I'm VERY afraid that I'm going to be looking to have my engine rebuilt in the not-so-distant future. I just bought the truck with the understanding that it burns oil and with the attitude that oil is cheap and rebuilds are not, so I'm already prepared for the worst.

First off, rebuilding the motor myself is just not an option. I have the facilities to pull the motor, but I just can't be without the truck for THAT long (my projects ALWAYS take 10x longer than I plan!)

Can anyone tell me from experience how much it would run to have a 460 out of an 88 F250 rebuilt? I'm not talking building it for any more performance, just rebuilt so that it doesn't smoke or burn any oil anymore. I'm in Charlotte, NC, so anyone remotely close would give me a better idea. I know a guy that can rebuild it and would probably be reasonable, but the dilemma there is that I'd have to bring the motor to him already pulled, and my truck is the only thing I have that I could get it there in, so that's kinda out of the question... (I know, what kind of engine rebuilder doesn't have the resources to pull the motor out of the truck and do it full service?!?!?! Well, this guy does it out of his house and can't have vehicles with no motors sitting on the lawn without the city getting crazy about it)

Anyone?!?!?!?


Matt

 

Depends on what is the cause of the oil consumption. It could just be the heads need rebuilt. You could do that from home w/o pulling the engine and carry them to the shop in a friends car. Cost: about 100-200 bucks plus parts. However, theres a good chance the bore is larger and the rings smaller. When you get the heads off, you might be able to tell by the size of the ridge on the cylinder. If the ridge isnt too big, maybe the cylinder isnt that worn and you MIGHT get away with just a head job. Keep in mind, however, the fresh heads will stress the old rings. Anyway, if you dont have any major engine damage, ie metal big metal particles in the oil, you might start off with the heads and see if that cures the problem. You are talking about an engine that BURNS oil and not LEAKS right? What kind of oil pressure do you have? Low pressure could mean main bearings are worn. I have gotten away with changing the bearings and rebuilding the heads w/o ever touching the pistons and then driving the truck for 7 yrs with no troubles. On a 300 I6 tho.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 02-Dec-02 AT 11:26 PM (EST)]Yes, so far, all I've seen is oil burning (i.e. CLOUDS of smoke). I may do just that, pull the heads, get a gasket kit and go for the cheap approach to start. (just like me to go the cheap route, then end up spending twice the amount when I re-do it the RIGHT way). It doesn't seem to smoke much at idle, but when you rev the engine, it smokes like a factory. If I am real easy on the gas when accellerating, it also doesn't smoke much.

Oil pressure is ROCK solid, by the way. It doesn't even fluctuate like every other vehicle I've ever driven, which REALLY amazed me. That whole head-job concept is sounding REALLY good ... I hope that's all I need.

Matt

 

>That whole head-job concept is sounding
>REALLY good ... I hope that's all I need.


Quote of the day!!!

 

It would atleast get you by until better weather. Head gasket kits are cheap as far as engine parts go. Thats about all that would be wasted if you had to tear it down again. If you have rock solid oil pressure like you say, it would be strange to think the rings are that worn. I would be guessing the valve seals are shot and its sucking oil down the valve stem. I bet you'll want to get the guides knurled/replaced and maybe new valves. Of course you don't "have" to. You could just slap some new seals on there and call it good enough. Then again, you could go all the way and get the guides done, seats ground, new valves ground to match, get the guides ground down to accept more lift from the cam, new springs, port n polish. You could push 400-500 bucks easy with all that on a v8. Mill and magnaflux are pretty much standard head work, hopefully you have no cracks. Its all a question of where you want to draw the line. If its a "beater" truck and all you want to do is stop the oil burning, just put new seals on the valves and see what happens. Don't even pull the heads. Run the piston up to TDC so you don't lose a valve and yank the spring and stick a new seal on. Good luck and let us know what happens.

 

Its all a question of where you want to draw the
>line. If its a "beater" truck and all you want to do is
>stop the oil burning, just put new seals on the valves and
>see what happens. Don't even pull the heads.


