Hey guy's,
Just pulled the engine in my 89(5.0L) and thought I would share this with you.
-210000 mile on engine (changed oil every 3000-5000 miles)
-back two intake bolts snapped off when I tried to remove them(go into water jackets of head)
-knock sensor broke apart when I put the socket on it to remove
-two of the four bolts that hold the water pump/timing chain cover on snapped off(go into water jacket). The timing cover would not come off because the bolts were rusted inside the holes. Had to break the timing cover off the engine.
-heads looked ok
-all rod bearing had a little more wear than I expected
-main bearing all look descent
-all piston oil rings were starting to gum up/ just shy of sticking
-all cylinders had about .003-.005 ridge on them (not bad/still see the cross cut of the hone)
-all followers were stuck in bore(standard)
-cam looked good/bearings ok
-all casting plugs looked good/no holes or leaking or rust on inside(freeze plugs)
-rear main seal in good shape/thought it was leaking but it doesn't appear to have been

While some of this is standard for a engine, I thought that it really wasn't in that bad of shape during the tear down. Not basd for the old Ford.

Will let you know how the rebuild is going as soon as I get the block back from the machine shop.

 

pay attention to your cam choice if you cam up. your running speed density and cam selection is criticle

 

Thanks,

Already replaced the speed density with a FMS MAF system. By the way, is it still common practice to use 30wt non-detergent oil for the break-in? I always used that for the ring seating, however, there may be something out there these days that is better?

 

i am a believer in the oldschool when it comes to break in a motor. so yea i would once youve done that for a good 500 miles, change oil. do again for another 500-1000 miles then you can run synthetics from that point on. by the way dont use a fram filter ok. bad bad bad

 

Another question:
I had originaly thought to go with Eagle rods for the rebuild, however, now I am wondering if the original rods would not work. I am building a slightly upgraded 302 with roughly 9.3-1 compression (static). I originaly was going to put in a E303 cam, but have since learned a thing or two about teh torque range of the 302(thanks to this forum) and have decided to go with a shorter duration cam. With this said, and since the engine will not go above 6000 rpm, if 5500 rpm, would the original rod be just as good. If I do go with the original rods, would ARP rod bolts be recommended?
I am guessing at this point that the crank will need to be cut .010 under cut on both the rods and mains. Will this play a factor with the rods?

Thanks

 

There are many 5.0's out there rev'ing 6000 RPM & higher with stock rods. ARp bolts are a nice upgrade but not necessary for every day driving. Turning the crankshaft undersize will have no issues with the rods. It is always good to have your engine dynamic balanced, especially if rods etc have been changed around or if it will be used for high speed use. Bill.

 

well, I decided to go with some new rods. The price for re-sizing the old rods and then get some new bolts was only 50.00 difference from just perchasing new rods. Anyway, got the engine to the machine shop today. Boy, I forgot how much it cost to machine an engine. Vat/magnuflux/clean up decking/line hone the mains/bore-hone the cylinders/replace cam bearings/press on new pistons/grind crank and finally balance all the works is right around 900.00. A little more than it use to be. Well, will let you know how it come out.

 

That's not bad considering all the work your having done. Does that include the pistons and rods?

 

no,

The rods are eagle rods and they are about 250. The pistons are forged speed pro and they came as a rebuild kit I got form Summit. If any body out there orders one of these kits, make sure you tell them it goes in a truck and you can also upgrade the KB pistons for forged piston if that is what you want to do.

 

Well,
It's been about three week and the machine shop is not done with the engine. In the mean time, anyone got a line on a new timing chain cover for the 302 Ford truck? I checked ebay and only saw the type with the fuel pump boss. Was trying to find Ford OEM part.

Thanks

 

For your timing cover, go to www.survivalmotorsports.com, one of FTE's sponsors. Click on the Blue Thunder catalog, and shop away. Just noticed how much you're paying for your machine work- OUCH! I just had my 302 bored and honed, decked, align honed, cam bearings and freeze plugs installed, and my new rotating assembly balanced for $417.00 by a very well-known shop here in Tulsa. I know I got a good deal, but YIKES! I guess it varies quite a bit depending on where you live. By the way, that timing cover is $33.00. He's got some great deals on cams, too.

