This is kinda long but maybe someone will know what to look out for or learn a thing or two for future experiences. As a quick thought I have been wanting to get a v-8 for oh close to 30 years now and well just when I thought my goal would come true it became very messy real quick. I purchased a worn out farm truck a couple of months ago and liked it because it was originally the ideal truck power everything, carbed 351, c 6, posi 355 rear doesn't get much better. I wanted a carb model for the ease of tuning etc. especially for someone who is getting started like myself. Well the motor was worn out but ran fine just low oil pressure so I checked my options engine rebuild or get my hands dirty and redo the crank etc. well I get a call from my brother and he says you won't believe this there is a new business out where we used to live and the sign says engine remanufacturing, so I get their number and sure enough they are new to the town (kinda odd being this is a fairly small town by todays standards) and ready for business.


Here is where it get's interesting. I talk to the fellow and he wants what advance wanted to do a rebuild and I thought that sounded great and it even came with a two year warranty. I think it over a day or so and then call him back and ask about options and he says well you let me know what you want and we can probably substitute parts and it won't cost much more if anything at all. So I ask what about installing 194/160 valves since you are gonna redo the heads anyway, no problem. What about cam options and he replied give me the specs and the company I work with can probably match it so I get some specs of a 4X4 torque cam and give them to him he says no problem, I mentioned that with that kinda lift it would need to be shimed or adjustable valvetrain would be needed, so I said could you replace the pedastal rockers with older studs and tap the holes and throw them in for me or at least shim it, no problem. So I call back the next day and he says it will cost the same, so I said do it sounds good. A week goes by and at that point I have pulled the motor cleaned everything that would be reused on the longblock and I am ready to do this. My brother came by and picked up the old motor and I finished cleaning a couple of things and 30 minutes later he pulls in I look at the heads and notice they are pedastal and it has not been shimed, first thought they know what they are doing and maybe they didn't get quite the lift I was looking for maybe they could only get an RV cam so it didn't require the adjustable valve train besides I want to install this thing and see what it does (mistake). My brother leaves and well after working on it for about a day by myself (had to take frequent breaks I was doing this outside and to be blunt it was hot as hell out there) I had it in and ready to fire. I fire it up and it is making a ticking sound which I knew was the lifters pumping up no problem I let it idle for about 20 minutes then drive it easily for about 5 and shut it off felt kinda weak but hey maybe I was expecting too much. The next day I am driving it very easily I might add around all of a sudden I hear a faint knocking and when I get home I notice oil dripping down between the engine and trans, here is the kicker there is about 10 psi of oil pressure I am pissed. I call them no problem bring it down and we will check it out they call me back and say that some silicone I had used on the oil pan had blocked the releif valve on the oil pump open and was causing the low psi he states he wants money for doing the work and it is all my fault so I replied how the hell did the silicone get past the pump screen and he states it was a small piece ( what puzzled me was say I did use too much silicone it was hot the day I used it and well it was hardening quickly and I didn't start the motor until the next day because the oil pump was the second thing I put on next to the timing cover and I worked half a day then finished it up the next day so I had a hard time swallowing that one but figured he only wanted $70 and I know it took some work to get up under it and take the pump out) but then I ask about the knocking and leak and he checks it out and calls me the next day and says don't worry about the $70 we are gonna rebuild the motor WHAT? I asked him why he sent me a two piece seal block and he stated that it was an 87 block and I said fellow they stopped making 2 piece in 83 and he didn't know what to say, it goes down hill from here. So he stated he would rebuild my original block with new parts and install it for me since it was their problem sounds good he also stated they changed the seal and it still leaked the reason for the rebuild? but it was a small leak I could drive it until they get the new motor done, no sooner than I had gotten it home everything under the truck was covered with oil and it was knocking like you wouldn't believe, so it is undrivable in my opinion but figure the new motor will be done and this will end. A week later I drop the truck off and the end of the following week they say come and get it. I get it and well it is still knocking but it does it at 2000 rpm consistantly so I figure timing so I mess with the timing and nothing works I do a vacuum test on everything to make sure there is no vacuum on the carb at idle and on the engine to see if it is causing an indirect problem nope everything is okay so I richen the carb and still nothing works I finally did a compression test and it was reasonable meaning the rings seemed okay. I am at a loss so finally I call summit and they said to take each spark plug loose one at a time and see if any thing happens well the knock went away on the #2 cylinder. Realizing it is definitely an internal problem I call the engine company and give them a piece of my mind without being too unreasonable and they say that cannot be right so they will look at it. I drop the truck off and a week goes by and no call (poor customer service) finally I call and they say it is a spun bearing but the reason it is taking so long is they are micing everything ( shouldn't that be standard procedure??) but the engine is done so I called the next day at the end of the day figureing they should be done and asked if they were done well we are puting the radiator in I say give me a call and I will come and get it, well they didn't call and this is friday and well I spent the weekend pissed because they had the nerve to just blow me off knowing I was under the impression they would be done who wouldn't. Then agian they didn't call monday either so finally I call and speak to the owner and well he actually got defensive when I asked if they acutually found the leak so I hung up. I went and picked the truck up and started it and low and behold the damn steering wheel wouldn't turn, they had let it run out which happened to me when I installed the engine but they didn't even tell me so I am still not satisfied I get home and double check the timing and idle speed they seem to thing 1000-1500 is the ideal idle speed so I set it down to 650 and happen to notice the hose to the a/c condensor is broke off from the condensor I was actually going to take the a/c off anyway but man these people are by far the worst I have come across, I was gonna complain but I have yet to hear an I am sorry or anything and constantly they give off the vibe I have done something wrong yet everything I have shown them they have fixed because it was a real problem because of their neglegence. Forgot to mention that there was a time before the last one when they fixed the bearing I had taken it to them for the leak once again and they had traced it to the back of the intake one of his employees had used silicone on the small gasket that goes in the valley/ center section of the intake yeah I laughed at his *** for that one becuase he made such a big deal about my use of the silicone on the oil pan gasket, needless to say it was leaking from there yet was still leaking from the rear main becuase of the spun bearing which at one point he tried to tell me the sound was from the transmission and I should check that out oh yeah he told me the first knocking sound on the first engine was something rattling on my truck. The engine finally stopped leaking and shows good oil pressure and makes no knocking sounds at this point. However, they ran the truck with no power steering fluid and broke the a/c condensor without telling me any different, not to mention all this consumed 2 months of my life what a waste. Just a thought when looking for an engine they may have 10 employees and all the right equipment and talk a good game but by all means go with someone you know, I went with them becuase they promised things that could not be given if I ordered from say advance auto or a similar place yet they did not deliver the final motor they builtwas all stock by their admission yet still ran better than the crap they give me the first time, I will be talking to the local BBB. Good luck with your projects and don't let anyone discourage you I am let down but will continue to fulfill my goal just with better qualified people. I write this so people who may not know can have an idea of worst case scenario to expect and this way there shouldn't be any surprises. Thank you for your time

