Ok I pulled the engine on my 1977 F250 4x4 with a 4spd and 351m to fix the clutch with turned out to be a throw out bearing to find that when we drained the oil about 3 qrts of water came out first and then the oil ran. Am I stuck with a cracked block or is there a possibility that there is just a bad seal somewhere. Also this truck has been weathered without a hood for a few months so the intake is rusted to crap along with the carb. I have 3 spare 351's laying around for parts but I dont want to switch blocks if I dont have to.

Thanks
Dan Chizek

 

Well was it antifreeze or just water coming out?
do a compression test on it, if you can get it running does it hold vacuum? do a coolant leak down test too that will be the easist way to find out.

Curtis

 

Before you do the compression test, can I suggest you pull the plugs and turn it over a few times? If it's been sitting out in the weather, is there a chance the water in the oil pan was from rain? A friend of mine had just this issue with a Caddy 472 he put in his Chebby the other day. Here's what he and I came up with for his situation (water in the cylinders, water in the crankcase).

First he drained every last bit of oil/water and put on a fresh filter. Then he pulled the plugs and put some oil in each cylinder. After that, he filled the motor with fresh oil and added about 2 extra quarts to make sure it got up above the bearings and such. Then he just cranked it over a few times (4 or 5 10 second shots, giving the starter time to cool after every shot). Oil/water shot out the plug holes, clean oil circulated. Then he changed the oil and filter (right amount of oil this time), put in new plugs, and she runs like a champ.

A few things with his situation though: he knew it was rain water and the engine hadn't been run with water in the oiling system. If you think the water in yours is from the cooling system, and/or you think the motor has been run with all of that water in there, you might want to take a different approach. Pop open a valve cover and see if everything is covered in rust in there. If it is, chances are this motor has been run with the water in it.

Good luck with it!

 

the motor has run maybe 10 times in the last 2 years and a couple friends i had working on it at school broke the bearing out so I had to drag it back home. They replaced all the frost plugs in the block because they were broken and the coolant just ran out the side onto the ground but that shouldnt get into the oil. As far as I could tell I didnt see any green from the water running out and there should have been coolant and not straight water in the cooling system. With as much water as there was my radiator should be empty. I havent had it running yet but I will try as soon as i replace intake and carb. I will do a compression test on it but will that tell if I have cracked block?

What do you mean by a coolant leak down test? I will also probably check the valve covers just to be sure.

Thanks

 

A coolant leak down tester pressureizes your cooling system to test for leaks or internal problems. But if you have just water draining out and your system is still full then its not a cracked block. What bearing was broken?

Curtis

 

The throw out bearing...not sure how its spelled but clutch uses it to put car in and out of gear. (Mounts right on the tranny where engine/clutch connects. I may have no idea what Im talking about but thats the bearing) It was broke so I couldnt shift it out of gear or back in until the entire bearing just busted out. Do I have to buy this tester from say NAPA or Carquest or Advanced auto or can I take it to a shop to run it?