Just Started Tearing Down Engine: Need Help MACH1RESTORATION.COM

I'm a beginner at engine building so I'm going to need some assistance from the community. I decided to tackle the engine rebuild and need some advice from the community. On start, the motor smokes for quite a while. Is this the rings? It also has developed a tap tap tap noise when its running. I have to add 50 weight engine quiet to make the noise dissipate a little. You can still hear it slightly though...

IS IT NORMAL TO HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF WATER DRAIN OUT WHEN I POPPED THE INTAKE MANIFOLD? THERE WAS WATER IN THE INTAKE AREA.

Is it worth rebuilding this tired motor? Should I replace the heads or rebuild them? Should I do piston work? Why is there rust on the perimeter ports? Any suggestions are highly appreciated.

[video=youtube]

I'm certainly no expert, but I would assume that tapping you hear is spark knock. As far as the smoke, what color is it? Does it have an odor? If you're burning oil it will likely smoke a blue or grey and you should be able to smell it. In that case it is either coming from in from the top of the cylinder (heads) or the bottom (piston). I've never tried on a big v-8, but on little 4 cylinders I put some light oil in the cylinder. If your compression goes up then you have a problem with the pistons. If it doesn't change oil is getting in through the top.

Also, how many miles are on the motor?


BTW, nice interior.

Well...First thing i woud do...Is pull your spark plugs and check how they are burning.....It will tell you if your having ring issues or how its burning fuel..just from the color or how oily the plugs are.

The tapping could be a stuck lifter from bad oil...knocking how ever is usualy crank getting ready to go.....And super thick 50 weight will not help it in the long run....I would drain a little oil out...And dump in a quart of transmission oil...And run it for about 20 or 30 miles...Trans oil is a good cleaner...Not good if you left it in forever thou....Then drain your oil....Put some 10w40 or 10w30 back in...Run it for a bit and hope the tapping stops...I have unstuck quite a few lifters this way..

"Is it worth rebuilding this tired motor? Should I replace the heads or rebuild them? Should I do piston work? Why is there rust on the perimeter ports? Any suggestions are highly appreciated."

That all counts if its matching original motor?...Is there any water mixed with the oil? Check how the spark plugs are burning too...And rust on your ports is normal...Thats the water jackets...Some motors have wet manifolds.."water flows threw them" 351 Clevelands have a dry deck....No water goes threw the manifold.

If you wanna rebuild it..You will have to take the heads in and have them checked out...they will check the valves and such...You will have to buy a complete valve train kit...Pistons....Have the crank checked out...And have the blocked checked out and honed...it all adds up...And counts how much you wanna do it..You want more horse power or just stock? Rebuilding it too stock specs is the cheapest way to go....Having the heads rebuilt is usualy cheaper than buying new ones ...Plus if your not planning on alot of power the stock originals are fine.

1. Ticking could be spark plug cable, or cracked coil, or valve sticking, or numerous other issues.

2. Did you remove coolant from motor prior to removing intake manifold? If not, tsk tsk tsk....

VERY BASIC Engine Rebuilding Decision Guide:

How many miles on the engine?

Has it been rebuilt before?

Is it losing oil(once the dipstick reads full, how many miles until you add a quart)?

Is it losing coolant? If so, is it due to overheating, leaking from engine, or unknown?

Do all of your spark plugs look the same?

Have you checked compression in your cylinders?

I believe this is the proper way to determine if your engine needs to be rebuilt. However, there are many other factors which are difficult to diagnose such as worn camshaft or crankshaft bearings.

However, if you can answer all of the above questions, we can give you a decent answer with 88.27656% certainty, give or take a few percent.

The engine appears to be a 1978 or newer 302 based on the rocker arm style and the very close proximity of the intake horizontal sealing surface and the distributor hold down. The "rusty intake ports" on the four "corners" are not intake ports, they are coolant passages. If it smokes blu-grey on start up and quits within about 20 seconds and doesn't smoke under load it is likely valve stems seal/valve guide. Less knock with 50W oil sounds like rod bearings to me. I would suggest determining what your performance goals are and what your budget is. Then decide if the current engine when rebuilt will meet your needs. No matter what you do find a VERY high quality machine shop. Without that no rebuild will be successful.

Chuck

The engine appears to be a 1978 or newer 302 based on the rocker arm style and the very close proximity of the intake horizontal sealing surface and the distributor hold down.

Click to expand...

Wow...good job Chuck...

First things first..Do your self a favor Get a copy of this bookhttp://www.amazon.com/How-Rebuild-Small-Block-Ford-Engines/dp/0912656891/ref=la_B001K8LPX2_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1347361830&sr=1-4...Pull the motor out of the car..Disasemble down to the short block..As Chuck said find a quality machine shop..Take the heads & short block there..They will do all the checking..Measuring etc..They will tell whats good rebuildable etc..Be prepared to spent a few$$$...Since your on a budget it may actually be cheaper to buy a remanufactured long block..Than rebuilding yours...Rock auto has a reman 302 for 1484.00...I have bought 2 remans from rock & both have been excellent...and a lot cheaper than it would have cost to do complete rebuilds..