Pete

 

Hey guy's;

Well, it's been many long week's since I started this rebuild, but I think I'm finally done (with the engine). I just got the engine together. Some highlights:

-The machine work took 3 weeks.
-When using Ford Motor sport heads, the thermactor inserts do not come with the heads. This is important!! You must have the TWO inserts to put all the front bracketrs on the engine. I just bought them from Ford yesterday and they cost me 18.00 and some change EACH!!! I tried my best to get them out of the old head, but no dice.
-Ford Motor Sport manual instructs you to use only the -A50 intake manifold gaskets from Ford. Being a good little boy, I ordered them. When I went to install the intake manifold, the gaskets that were a "must" from Ford were too large in the runners. My truck manifold looked like it may not seal if I used them. I choose to use the Fel-Pro gaskets I got with the rebuild kit. Hopefully this will not bite me in the a--.
-Speaking of the gasket kit, I must have made a boo-boo. When I ordered my rebuild kit form Summit Racing, I got a 5.0L gasket kit as part of the package. I thought I told them it was a truck engine. The gasket kit I got was for a passenger car. Out of all the gaskets in the kit, I used the rear main seal, the water pump gasket, the intake manifold gasket and the head gaskets. BE SURE TO TELL THEM YOU ARE REBUILDING A TRUCK ENGINE.
-I swapped the engine over to a roller motor. The engine was already setup to do so. I chose to install roller rocker with the "new" roller cam and lifters. When I took the engine to the machine shop, I asked for the deck to be "cleaned". I am now wondering how much they actually took off the deck. When I went to install the rockers, I could not get the "lash" (lifter preload) to work out. I had to order a shim kit from Ford Motor Sports. Yes, I replaced the push rods with the 5.0L roller length.
-I put a set of those Eagle rods in. The torque for bolts on the Eagle rod is deffernt from stock. OK. I read the instructions and they tell you if you have a 7/16 bolt with ARP 8740 as the identification, the torque is XX. The problem is that the bolt is actually 3/8's. Well, if you look at the 3/8's column, it may lead you astray. I attempted to contact Eagle and was put on "termianl hold". The instructions lead to some confusion.
-I also used ARP bolts on the heasds. This is a must when using Ford Motor Sport heads. Again, the instruction for the torque on the bolts leaves something to be desired.
-When putting on the oil pan, use the one piece rubber gasket. It is 17.00 at Autozone. It will be 50.00 at Ford.
-I stuck with the E303 cam on this. I attempted to counter the 2000-2500 RPM come on with a little more stall in the converter. I am going with the Hughes converter that has 1800 stall and still retains the split channel for lock-up on the AOD.

Well,
This weekend I'll let you know if all is well.

 

Well,

Got the engine in last week and started it this weekend. It started immediately and then died. Took about half an hour to get it going again. It was starving for air. Cleaned the IAC and bumped the throttle idle up alittle and it started. I have an intake (vaccum) leak somewhere. The idle is a little too rough. Runs great thought. I was suprised by the torque range again. Nothing until about 2500 and then will pull very strong through 5500. I have the BBK 61MM throttle boby on it. I think I am going to put the original back on. Reading some of the threads in here and it looks like it might be too much air for the engine.

That all for now.

 

Hey Pete, what machine shop did you go to here in Tulsa? I'll be looking for a place in a few months.

 

Hey guy's,

Need some thoughts. I took off the upper intake manifold and sure enough, the gasket was off in the back. It's a pain getting that set right. Anyway, put on a new gasket and I think I got the vaccum leak fixed. I also replaced the 61 MM throttle body with the original. It does have a notice change in torque range. The engine likes the velocity not the mass. My question is, anyone out there have any experience with the FR E303 cam? I have a FR MAF convertion kit on it and am wondering if the computer can handle to E303 cam profile? It still is having difficulty managing idle (I have not switch the injectors form Bank to SFI yet). It will surge trying to find the right mixture of air and fuel (I think). Once it starts the surging, it will eventually die. Could the injector firing order do this to the idle? Another question, is there a way to roughly figure you compression by using the PSI in the chamber. I have some cylinders running about 140 PSI and some running 120-125 PSI. The only thing I can come up with is the rocker arms are still not adjusted right. Might be loosing some by the valves. It does run good and strong, so I'll keep plugging away at it.

Thanks for all the help.