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hello all,
I have been rebuilding my 400 out of a 77 f150 4x4 and went to reinstall the front cover today and it looks like I am missing a stud on the front of the block. Can anyone confirm if this is indeed missing and if so does anyone have any idea how I should proceed? As the pictures show there is a stud on one side and the other is just an empty hole!
thanks is advance!
Yessir, looks like that one fell (or was pulled) out. There are two......alignment holes for the cover plate. You should be ok without one if you can't find something.
Maybe fill it with RTV after the plate is on? Or maybe go around the hole with RTV on both sides of the gasket to stop any oil from squeezing out......
Sealant might be enough....there's no direct oil pressure there, just splashing.
Coupla other thoughts.....If you have and old cam with the gear nubbie still on it, pull it and use it. Although the cams we get today usually require we recycle that nubbie onto the new cam. You'll have to use some vice grips to pull it and make some marks such that it'll hold when you tap it in.
The stud is a little (very little) larger same size as an unsharpened #2 pencil...~ 0.25". You could go down to one of the box stores with the pencil and find a rod the same size, again using some vice grips to make some marks on the end you tap in.
You could cut some new threads in the hole and using a bolt that fits and some green thread locker, screw it in and cut/file the excess.
You could get some extra gasket material and cut a square patch slightly larger than the hole and put it together...
Or, you could try something completely different.....your call. Good luck.