 

Hey man, long time no talk! I think i'm afraid to ask how you are doing though after that one. Wow that was a mouthful. I have a headache from that haha. That really stinks, and is something i'd be very very very mad over. You havn't been on the boards much, where have you been?


Primary rig is Green Thunder:
95' F-150 XLT 4x4, 302, 5 spd, MSD 6A, Sunroof, CD player with 2 10" subs and some 32" BFG Muds .

Check out my Gallery for a look-see.


Then theres:
99' Mustang GT 4.6L
88' F-250 Superduty 4x4 351/c6
95' Mercury Cougar 4.6L V-8
80' E-350 300/6 with a
3 spd column shifter. Top speed is 65mph, Go Baby Go!

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 20-Jul-02 AT 10:39 AM (EST)]Well my computer went south and I haven't replaced it and have been borrowing a family members occasionally to see what is going on. I did check in a while back to see how your truck is coming along, was a nice one. So did you have to give the truck up as in it was totalled? You may miss the inline six I know I do everytime I drive my wifes truck then again the v-8's can be made into something a little more fun. A while back my wife totaled her car and I ended up giving her my truck (she liked it and she really didn't want to be in a car after her accident, couldn't blame her). I bought a cheap old truck as you have read and well it has been interesting trying to freshen up the drive train. I see you have a 351 in a f250 you are trying to diagnose. The oil psi you stated in another post is probably okay if you take it easy unless you have a lot of blowby then it may get nasty if the oil looks good no mud (coolant/oil mix) then it probalby is okay, that is my uneducated guess other than have a leakdown test done for good measure. One thing I have learned from the whole ordeal is if the relief valve is stuck on your oil pump it with not have oil pressure and will have similar symptoms as you have mentioned then again worn bearings have the same symptoms. Appreciate the reply and good luck with your f150 and f250, were you able to reuse your lift or was it destroyed?

