Im in the process of buying a 92 F150 Nite 5 speed 302. I know my way around small block chevys like the back of my hand. Ive owned plenty of windsor series powered F150 and F250 trucks ranging from the late 70s up to the mid 90s. Every windsor i owned i blew up Thus turning me into a die hard Chevy guy.

The reason why im buying this truck is because its a 2 wheel drive short bed stepside and you cant find a short bed step side ANYTHING for a decent price. this one so happens to be a 1200 dollar needs fuel pump and minor body work fixxer upper deal.

Now with every windsor i owned and killed, i tried to rebuild them BUT couldnt because the bolts going into the timing cover/water pump always snapped clean off thus deterring any process towards a rebuild. I am told these bolts go into the water jackets and freeze up and its VERY tricky to remove the timing cover without the bolts shearing off when they get stuck. Ive tried in the past PB Blaster, WD 40 even an oxy acetalene torch.

Now this truck i had running the other day and noticed LOW oil pressure and a very audible dead lifter on the right bank. I dont plant to rebuild the truck to stock specs by ANY means. Ive looked into putting 351/400 Modified heads on top or look into a decent set of aftermarket heads.
(i did own 351/400M powered trucks and broncos as well and ALL of them were damn near indestructible and a fine motor ford should have never done away with along with the 390 big block) Im also well aware of 351Cleveland heads atop a windsor series motor.

Onto my next question. I am well aware the block nickle contents dropped from either 72 or 74. Many windsors i owned the blocks cracked, and that was with stock componentry or minor modifications such as edelbrock intake manifolds 4bbl carbs and headers. This truck is no way shape or form going to be a strict 1/4 mile runner, rather a very abused street runner. Every small block chevy i owned held up amazingly, every ford on the other hand, id loose bottom end bearings resulting in **** poor oil pressure, kill lifters which also kills oil pressure, a combination of the 2 and engine siezure, cracked blocks, and pretty much learned theres no ford windsor series engine that can hold up to any abuse in stock trim. By that i mean being mudbogging with mud up to the rockerpanels turning 5-6000 RPM, boiling tires off, and turning high rpms on a day to day basis. Give me a 0010 Casting block cylinders bored .03 over, a set of 462 Heads, an HEI distributor, a 327 large journal steel "tufftrided" crank out of a late 60s early to mid 70s 2 ton dump truck, to be lightened and balanced with the rest of the rotating assembly, an agressive cam, and a nice high rise or cross ram intake with a set of headers and youll have one hell of a bad boy chevy motor. (all those components i stated are used in the race cars my friends and i race at lebanon valley)

I do have a 390 big block and 4 speed top loader sitting in a dump truck as "i speak" and with some work, i would probably stuff that into the F150.


SO my main question is, How do you get the timing cover off the block without shearing the bolts? Is there a method out there i havent tried? Or is there a secret only known to ford techs/gear heads?

 

Nobody familiar with pulling the timing cover off sucessfully?

 

Im swapping in a low mileage 302 in my truck right now right now and Ive never heard of the timing cover bolts snapping...I took both the new motor's and old motor' timing cover off without a problem...But these 302's are known oil pumps failing, thats what happened to my old one

 

<img src=http://a585.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/1/l_da1b38a8528f66bc22120b4c6a146c38.jpg>

 

<img src=http://a521.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/19/l_418f2867da43c2e87585e021578f6310.jpg>

 

Thats what im talking about.The bolts shear off when you try to remove them thats one of the 302s i tried to rebuild.

 

It happens all the time, its not a hard fix, u just need a propane torch, a drill and an ez out. It has happened on my 302 and 351. My 351did it recently,we had to drill it out and use some JB WELD to fix it, or u can helicoil it. Don't turn ur back on Fords for a minor fix.

 

Also be aware of the porosity on the water passages, JB WELD can fix that too. A replacement cover can be anywhere f 50 to 200 bucks

 

It seems to me your pretty much hung up on Chevrolets.Maybe you should hold of buying the Nite.I'm sure theres a 454ss or something with your name on it,just waiting.You could always just swap a stepside bed onto any 2wd swb Chevy you find. Just an idea.

I've tore into quite a few Ford small block and have never broke a timming cover bolt. Not saying it don't happen but none me or friends have took apart did.
Maybe ole Henry Ford in the sky is sending you a message the he doesn't want you touching anything that FoMoCo has built. Jace

 

I hit it with an oxy acetalene torch and tried getttin ahold of it with a pair of vice grips and it was STUCK. If i had a tap and die kit i would have drilled it and tapped it...

 

Im hung up on them because they seem to last and take abuse. Go with what works right? This would probably be the last ford vehicle i buy anyways. (NOT impressed at all with these turdular cough modular 4.6/5.4s)

And screw the SS 454s. Theyre garbage. I hate big blocks period. I can do more with a 350 block and 3 1/4 inch 327 large journal crank, than that TBI 454 could ever think of doing. Thats why i love Chevy/GM so much. there are alot of Performance small block componentrs that were factory produced in the late 60s to mid 70s. With MINOR ammounts of machine work you get incredible numbers on Stock OEM factory components...

 

Come to think of it the only big block i actually have respect for happens to be a 390 FE big block... which sits in a 70s F350 Dump truck that i bought for 50 bucks a couple years ago that needed the points in the distributor gapped and exhaust manifold gaskets and a set of mufflers... Runs like new too. Til my buddy borrowed it and called me up telling me he burnt the clutch out of it...

 

Try heating the broken bolts red hot as close to the block as possible without getting too much heat into the block.That means you have to use an oxy acetylene torch ,not a propane torch (too slow),wait for the bolts to completely cool before trying to unscrew them.Poor on the penetrating oil when the bolts are still warm.It usually works.

 

I had the bolts glowing cherry red and then doused them with PB blaster as they cooled like you suggested. When they still wouldnt budge, id throw the motor back in the bay and borrow my buddys roll back and haul it up to the local junk yard. theres 14 total Ford 302/351 Windsor powered Broncos, F150s and F250s sitting up there that i killed and didnt have the patience to screw around with them any longer. I only hope this stepside doesnt give me the same troubles...

 

Worse comes to worse ill take and cut the timing cover off with a sawzall/cut off wheel around the bolt, and then take the remaining of the cover off, and get a new one. Then id have the bolt exposed so i could possibly get it to turn and if not drill a small hole and throw a nail or something in the hole to grip onto to apply more torque (ive done this before with stubborn head studs) Then id probably go buy a thread chaser that or just give a friendly coat of anti sieze on the new timing cover bolts...