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Crap idk maybe it is the coil, there’s power but I didn’t check resistance. New module is cheap though.
If the heads aren’t cracked would you guys recommend rebuild, get new, reman?
I think the water is leaking out of the back of the water pump. Ugh this thing is driving me nuts.
By your pic that is cylinder #2 that is bad.
Ford OHV V8 Cylinder numbering below.
Leak down test cylinder number 2 to see where you are losing compression from. It may identify the issue. If it is cylinder leakage you will have to pull that head to check for cylinder scuffing (the really big risk of an overheat) if the cylinder checks out then you may have to pull the piston to rule out a broken ring. And if you got one head off might as well pull the other.
With the heads out/off you can check for straitness/flatness, and check all the valves for sealing and guide wear.
Yeah I agree the numbering for Ford is completely dumb... but yeah I was wrong it’s whatever you say.
leak down test might be nice but I don’t have it so it’s not going to happen.
Stay tuned and we’ll find out what the issue is. At the moment I’d like to be able to just get it to run for 5 sec so I don’t have to push it around like a peasant.
leak down test might be nice but I don’t have it so it’s not going to happen.
Deep breath. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot. A leakdown test is the cat’s meow for a situation like this. Don’t troubleshoot like you’re stranded by the side of the road in a bad neighborhood after dark, while wearing a suit made of $100 bills with solid gold buttons. Bell bottoms, too, so that’s a lot of extra cash making you an attractive target. Take the time, do the job right. Save yourself (and us ) a LOT of aggravation.
Some auto parts stores (AutoZone comes to mind) have free loaner tools. No excuse for not doing it right. Well, actually there are plenty of excuses available, but none are very good.
Yeah I agree the numbering for Ford is completely dumb... but yeah I was wrong it’s whatever you say.
leak down test might be nice but I don’t have it so it’s not going to happen.
Stay tuned and we’ll find out what the issue is. At the moment I’d like to be able to just get it to run for 5 sec so I don’t have to push it around like a peasant.
All you need to do is get shop air on #2 cylinder and pressure it up to see where you are losing compression from. You do not need to do an actual full-blown leak-down test.
Fords' OHV cylinder numbering system is different than that of GM Chryco and the Asians.
All Ford did was use the inline numbering system and add another inline bank. All the European companies use the same system. It is also the far easiest system when under the hood for picking out a specific cylinder by number.
I can add nothing to the trouble shooting, but I would make a general suggestion.
You messed up. The natural reaction would be to get down on yourself, and to try to mend things ASAP. Listen, darn near all of us have screwed the pooch at one time or another, so like us, you are human.
I suggest you walk away for a day or three. Let your head clear. Pet the dog and hug the wife, or vice versa if so inclined. Then come back at the problem as if you were diagnosing a new purchase. And then start with the basics: gas, air, and spark.
This helps me when I get all balled up, and I need to remind myself often.
If you don't have a burnt valve, that engine may run for years with just adding some oil along. Many a vehicle have gone many a mile with one cylinder huffing blowby.
Just get it running, drive it a while, and see how it does.
The Dodge in my sig picture has a V-10 engine. On a hot summer day, it blew the lower radiator hose off. Don't know where or when, but retracing a good bit of where I had been didn't show any antifreeze marks on the road
I looked down and saw the needle pegged. Dropping off a hill just as I saw it I cut the switch off. I coasted almost home, then tried to restart to get in the driveway.
Click, click. Engine was seized. A few minutes later it started, and home I went. Let it cool completely. Changed hose, put water in, and it started up.
Put new antifreeze in it, kept a close eye on it, and it's still running great almost 10 years later, and still not using any oil at 162k miles. So getting super hot doesn't always doom an engine.
Get your's going and see how it does before spending a lot of time and money you may not need to.
I’m not in a panic or wearing that outfit you describe. IMO a leak down test is kinda just a tool so you can tell a customer something intelligent and give an estimate prior to tearing their engine apart.
Regardless of the outcome of that test I think we could agree that head would need to come off one way or another to make the repairs. But even if that piston had a hole in it the engine should still start (but not sound so good).
I am thinking now that I actually didn’t do any damage at all and it is just some coincidence designed to make me crazy. The temp gauge was/is broken. There was no coolant. It seemed very hot and wouldn’t start.
I have been assuming the worst I cooked the motor and I’m up a creek, however, it wasn’t seized, the oil is fine, no vapor lock so really did it even overheat?
120 psi on that one cylinder is not terrible. And you are correct, it should run ok with that one cylinder being just a tad low. With all the other cylinders being that high I would not condemn this engine yet.
Here was the problem... turns out one of the dist pickup wire was broken. The wires were so brittle they broke into bits when I looked at them. So everything else was just a total coincidence... mercy!
The gear was like stuck on so I pulled it and worked it on the bench. Got the replacement pickup in but now I’m having trouble with the dist. I don’t get, I don’t see where it locks in like a chev or how it would even turn cause the inside is smooth. It goes down like 95% but then is stuck with like maybe 1/4” to go. I’ve heard to just turn the engine a hair and it’ll go but is that with it already in? I don’t want to turn the engine over cause I don’t want to re-arrange all my wires. It’s very frustrating cause like I said, I can’t see how to move the oil pump shaft or how it can move.
You should be able to rotate the dizzy shaft and get it to drop in, if in fact it's just not clocking correctly.
You should be able to put a socket on the crank bolt and move the engine a bit.
It's been years, but isn't that a hex on the bottom of the dizzy ?
I'm also one of those that would have bought a rebuilt dizzy instead of just replacing one part on a 35+ year old dizzy. I learned that the expensive way many years ago.
I’ve been reading other posts too, there must be just too much gunk for me to see the hex part, it just looks round in there. I will mess around with it this afternoon. Like I said originally I’ve never taken a Ford completely apart so am lost with regard to what this shaft actually looks like.
) a LOT of aggravation. 
