Hi there i have a F100 68 pickup with a lot of problems and i was looking for some help. first this was my dads truck. Many moons ago he bought a 390 when his 360 bought the farm but to save money when he swaped the motors out he used the old headers. Well it is now 14 years later and i have had said truck given to me (first truck) the truck now has oil presure problems and it keeps killing starters. the old 360 headers touch the oil pan and are VERY close to the starter so i was wondering are the headers to blame? and did there touching the oil pan maybe kill the oil pump cause it holds pressure till it warms up then dow to about 6 pounds. this happend slowly but as the motor is just done breaking in mile wise i sence a problem!

Any help will be much apesiated and god bless!

 

Chris, first of all, welcome to FTE. You will find a great source of helpful information here. I'll address your questions one by one:

1. Headers: To understand this issue, you need to know that the 360 and 390 are part of the "FE" family of engines. FE stands for Ford-Edsel. (Check out the FE forum here at FTE for more info.) FEs, except for some specialty applications, are almost identical in every way except for the stroke and bore. In your specific case, the 360 has the same bore as the 390, but the shorter stroke of it's little brother , the 352. So, headers for a 390 are identical to headers for a 360 or a 352. ( In the same vehicle, that is. Truck headers won't work on an FE vice a car.)
As for your question, headers on truck FE usually don't cause problems with anything other than the starter. They tend to generate more heat than the starter can handle. What's worse, you usually have to remove the header to change the starter! The fix for this is to put heat shielding between the starter and the headers. I fabricated an aluminum shield for my son's 360 in his '72. It is held on by one of the starter bolts. It looks ugly, but wicks the heat away because we quit replacing starters too.

2. Oil pressure problems such as you describe are usually caused by the following: crud in the oil pan blocking the pick up screen (usually the pieces of a disintegrating cam gear but sometimes left-over silicone sealer) , bad oil pump, weak oil pump pressure relief valve or spring, or wearing main bearings. The wrong weight oil and a bad oil filter can cause this too.

If this were my truck, I would pull the pan, check for and clean out any debris, then check the oil pump (you have to pull the oil pump to get the pan off.) I would also pull a few rod bearing caps to check the condition of the bearings. That can tell you a lot about the internal condition of your motor. If they are really worn, now is a good time to replace them, and it is easy to do under the truck. Inexpensive too, and cheap insurance.

Pulling the pan to inspect the debris inside is not that hard, and it is a perfect chance to replace the pump as well. We can talk you through it, so you might want to consider doing it.

Keep us posted as to what you do, and let us know what you find out.

 

interesting info about the heat shield and ESPECIALLY about the oil pump.

I have a thread going about replacing the rear seal while changing clutch. I understand removing the oil pan and pump are required for this. I was told I would have to jack up the engine to remove the pump/pan. ( had to replace pump gasket and watch for the falling push rod or quill)

Does not sound like an easy task, so have scrapped the idea of replacing the real seal unless it is leaking badly. Was also assured that it was an entirely separate job and could be done without pulling the transmission again.

I have gotten great infor from the FTE so have done well with my one year ownership of a 69 F100.

Thanks,
Richard

 

