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so i just bought a 1994 f350 crew cab long bed with the 351 previous owner said it started to knock he shut it off had it towed home let it set tried to start it and nothing but a loud hard thud it has some water in the oil and it looks like its trying to spin over im thinking it has water in the cylinder but im not going to be able to pull the plugs till this weekend what are the chances its not a head gasket and bad rod bearing please give me good news
1994 and up should be roller cam. Your truck, being a changeover year, would need verified. Either has a billet distributor gear or cast gear. You can visually see the difference. Cast is aggressively and sharply machined. Billet is smoother. Cast gear is non roller.
Can also pull valve cover, loosen rocker arm, and check pushrod length. That would be the easiest method without disturbing the lower intake and having to reseal it.
Flat tappet are longer, roller lifters use a shorter pushrod.
Why would that matter? I wouldn’t be using anything from the dead engine except the wiring harness. Seems to me it would be a lot easier to swap out long blocks.
