less than a week ago I let my friend drive my truck for the day to take some trash to the dump.. Well later that day I got a phone call at work sayin my truck just dumped fuel all over his driveway..... and when I go over to his house there is a large discolored area in his driveway, and some fuel puddled in a few spots.. I looked around and found nothing, even had him start the truck with me under it to look around and could find nothing.. it did not look as though the fuel pump was leaking, but I'm not sure. Anyways I drove it home about nine blocks.. and went to start my truck yesterday to go to work, and it would start and run for about 2 seconds then die did same thing two to three times then I gave up and drove the wifes truck to work. Would this be fuel pump problem?? also the past couple weeks she started smokin a white puff when you start her in the morning.. think the valve seals are startin ot leak.. any Ideas on the fuel?? Thanks

Josh

76 F-100, 360, Dynomax Headers, 2 1/2 Exh, glass packs, otherwise stock

92 F-150 extCab, 302 All Stock (Wife's Truck)

 

>less than a week ago I let my friend drive my truck for the
>day
Almost NEVER a good idea, I'm scared already!

I'd look for a cracked fuel line, I had one that was cracked and leaked but you had to bend the hose around to see the crack. The part from the tank to the fuel pump is under vac and the part from the pump to the carb is under pressure. But with the cost of fuel line, I'd go ahead and replace it. I think it's less that $1/foot.

If you have a front/rear tank selector, that might leak as well, but if it's leaking a bunch of gas, I'd look from the pump to the carb.

> also the past couple weeks
>she started smokin a white puff when you start her in the
>morning.. think the valve seals are startin ot leak
White smoke should be water, if it's just a small amount then it could be condensation and I wouldn't worry about it. Pull the rad cap off and run the motor to full warm and see if you get little bubble from inside the rad. This would be a head gasket allowing air into the cooling system.

 

Thanks for the reply, got the fuel pump changed out tonight, runs good, but I still need to replace a few lines.. As for my friend borrowin my truck I wasn't real worried until he called.. then I got worried. He keeps tryin to get me to sell my truck to him, but I just cant part with it.. That would be a very sad sad day, at least until I found a crew cab ford with a 7.3 turbo diesel I could afford.. HAH that will be awhile! also would both head gaskets start leaking at the same time?? I have duel Exhaust and I think it is puffin out both sides. It only happens when I first start it or when I get on the gas. I was thinking of rebuilding to something better later this year. I have heard of putting a 428 crank in it and using 390 rods and pistons. I was thinking of going that route and using gapless rings. what would this have for power output off pump gas? any info would be appreciated.

Thanks
Josh

 

>He keeps tryin to get me to
>sell my truck to him, but I just cant part with it..
This is sounding more and more like a cruel trick that he's playing on you. Check you brake lines QUICK

>also would both head gaskets start leaking
>at the same time??
Not as likely, I don't think you have a gasket problem when you only have the white smoke at start up. But if you have the bubbles in the rad it could be a gasket. A compression test would help.

> I was thinking of rebuilding to
>something better later this year. I have heard of putting a
>428 crank in it and using 390 rods and pistons. I was
>thinking of going that route and using gapless rings. what
>would this have for power output off pump gas? any info
>would be appreciated.
The 428 crank is about $400 and requires a different flywheel because it's externally balanced. You'll have to rebalance the engine too but that's something that should be done anyway.

The 410 is an excellent truck engine, excellent torque and not that expensive.

I converted my 360 to a 410 60 over. Which is a 20 under 428 or 99.1% of a 428. I run about 10.25:1 CR, crower power beast cam, hooker headers, dual exhaust, ported C7AE-A heads, Streetmaster intake and Predator carb. It gives unreal low end torque.

A 390 with a good dual pattern cam and ported heads with headers will give excellent results too. The 428 crank just gives more but the cranks are getting more expensive as time goes on.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 11-Jul-02 AT 09:57 AM (EST)]Karljay,

So, you're running the Crower Power Beast and getting monster torque? Something must be wrong with my truck! Even with the 4.10 gears , it's still doesn't feel like a stump puller or a tire smoker. I assume your cam has the same specs as mine. It is the level 3 power beast, not the level 2 Baja Beast, correct?

Thanks,

 

Karljay

>I converted my 360 to a 410 60 over. Which is a 20 under
>428 or 99.1% of a 428. I run about 10.25:1 CR, crower power
>beast cam, hooker headers, dual exhaust, ported C7AE-A
>heads, Streetmaster intake and Predator carb. It gives
>unreal low end torque.

what did you use for parts internal of motor like crank rods pistons.
I am new to the rebuilding a 360 into something else like a 390 or 410. This sounds like the way I would go unless I can find a good (and Cheap) 428 crank. All the information you could give would be Greatly appreciated!

Thanks
Josh

 

>Karljay,
>
>So, you're running the Crower Power Beast and getting
>monster torque? Something must be wrong with my truck! Even
>with the 4.10 gears , it's still doesn't feel like a stump
>puller or a tire smoker. I assume your cam has the same
>specs as mine. It is the level 3 power beast, not the level
>2 Baja Beast, correct?
>
>Thanks,

Correct, mine is the Crower 16903 level 3. I'm running 35x12.5x16.5 MT Baja tires with some kind of limited slip and NP435 tranny. I ran 33" mud tires before and it really smoked them, not it's not quite the same but still smokes them pretty good. At about 5mph in 2nd at about 1500 rpm, it'll light up with just a little gas.