Removing and replacing the pan and oil pump is really quite easy! It is removing the rear seal that is the trouble, because you have to drop the crank enough to get the new seal in - and that can hurt for time and dollars.
To jack the engine up enough, all you need are 2 short pieces of 2x4 (about a foot long), and a jack of course. It may help to have another short piece of wood to put under the pan for jacking.
When jacking you need to remove the following:
radiator hoses, engine mount nuts (1 each side), the accelerator linkage, possibly the fuel line, fan shroud, and clutch linkage.
Jack the front of the engine up enough to slip the 2x4s under the mounts (not on the studs, though), let it down, and you are ready to pull the pan.
Drop the pan on the crossmember, reach in to drop the oil pump by removing the 2 oil pump bolts, then pull it all out.
Re-installation is the reverse, and isn't as hard as it seems.
The critical point, as you have been told, is to ensure the oil pump drive shaft engages the bottom of the distributor correctly.
I have found it easy to keep the truck on the ground, and sit on the ground when re-installing the oil pump.
Yes, it is a bit tricky, but it isn't hard. Put the oil pump back in the pan, and the pan on the cross member. (Don't put RTV on the pan yet.) Dab some heavy wheel bearing grease on the end of the shaft.
Be careful to note that the UP end of the shaft is the one with the little retaining collar. That collar is there to prevent the pump shaft from coming out of the pump when removing the distributor. If the distributor pulls the shaft out because the collar isn't there, it is almost impossible to correctly reposition the shaft in the oil pump from the top - which means removing the pan later - again - to get the shaft properly placed in the pump.
Feed the shaft up into the bottom of the distributor. Hold it there with one hand, while picking the oil pump up with the other. Mate the pump onto the shaft, and slide it up. The grease will hold it there for a little bit.

If you intend on using a gasket on the pan, use a sealer or adhesive the night before to hold it in place on the pan. If you intend to use RTV, don't put the RTV on until you have re-installed the pump.

One more thing, a little time saver.

If you find the pan is full of fractured plastic cam gear teeth, you will need to replace the cam gear soonest. So, if you can do the cam gear right away, don't put RTV on the front of the pan or front of the block where the timing cover covers the pan.

That way, when you pull the timing cover the next day, it is easier, and you have a fresh gasket or mounting surface to seal to to when you put the timing over back on.

Hope this helps.

 

Hey, Banjo, those are GREAT instructions for removing the oil pan. I wish my son had read them a few days ago. He had to learn the hard way but did a very nice job.
jor

 

(Banjo) Wow thanks for the advise on the oil pan removal. Chiltons manual reads a bit dfficult for me sometimes. Your instructions made it sound ... not so bad. I REALLY gotta change my oil pump myself (pressure good at start up and then dies way down)

-----------
1970 ford f-100 360

 

Thanks much guys i'll keep you posted and will replace the pump.

not much choice scence i already own a new oil pump but....

and are you sure that the headers are the same? cause i do not think that it is suposed to touch the pan. Is it?

and ill try the sheild thanks!

All around thanks much!!!!!! Much!!!!!

 

You are correct, the headers are not "supposed" to toch the pan. However, I have seen only a few headers properly made and installed; I have seen lots in the junkyard where cheap or poorly made ones didn't fit right.
Ask on the FE forum what brand they recommend.

 

IMO these were either home made, or possibly Sandersons, they are only "Major" brand that does block hugger style, if you check old threads under headers you can see where I tried a set of theirs and sent them back because it was up against pan. My advice is FPA (Ford Powertrain Applications) GTEX also has, and some others, best fit and made for our motors in our trucks.

 

thanks much but...... i have no money and i have a set of stock manifolds so is it cool to use those? thanks much!

 

Stock manifolds are fine on a stock engine imo. I bet you won't notice a difference except for the noise and heat.

barry

 

well now i got another question. i now checked the electrical system and find that i got spegatie for wiring to the turn lights, break lights, trailer light jack, and back up lights! My dad says it's 30 year old wire so just lose it and run new what you think about that guys? oh yeah and there are lights out in the back and the turn lights take about 20 seconds of being on to start blinking in front. are these conected? i checked the continuity and the driver side is cool - a bulb but the passenger rear is SCREWED UP! any ideas? Please Help and thanks for all the help already!

 

well...i guess we have almost the same truck. i may get a 68' f-100 shortbed.

here is the link to some pics

http://bestbuysucks0.tripod.com

is this stock? or has it been modded.

i cannot tell

thanks

 

well it looks pretty stock to me but..... i am no expert on these trucks for being stock. So, the bumper looks weird to me but that is all i see on the out side. any one else see anything wrong?

 

well i can get it for $100. its runs.

worth it?

how much do you think it will cost to make the body look a little better, including and not including paint?

engine work? beats me?

thanks