I have a 92 -F150 4x4 with the 302. Runs good, has 138K on it. I use 1 quart of oil in 3-3.5K miles, and do not see any in exhaust. At what point should a 302 be rebuilt? It does seem a little tired, but not bad. I plan on keeping the truck another 5-6 years. I drive 60+ miles a day. Can you only redo the top(head,cam, ect) I do have an oil leak on the pan gasket. Only mods are 31 bfg's, and K&N air filter. When current exahust goes, plan on a free flow. (any suggestions on Flowmaster or Gibson? 2.5" or 3" single pipe?) Thanks

 

>I have a 92 -F150 4x4
>with the 302. Runs
>good, has 138K on it.
> I use 1 quart
>of oil in 3-3.5K miles,
>and do not see any
>in exhaust. At what
>point should a 302 be
>rebuilt?

One thing I've found about ford engines, 302's in fact, that they still have good compression even after 200k miles. I know of several 302's over various years that are still running strong, even if they use a little oil here and there. If you have really low oil pressure, and your engine uses alot of oil 3-4 quarts, youll know it's time for a rebuild. You ought to have the cylinder pressure checked to see how much psi is in the cylinders, that will give you an idea of it's life.
It does seem
>
a little tired, but not
>bad. I plan on
>keeping the truck another 5-6
>years.

I have a 1989 F-150 thats equipped like yours, although it has 156k. The engine doesn't use any oil, and runs good, although the fuel injection system is completely gone.

>Can you only redo the top(head,cam,
>ect?)

Sure, but earlier fuel injected ford's use a speed density efi system, thus only allowing a certain amount of fuel through the engine.

I do have
>an oil leak on the
>pan gasket.

Believe it or not, this is quite familiar. This is probably where the oil is going, usually daily driven 302's don't use much if any oil.

Only mods
>are 31 bfg's, and K&N
>air filter. When current
>exahust goes, plan on a
>free flow. (any suggestions
>on Flowmaster or Gibson?
>2.5" or 3" single pipe?)
> Thanks

I read a report that a single 3" cat-back will give just a little more hp and torque, and might be cheaper.

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Pastmaster's 1993 XLT 5.0 E40d 3.55LS Normal Cab/Long bed Loaded from the factory with aid of...MSd 6a ign/s.p. wires, blaster coil, Hypertech Chip, K&N filtercharger, Cat-back dual exhuast w/o mufflers, 3.5", echo tips, Accel distributor cap, Dark Mocha over light mocha. 5% Dark tint, Alpine Cd player/remote, Pioneer speakers.

 

If it is starting to give you problems with Oil Consumption or low compression then rebuild it. I had a 91 F150 with a 302 and a 5spd that had 210000 miles on it and it never gave me a moments trouble or used oil at all. But like all I have seen 302's with 40000 miles on them that are junk. It all depends on how you take care of it.

Brad