My cranking compression is 205~210# and the heads are heavily ported and matched to both intake (ported too) and headers out to a 2.5" dual exhaust. The engine if fresh with < 50 miles on it.

I'm surprised that you don't have more power, the Crower is known for agressive mid range. What's the rest of the engine?

 

>Karljay
>
>>I converted my 360 to a 410 60 over. Which is a 20 under
>>428 or 99.1% of a 428. I run about 10.25:1 CR, crower power
>>beast cam, hooker headers, dual exhaust, ported C7AE-A
>>heads, Streetmaster intake and Predator carb. It gives
>>unreal low end torque.
>
>what did you use for parts internal of motor like crank rods
>pistons.
>I am new to the rebuilding a 360 into something else like a
>390 or 410. This sounds like the way I would go unless I
>can find a good (and Cheap) 428 crank. All the information
>you could give would be Greatly appreciated!
>
>Thanks
>Josh
The 428 crank should run < $400 and they are still out there, but you'll have to have the engine balanced and get another flywheel. I did the conversion for about $1,200 including cutting the pistons down to zero deck and billit steel McLoed flywheel and 12" CF dual friction clutch.

The crank is a 428 and the rods are standard 390/428 with arp bolts and the pistons are L2291F 60 cut to zero deck. Standard oiling mods w/HV/HP oil pump and Milodon rear sump 10qt oil pan and windage tray.

I don't know if the 428 crank setup was worth the extra $$ but I decided to go all out on this engine. I live at 0 elevation but plan on spending a lot of time in the 5-7500' range and I notice a large power loss in other cars at that elevation. Hopefully this will cure that.

I'd be willing to bet that a properly setup 390 would be close to a stock 410, but if you're after every little bit the 428 crank is the way to go.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 16-Jul-02 AT 00:24&nbsp;AM (EST)]karljay

Sorry for all the questions, but this happens to be my first ford "rebuild" I have put longblocks in trucks, swaped cranks with engine just hangin above truck (VERY SCARY EXPERIENCE) was a big old strait six had it up once and swaped the crank. next day went back to set in the tranny and one of the bolts snapped! That was a BIG "what if that happened last night!!" But this truck is my "baby" and I dont want to miss on anything. I dont have the truck lifted or anything, stock tires and a C6 Trans w/shiftkit would this hold up??
what fuel do you run in that motor? what kind of clearances do you have for the valves, with the pistons cut to zero deck? can the local Napa cut the pistons to Zero Deck?? So many questions and such an interuppted thought process tonight cant remember them all!! thanks for your time!

Josh

Also what brand piston??

 

Karljay,

See my sig for components used. I'm not sure of the internals, and I fear that may be where my problem is. Maybe the pistons are not quite right and my compresions is low. Last I measured it was around 145 PSI per cylinder. I'm hoping to try the Ed heads again, had heli-coil issues last attempt. Maybe they will help.

 

>I dont have the truck lifted
>or anything, stock tires and a C6 Trans w/shiftkit would
>this hold up??

Actually the C6 is a VERY strong tranny, should be no problem.

>what fuel do you run in that motor?
So far I only have about 50 miles on it and I'm just running regular gas for now. Once I get the insurance setup (few more days) then I can stop wrenching and start driving it.
I did a few tricks to help pump gas on a higher compression engine:
Polished combustion chambers
Block off exhaust crossovers
custom curved dist
flattop pistons that are zero decked for better squish effect against the head


>what kind of clearances do you have for the valves with the pistons >cut to zero deck?
I don't have the exact numbers but they did bend the push rods when I checked the clearance without the head gasket on, I think it was about 80 thou but that was 2 years ago.

>can the local Napa cut the pistons to Zero Deck??
If they have a machine shop, usually the larger ones are the only ones that do. I had mine cut because I found the 428 crank AFTER I bought the forged 390 flat tops. So I was kinda stuck and didn't want to pay for custom pistons.

The cutting of the pistons should be done by the same shop that'll be doing the balancing and MUST be done before balancing. The actual amount that needs to be cut depends on the block and if it's been decked or not. It really needs to be assembled to know for sure.
>Also what brand piston??
TRW I think.

 

>Karljay,
>
>See my sig for components used. I'm not sure of the
>internals, and I fear that may be where my problem is. Maybe
>the pistons are not quite right and my compresions is low.
>Last I measured it was around 145 PSI per cylinder. I'm
>hoping to try the Ed heads again, had heli-coil issues last
>attempt. Maybe they will help.

I've heard about the heli-coil issues, sorry to hear about the problems with an otherwise great head.

145 does seem to be low. Mine came up at about 210 and I have a stock 360 in another truck that comes up at 180. I wonder if your cam timming is off. I put mine in straight up with no degreeing, but I've got one of those adjustable timming sprockets that allow for 4+, straight and 4-.

It could be many things but 145 does seem a bit too low.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 20-Jul-02 AT 01:04&nbsp;AM (EST)]My Edelbrock timing set also is adjustable. I think it's pretty close to straight up, but I did not use a Cam degreeing kit, so it may be off a little. I need to look closer at the pistons and see how flush they come with the deck. Who knows, they might have used some inappropriate pistons.