I have an 88 f150 with the 300/6. It is just under 200,000 miles. I already have a leak in the exhaust manifold which needs to be addressed. There are several other minor things that also need attention and could very well be taken care of with the engine in the truck. I get the feeling though that taking the engine apart and getting the cylinders, valves, and all of the other internal parts checked might not be a bad idea. I have never done anything this involved on the truck before, but I am not afraid to try. I have a very good understanding of how everything works and would like to take on this project.

I would love any general tips on what to do before starting such as what size hoist or stand I need, any special tools, or anything like that.

Also, does anyone have any suggestions for things to do while I am in there to improve performance and power such as exhaust or intake changes?

I appreciate any help I can get.

Thanks
Chuck Gehman

 

Well, the 300 with manifolds/flexplate etc weighs in at 495 lbs give or take a little. So a 750 lb stand will do just fine.

While you have it out you might as well do all your internal performance work. Ported Heads, Boring out etc.

Headers and possible a cam while you have the engine out.

Some things I would have done if I could go back and redo my rebuild that I did 4 months ago (mouthful there).

Take pictures, Just in case. I had at least one (probably more) instance in where I forgot where a certain part went, or how it went on.

Take out the front end/grill, thank yourself when you're putting the fan on, and the pulleys. For the 12 bolts that you have to take out it was worth it to me. This was one of the things I ended up doing anyway...

I would have pulled out the transmission with the engine. Drain and cleaned filters etc. I ended up doing this anyways (gee, I think I'm going to say that alot more), but I think it would have been easier to have done it right away (I waited till the engine was out, then me and a bud went in there and manhandled the trannie out). If you do this, make sure you take care of the linkage/cooling lines.

Part bins. Lots of them. I tend to be rather Smart@$$ when it comes to this part "sure, I'll remember where that goes". You won't. Trust me, there's gonna be 40 million bolts lying all over, many different thread sizes etc. I found quite a bit of odd sizes on my truck too. Label the bins accordingly, e.g. "front end" "Intake manifold".

Flush the Coolant system while you have it out. The rad and engine. Replace the Water pump, thermostat, hoses. It's alot easier to do now, than later.

Mark everything that stays in the truck, wiring harnesses/vaccum hoses. Sure, you might remember it then, but 2 days and 50 million curses later?

Replace the Oil pump/Pickup, If you've got it apart...

Make sure you get the oil pan to seal well, mines leeking after 3 mo. and I'm not real happy with that...

Tools you'll want:

Something to prime the oil pump

Balancer (hook it too the hoist, it's got screws on it that you turn. It lets you balance the engine, change the angle. Would have really helped in getting it in.

Get the chilton/haynes books for your truck, if you're going to disassemble the engine you'll need them. Torque specifications and the like.

I'm probably forgetting some stuff. I will note that mine is an '83 (non fuelie), so I can't help really help too much with EFI, but If you have any questions just throw me message.

-Nate

 

Ask around for a good maching shop to do your valve job and cylinder cleanup. Make a budget, then multiply that by two and that's what you'll end up spending. There are a lot of 300 motors out there (in junkyards, ebay...etc) it maybe easier to buy a used motor and rebuild it then just swap it when you're ready. Standard tools are required.

 

Thanks for the tips. I am going to have all winter to do this so I am going to take my time and have fun ( I hope)

 

I think this is the way to go - it worked well for me. Built the engine over a period of time - then swapped in the rebuild over a weekend (I still marked some stuff - it is a pain to forget what wire/hose /whatever goes where..) pics are a good idea...

 

About priming the oil pump, get an old distributor and take the guts out, and the cam drive gear off, then you can just put it in the block, connect it to the oil pump and spin it with a drill until the engine is well primed. I did that with a 302, I'm assuming it's the same for a 300.