Well I finally took her outon the road for a bit a 30 mile route and back. She did ok other than the oil light after a 75mph 2min run..I checked her before the return and added a .5 quart the headed back. She did the same thing ...about 75mph the temp went up to 1/3 and the oil pressure to 10 from 20-25.. then a tapping when I got off the highway...oil pressure?temp? This is the oil that was in the truck upon purchase maybe no good ?

 

Yes, the old oil could be bad. The old filter could also be clogged up. Or, it could be the drain back from the heads is clogged. the oil might be collecting in the heads, and not draining back fast enough. At any rate the tapping noise is probably the lifters colapsing with no oil, but it may also be a rod knocking with no oil getting to the bearings.

You can check that easy enough. 2 minutes at 75 mph and then the pressure drops? at a guess, that should be 3000 rpm. with it at idle, check the oil level. then run the engine up to 3000 rpm with the truck sitting still. Have someone watching the oil light, as soon as it comes on, pull out the dipstick and check the level. if it's low, then somethign is clogged up and the oil isn't getting back to the pan fast enough.

 

Bob
First off these 352's don't have that great of oil pressure. But I always change oil first thing when I buy them that way you know what you have. Mine runs right at 40. Second of all I used to own a 68 F250 with a 390. It used to heat up after about 65 mph. I tried alot of differant things. New stat, new flex fan,cleaned the radiator and even changer the water pump. My brother who was working for Ford at the time told me that these twin I beam trucks with that huge cross member at higher speeds push wind up under the hood slowing down the air flow thru the radiator. We I thought he was full of it but I gave his idea a try. I mounted a angle iron under the radiator and fabbed up a wind deflector out of plexi glass. Well it worked like a champ. I made one for my fathers 86 that was having the same problem and it cured his heating problem too. I have one on my 65 and have never seen the temperature rise above normal. I used to pull a fith wheel with my 68 and it never heated up after that.

I will have to get a picture of the deflector into my gallery.

jd

 

I agree with beaters advice bob, if your oil level in the pan is diminished at high RPM, its going somewhere, what weight is it? perhaps its a little too thick.....

anytime I bring a new rig home, oil change is a must, unless its painfully obvious the seller just changed it (looks brand new) in which case I change the filter..

I would change the oil and filter, then see if the problem persists, I recommend 15-40 Diesel grade oil for any FE, based on my reading in the oil and lube forum, its extra cleaning additives could probably do the old girl good too, and any filter that doesnt have the word FRAM on it.

 

You also might have an issue with the pickup screen getting clogged. Especially with older engines, the old rubber valve stem seals get brittle, and break. The pieces then work their way down into the pan.
Under higher RPMs, they get sucked up towards the pickup, and can seriously reduce oil flow, if not block it completely.
This problem will fool you alot, because when you shut the engine down, some oil flows back down the tube, and pushes the clog back away a little bit, just enough to give you decent oil pressure at startup and idle.
Once you pick up the RPMs again, though, the pieces get sucked up next to the pickup, and it starts all over again.
When you change your oil, I would look for black pieces of very hard rubber. Stick your finger in the oil drain hole, and feel around for any as well. That's how I discovered this problem in my old 352.
I got a couple gallons of diesel fuel, and poured it down the valve cover (with the drain plug out, of course). This washed a bunch of pieces out as well, but I eventually had to remove the pan to clean out the pickup tube.

 

good idea, although lately, youd have to take out a loan to buy a few gallons of diesel fuel

 

Don't you know that's right!
My daughter says daddies are like old Ford trucks: they're both stinky and noisy.

 

Well I took some advice an looked at some posts in the FE forum and my guess is I will start with removing the valve covers and changing oil/filter. I started her up today after a week sit, and she was tapping at first. I listened and it was rockers/rods/lifters related.. after she warmed up it quited for the most part but then I began to hear a knock near the front driver side of engine.. my guess is a valve sticking or ? it was not sever but seemed related to a idle issue where the engine would shiver in time with the knock..?? I have a lead on a 390 nearby but it's not in a running veh so ?? Would it bolt right in ? exh, ect..

 

The 390 would bolt right in place of the 352, as long as it does NOT have GT heads on it. The GT heads have a different exhaust bolt pattern that won't match your exhaust manifolds.

 

Its from a mid 70's Torino.. and is tied to a C6 so ?? I'd really rather bring my 352 back to life with a fever.. as this truck is just for camping - towing a 18ft cabin cruiser and gear..
All that is needed is for it to make the grapevine highway towing and Kernville hills without fail..

Original as possible ($) is my plan.. anyone know a guy close that can rebuild the original for a fair $ , no Granatelli mess...prefer a good o'l boy.. 100 miles from Costa Mesa CA...???

 

The FE(332,352,360,390,406,410,427,428) engines were not stock in any Ford passenger cars after 1970 or '71, so I would look closely at the "390" before plunking down any money!!

 

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/pts/111973470.html the link..I dont have $ or time at moment...