I was reading the article on fordmuscle.com on their project fe. Im trying to come up with some good ideas on why the spun bearing in a fresh engine. the clearance were all in spec. new oil pump that has been blueprinted. where is the oil starvation in a fe? no warning just all of a sudden a spun bearing and a destroyed engine. i know clevelands have main bearing starvation problems and y blocks needed oil to the top of the engine. the windsor and the 385 series were supposed to be pretty decent oiling system wise as far as i knew. can anyone enlighten me as to where the oiling system needs mods in a fe. thanks don.

 

Don, earlier in the testing process they flattened a cam. Seems like maybe they didn’t clean out all the debris and it came to bite them later.

Barry

 

If you go back and look at the pics, you'll see they didn't do one of the most important oil mods to this engine. Anyone that builds a performance FE, should read a few books about this engine first. The standard oiling mods to an FE include drilling out the 3/8" passage from the oil pump to the filter adapter, getting a large bore filter adapter, HV oil pump, matching the main bearing and saddle oil holes, restricting the oil flow to the valve train, windage tray...

The passage from the oil pump to the filter base was left stock! This along with the question about how they cleaned the engine after the cam lobes went flat, is more than enough to cause problems. I never saw or heard anything about doing a complete teardown and cleaning after the cam lobe problem. I didn't want to say this to them, after all it's not my money and I didn't want flames.

Anyone has the right to keep metal particales in their engine, you don't have to clean the passages after a cam lobe fails if you don't want to. You can in fact pour metal shavings directly into your oil.

I just think this is very sad! A great engine and a legend has been tarnished. Many people have raced the FE engines and they are tough and will make great power. The design is different and the engine requires attention to the oiling system, but the basics of any good engine build is CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN! I had an FE fail this last summer because PAW sold me bad rods. It cost me about $1,000 to fix the problem and trust me, the 50 mile old block was re-tanked, the crank reground, and ALL bearing were replaced!

Maybe I feel different about my engine, I don't want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere in my 4X4 because of a cheap bearing, or little piece of metal!

Sorry for being so long, but I can't help but feel offended when an engine is dumped on because of this kind of problem.

 

Don- I'm always amazed when I see guys putting together an FE without doing the oil system. When the block is stripped for boring and honing seems to me to be the best time to do it, then you know it will be well cleaned before assembly. Sadly, there are some guys that just don't get it. I'm not sure if they don't think it is nessasary or if they don't want to admit they don't know how to do it. Fellows less than fourty years old seem to have the least understanding, like the guy who owns the shop where I've done some work. He was always freaking out when I did a customers oil system, said he was afraid that I might damage something, and it really wasn't needed anyhow. Because I felt it was important for the integrity of my work, I did the oil systems on my own time and offered my block as backup in case anything was damaged. Never had any trouble or any low oil pressure complaints. After an engine built by another employee spun a bearing, and 7 years of flawless performance on mine, the owner now does an oil job on every FE that goes thru the shop. DF

 

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I agree. I put bearings in my dad's 360 six years ago because I hated to hear it rattle when he started it. Then, once inside, I saw how rediculously small the oil feed passage is. I couldn't even fit my little finger in it! A HV oil pump won't do much good when the oil supply is choked off after the pressure regulator valve!

Now, the truck is still running great and the oil pressure gauge reads at the "L" of NORMAL, even when idling hot.

It's a good thing there's a site like this so people can share experiences and ask questions before learning the hard way.

Art

 

i dont know how well the engine was cleaned but they did say the engine was field stripped and inspected and cleaned. the bearings were matched to the block and the block was chamfered. i dont know if the passages from the pump were enlarged. the other journals on the crank were not damaged so how did metal damage only one bearing and crank journal. im not 40 but i have built engines and im trying to come up with good reasons for failure so when i build my fe for my 65 i dont make the same mistakes. i have a 352 right now but i think im gonna find a 390 block or beg a favor and try to get a 428 block. thanks for all your help.

 

Don- it would seem to me that the pump to filter passage is the most important. There is also a restriction cast in the oil feed to the #5 main, not everyone remembers to fix this one. Ford thought at that time that forcing more oil to the lifters was a good idea. If this is not fixed, the #5 main and #8 rod are living dangerously. All of the FEs that I have fixed had the #5 feed fixed and have had no lifter problems. DF

 

Okay guys ive never redone a oil system, would like to learn more about it . Were could i find this info? Guess your never to old to learn , of corse im not forty YET HAHAHA. But it does sound interesting . We dont do any major work at our shop , But would still like any info on this .
Trouble

 

Trouble here is a `thread` i have saved >>

3. "RE: 390 Rebuild"
29-Dec-00, 11:00 AM (EST)


Brian- haven't heard from the natural gas guy. As for cams the one I mentioned above is part # 343801 or 343802, depending on the year of block you have, some have thrust plate, some a thrust button. Lift is .548 going in annd .580 going out. This sometimes called a powermax H 278-2 cam. The oiling systems needs help because ford was stupid and sloppy when they machined these engines. The oil passage from the pump to the filter adapter is only drilled to 3/8 of an inch rather than the 7/16 shown on the prints. The design is okay but it was not executed very well. The first order of business is to fix this passage. With the block bare and upsidedown on the floor, Drill out the pump passage from 3/8 to 1/2, becarefull you are only going about a half inch deep here. Next put the block on its side and find the oil hole that feeds the filter adapter. It is 3/8 dia. if no one has messed with it. It needs to be 7/16 till it meets the 1/2 spot from the pump. Drilling this out is tricky because you must go in at an angle. I drill it in two steps, first with a special bit that has a 3/8 shank with 7/16 cutters, after the hloe is starter and enlarged to about 1/4 depth, I change to a regular drill bit. Drill very carefully here, if you go too far or crack the corner of the block your block is toast. The next set of problems is in the main saddle. The oil hole is not in line with the hole in the bearing. I mark the block with a felt tip with the bearing snapped in so I can see where to mark. Then take the bearing out and use a flame tip in a hand grinder to open up the hole to match your mark. Usually mains 1,2 and 4 need this but check them all. Then with the block right side up there is a restriction cast in the passage that feeds #5 main. Ford was trying to increase pressure to the lifters, a dumb idea. This restiction is why we see FEs with spun bearings on #5 main or #8 rod. Drill it out to match the rest of the passage. I thread the block at each point where ford used a press in plug. Lastly, there is a oil hole under one rocker stand on each head. I thread this for a pipe plug, being careful that it is in far enough for the rockerstand to sit flat, and drill the plug with an 080 hole to oil the rockers. Hope this all makes sense, I have done this to all my FEs and to a couple dozen customer engines and have never had a bearing failure or oil pressure complaint. DF
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__JOHN__Õ¿ö
FTE Club #7
Member-
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Santa Rosa, Calif.
72 F-250
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http://www.ford-trucks.net/users/jbhf250/
https://www.ford-trucks.com/pictorial/big/1972_f250_2.html

 

 

Thanks John i saved it to my folder for future use.
Trouble