Well, I spent $1500 on the truck, so it's sort of in the beater category, but I want it to last. I need it to pull my Jeep to the trails and drive it daily. So I want to do something sort of in-between. I've tried the "cheap" fixes first (running 20w50 oil, and Lucas Oil Stabilizer through it), and it didn't really help anything.

I really don't think it needs to be completely overhauled, though, since it still has plenty of power and solid oil pressure. THe previous owner claims to have done a compression test as well and indicates all cyls are pretty close to spec there.

Thanks for the suggestions, I am an engine novice when it comes to internals. I've done motor swaps, but they've been complete motors, never having to tear into one. I am going to try to get a Service Manual for my truck and see what all is involved there.

Matt

88 F250 with Mosquito Fogger 460

 

Depending on how many miles are on the motor the most I would do would be to replace the valve seals before considering a complete overhaul. Just doing the heads is a very risky proposition because when you do the heads it makes the top end nice and tight but you can put too much strain on the old rings and end up with a worse problem than you started with i.e. smoking and oil consumption because of increased blowby. I've seen engines push oil right out the dipstick tube when the crank case get over pressurized.

 

I agree with Bill, don't do just the heads.

The first thing I'd consider doing is to have a competent mechanic check the compression and perform a leakdown test. Not to slight the previous owner and his compression test, but that'll tell you what kind of condition the rings, valves and valve seals are in. Then you can make some decisions on which direction you need to take with regard to repair/replacement.

 

Always listen to George in this forum and hear him out. He can save you time and money in the long run. I wish I had half the experience he has with these engines.
I would pull those valve covers and have a look at the seals though before doing anything more. No harm can be done with a tube of RTV in hand. If the seals are cracked or out of place or deformed, there is your answer. Good mechanics can be worth their weight in gold sometimes, but I got a good compression meter from parts store for less than $20.
And yes, a head job ONLY will stress the piston rings, I said that in my first post to you, but I haven't had a problem there yet after 7 years of HARD service in my 300 I6.
But now that I have the means, I almost always replace and beef-up everything; whether it needs it or not. I remember what its like, though, not having many tools or a way around or even where to go to get what I need. Good luck.

 

why not head to the local junkyard, get an engine from them, rebuild it and then when it is rebuilt, swap it in to the truck. i plan on doing that with the 460 in my F250.

 

There's an example of "thinking outside the box." But one thing comes to mind about that. Around here truck 460's are a little more scarce than car 460's. There are a few differences like football rods, rear sump oil pan, etc that you may want to keep from your truck engine. Unless you plan to replace all that anyway.

 

 

>There's an example of "thinking outside the box." But one
>thing comes to mind about that. Around here truck 460's are
>a little more scarce than car 460's. There are a few
>differences like football rods, rear sump oil pan, etc that
>you may want to keep from your truck engine. Unless you
>plan to replace all that anyway.


I just stopped at NAPA today and picked up new valve seals. They were MUCH cheaper than I thought they would be. I bought the whole set of 16 for like $11. I didn't get the set of valve cover gaskets, though since they wanted $45 for them, so I'll just stick to RTV.

Is there anything special about a 460 that would make the valve cover gaskets THAT pricey?!?!?!

Matt

 

The gaskets are probably steel covered in silicone, because that is way to much money for cork or rubber gaskets the good news is if your motor has the same gaskets they are reusable. Eric

 

>Around here truck 460's are
>a little more scarce than car 460's. There are a few
>differences like football rods, rear sump oil pan, etc that
>you may want to keep from your truck engine. Unless you
>plan to replace all that anyway.

"Football rods?" What are those? I thought the car and truck engines were the same. At least that was my understanding I got from others on this forum. Perhaps I misunderstood or missed something. Are the football rods on the car or on the truck, I'm guessing the truck, and are they better than the non football rods? The reason I ask is because I'm gonna be doing the same as the previous poster suggested.
I'm hopefuly gonna get a 460 short block out of a '76' T-Bird, maybe in a couple of weeks, to rebuild and replace the one in my truck now, which is a '75' model. Would it be better to look for another truck engine or is it safe to go with the car engine? I guess I can get better rods if I thought I needed to. I'm gonna bump up the compression a little using D0VE-C heads, an after market cam and timing set for a little more low end power. Not in any hurry so I can look around if I need to. Thanks.