 

Yup the old truck is gone, the frame was all twisted and there was way to much damage. There are pictures of my old truck, the new one, and the car that hit me. From the picture it doesn't look that bad, it looks like someone just dented in the side of my truck, but if you looked at it the long way in person, you'd see that those dents are pushed in by about 2 feet. Most of the hit was taken by the frame underneath. I seriously think that if i didnt have a lift kit, that he would have smashed right into the passanger door and seriously injured my passanger. The door wouldn't have been strong enough to take a 50mph blow, but the frame was. I just found out about a week ago, that the passanger of his car has a metal plate in his face and his eye is permantly messed up. I guess it's not on center or something like that. He can see okay I heard, lawsuit pending on the other kids insureance agency. There are still a lot of salvageable parts on it. When he hit me, he lifted me up on 2 wheels, i almost tipped over, did a 180 on two wheels and came crashing down. I'm sure there is a lot more broken than i know about. However, that good ol' six was STILL running when my truck came to a stop. In my first accident the engine was still running haha. I rear-ended a guy in a blizzard going slightly downhill on a bridge. I almost missed him by turning but i basically hit my headlight into his driverside taillight (it was a 99 ranger) and i folded his bed up, totalled it and pushed my fender back about 2 feet. It looked like someone punched the headlight really hard ha. There is nothing there but a battery so it just crushed the metal. I was just about to put 4wd in that truck too, I was searching for parts. But I like my new truck just as much. It has 4wd and a V-8 which is what i wanted. The only thing i miss is that the 302 doesn't have nearly the low end torque that my old six had. But it is a lot faster and i'm happy. It's like anything, you greve for a little while and you move on i guess.

The oil in the 351 looks good, and there is no coolant in it. I think the gaskets are ok and the rings are ok but i think the bearings are worn out, and those gaps are screwing up my oil pressure. It's time for that thing to retire anyway.

I was unable to take the lift. I wasn't suppose to take anything off of it but i did. I took my $630 hood back, my new rancho shocks and put the superlifts back in. I took my MSD out, but now i have an extra one because my new truck has one on it. Tonneau cover and all the little things i still had on there. Took my stereo system out and I was able to take the wheels/tires back. They wanted to give me 200 bucks for those wheels/tires and they were brand new 700 dollar tires, probably 700-750mi on them. Those EB rims are all aluminum, worth about 200-300 bucks. So i mounted those on my new truck and gave them the worn out firestoner wilderness ATs that came on my truck. My truck came with american racing rims, i kept those and put them on my winter tires. Took the 37 dollar winter rims, mounted them on the firestoners and put them back on the old truck.

Damage wise, the frame is twisted, i bet the rear end is shot, the spring perch was totally bend. The bed corner was mangled. The door was busted the whole body was screwed up. The rear bench seat was hit too and it basically bent over towards the driverside. I'm sure if i ever tried to fix it that it would be an ongoing process of finding things that were bent or broken. I didn't want to take the lift because I didnt know if there was anyhting wrong with it. They gave me about 300 bucks for it so I can't complain as much, paid 700 for it. I gave them 3,000 dollars worth of reciepts, about 2,000 were ligit. I just submitted everything i had. They gave me about 1,100 in accessories. I paid 8500 for it a year and 1/2 ago and they wrote me a check for 9,800 and some change. My new truck was 10,000. So it was almost an even trade. For the most part i'm happy, this new truck has a lot more parts that i can get for it. The old six wasn't a recepient of a supercharger that fits, the new 5.0 does .




Primary rig is Green Thunder:
95' F-150 XLT 4x4, 302, 5 spd, MSD 6A, Sunroof, CD player with 2 10" subs and some 32" BFG Muds .

Check out my Gallery for a look-see.


Then theres:
99' Mustang GT 4.6L
88' F-250 Superduty 4x4 351/c6
95' Mercury Cougar 4.6L V-8
80' E-350 300/6 with a
3 spd column shifter. Top speed is 65mph, Go Baby Go!

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 22-Jul-02 AT 08:21 AM (EST)]Well seems like you had a good experiece (or truck) come out of a bad situation.

Supercharger did I read that right? So do you have your eye on one or is it in your possesion? I noticed in your gallery your things to do list personally I would forget about all the other things and get the supercharger first all the other things are eye candy unless you do a lot of off roading the supercharger you will use everytime you drive, that's just me. As yourself, I would like to find an old roots type for my carbed 8 with low boost pretty much just to say hey I have a supercharger without having to go forged internals and tune the crap out of it, not that those things are required just nice to have. Fill me in on the details of the supercharger sounds like you have a plan, later

 

What's your e-mail address and i'll fill you in. Mine is Greenthunder2195(No Email Addresses In Posts!). You don't have the private message or e-mail buttons on the left under your name of the post like I do.


Primary rig is Green Thunder:
95' F-150 XLT 4x4, 302, 5 spd, MSD 6A, Sunroof, CD player with 2 10" subs and some 32" BFG Muds .

Check out my Gallery for a look-see.


Then theres:
99' Mustang GT 4.6L
88' F-250 Superduty 4x4 351/c6
95' Mercury Cougar 4.6L V-8
80' E-350 300/6 with a
3 spd column shifter. Top speed is 65mph, Go Baby Go!