plug wires make sure they are going to the right place

 

I'm going to ask some questions that maybe you can answer.

What type of engine? 292 V8 or 223 I 6?

What led up to this? Is this an engine that has not been running for a long time? Have you taken things off of it? Added valve covers or anything like that? Also have you put modern oil in it?...Sometimes it's not a good idea to run detergent oils in a old engine especially from a long slumber.

It sounds as though the engine was pressurized blowing the gaskets. This could be from a bad PVC valve or removal of a good one.

If the PVC or crankcase ventilation system suddenly blew gaskets, likely your clutch pressure plate disk was well oiled. This will cause the squeaking and lack of power you describe. It sounds like the clutch is slipping....If you are lucky.

Here's some culprits and possible remedies.
PVC Crankcase ventilation...Remove valve and clean it is very possible to put the valve in backwards so research how it goes.

Oiled clutch disk...replace, If the rear seal is shot it needs to be replaced as well. This can be done from underneath but it is tedious.

Check starter and bendix...you gave it a workout. 30 seconds is the absolute maximum to run one at a time.

Start from square one on the timing. Find #1 and go from there. Remember the Ford cylinder numbers 1234 passenger side 5678 drivers side 1 and 5 are at the front.

Valves out of adjustment. Adjust valves.

Burned valve. Replace valve rebuild heads,head.

Jumped time. Replace timing chain.

Wiped cam lobe. Replace cam and clean engine out.

Dirty clogged engine. Break it down clean it out. You were in it how bad was it?

Broken or worn rings. Replace rings or rebore if cylinders are out of spec.

I would do a compression check on each cylinder. This will tell you a lot. If you have some that are lower than the others, squirt oil into the plug hole and re check if the compression is higher...bad ring....no change....bad valve or head gasket, two low cylinders side by side likely bad head gasket.

Time it and do the checks first. Check and see if the clutch area has a lot of oil evident.

 

The engine is a 292. I don't think that it is the clutch, because when I drop the clutch and gas in, the engine nearly stalls, which tells me it is grabbing, right?

When I had the oil pan off, I cleaned out some silver metallic sludge out of the pan, so not good. Looking up at the crank, everything looked good. I didn't see any signs of water damage or anything.

I will be doing the tuneup over again to double check the ignition. I have looked all over on line, but I can't find a definite firing order. It is 1-5-4-8-6-3-7-2, correct?

I will be adjusting the valves this weekend, but I don't think it's a flattened cam because I pulled the valve covers back off and they seemed to be reacting just fine.

Although, a couple things too. There is smoke coming out of the crankcase. It's white, after the engine is running a while. It's thicker than steam... Any ideas on that?

I haven't really ruled out the clutch idea though.. I had to replace the tie rod ends for safety inspection and I just threw them on close to straight and drove over to get an alignment. Turns out I was off by 2.4°. Maybe that put a lot of wear on the clutch? Because the engine had to work so hard?

One last thing. I tried cranking the engine again today and nothing. The starter clicks and then the electrical cuts out at the circuit breaker I believe. It won't start. Does this point to a bad starter that is drawing too much current?

I will be pulling off my starter and testing the head gaskets tomorrow.
I would like to thank everybody that has and is continuing to help me, It is really appreciated. All the advice I have received I have been checking into. Thanks so much again for everyone's help so far.

 

firing order is 15486372 you are correct.

 

As a practical matter always replace the battery, starter, and ground straps on these old trucks. It's cheap and really makes a difference. New starter gets paired with a quality solenoid.

The cables run from block to firewall and frame, starter, etc. These are all important and must be clean and tight, free from rust or paint and corrosion. Take the time to grind all connections to bright shiny metal, it pays to do this. They are just adequate when new and not corroded but add 50 years or more of road salt and atmospheric pollution it's a wonder the cables work at all.

 

Sounds like you are due to do as Tedster suggested back on post #3.... RECHARGE your battery. Depending on your charger rate, recharge your battery overnight or longer.

BarnieTrk

 

In my experience, an oil impregnated clutch disk will hold, but is almost impossible to operate smoothly, especially from a standing start--it will shudder and shake, but drives fine when engaged.

A little smoke (coming from the oil fill tube?) shouldn't be a huge concern. If there is a lot, that's another story. How's the oil pressure?

Any chance you could post a video of the problem, preferably of the noise it makes when you engage the clutch? It would also be helpful to know the history here; it makes a difference whether it was a daily driver that just went south or a "ran when parked" find you're trying to get running.

It's easy to assume cause-and-effect when you work on a motor and new problems develop, but it's frequently easier to back up and diagnose from scratch--there's a good chance that the issues you're seeing are not related to the changes you made.

~Steve

 

I would check all the vacum lines as well.