+1 to a crate engine. Even experienced rebuilders will agree that by the time you figure your time in cleaning, painting, filing, honing, and assembling you can't match todays crate engine prices. Yes they are warrantied and yes you'll still have to contact them if there is an issue. Typically they fix it at your place or have you take it someone they hire to do the warranty work. So you definetly want that knowledge before buying.

Special thanks to everyone on this forum for the advice and knowledge. I am really happy that this resource is here for guys like me trying to learn. I spoke with my local machine shop here in your and they told me that they could machine the entire block, deck it (if needed) and install cam bearings and freeze plugs for $375 - $415. They would machine the crank for $100. They also said they'll do the heads (3angle) + machine work for $275 (pair) I am thinking of having them do the block and I'll pick up some aftermarket heads for it to add some much much needed HP. Any thoughts on procomp headers vs the twisted wedge or trick flow ones?

Also was curious about a discovery I found today... Whenever I drove the car the car had an almost unbearable exhaust egg smell in the car. That being said, today when unbolting the exhaust manifolds I discovered that 60% of the bolts were barely hand tight if tight at all. Could this be the culprit?

I agree with others, go with a crate motor from a reputable vendor.

It takes a lot of specialized knowledge, not to mention tools, to rebuild a motor. I have rebuilt a few engines, have a whole workshop full of tools, and still have to rely on machinists and others for some of the items, like rebuilding heads (valve guides and valve seats), hot-tanking and boring the engine, and so on.

Everyone should build at least 1 just to know how to do it and be able to say "Yeah, I built it!" Go for it. We'll give you all the help you need. First buy a GOOOOOD TORQUE WRENCH!

Everyone should build at least 1 just to know how to do it and be able to say "Yeah, I built it!" Go for it. We'll give you all the help you need. First buy a GOOOOOD TORQUE WRENCH!

Click to expand...

Thanks marks73. My whole point of doing this 3/4 resto is to do the work myself and learn learn learn. I want to get dirty with this thing, I want to have mysteries to solve and I don't always want it to be easy. Nothing with while is ever easy. It'll mean a whole hell of a lot more when I can say "yes, I built that motor from the pistons out"

I realize I'll be dependent on a machine shop to get the block right and to do some of the work but to me, it's part of the fun and the joy. Don't get me wrong. I love the route of the crate engine and I'm sure as I do this and gain knowledge and experience I'll probably wish I had gone that route... But I say let the games begin lol.

I would stay away from anything from Procomp. They are generic pieces of junk. I bought their roller rockers and 2 of them shit the bed after less than 1,000 miles. Replaced them with nice harland sharp roller rockers and never had had a lick of problems. You get what you pay for!! I bought a billet dizzy from them and it worked for a couples months then the roll pin broke and the bearing inside went out!! Went out and bought a MSD pro billet and never had any problem for the last 3 years. Dont buy cheap stuff because you will pay more in the long run when you have to buy the stuff twice. I dont think you can go wrong with the twisted wedge heads or trick flow or the edelbrock performers.... all quality products. I never bought a crate motor myself. that takes all the fun out of it i have had a lot of short blocks assemblied for me by local machine shops and then i bolt the rest on. Good luck with the motor. If i was you I would get a 347 stroker kit from summit .... good prices on them and a set of trick flow heads and then HANG on... those little 347's like to run!

Everyone should build at least 1 just to know how to do it and be able to say "Yeah, I built it!" Go for it. We'll give you all the help you need. First buy a GOOOOOD TORQUE WRENCH!

Click to expand...

Thanks marks73. My whole point of doing this 3/4 resto is to do the work myself and learn learn learn. I want to get dirty with this thing, I want to have mysteries to solve and I don't always want it to be easy. Nothing with while is ever easy. It'll mean a whole hell of a lot more when I can say "yes, I built that motor from the pistons out"

I realize I'll be dependent on a machine shop to get the block right and to do some of the work but to me, it's part of the fun and the joy. Don't get me wrong. I love the route of the crate engine and I'm sure as I do this and gain knowledge and experience I'll probably wish I had gone that route... But I say let the games begin lol.

Click to expand...

The deal is this..You can't have your cake & eat it too..Building up a NEW PERFORMANCE motor from the pistons out is not for someone on a budget..tight on cash...Your getting prices from the machine shop WITH OUT them seeing measuring your parts..So it's an estimate based on that everything is repairable machinable..Those prices are going to change ONCE the place has your parts..Let the games begin=$$$$$..So if you want to play your gonna pay

Everyone should build at least 1 just to know how to do it and be able to say "Yeah, I built it!" Go for it. We'll give you all the help you need. First buy a GOOOOOD TORQUE WRENCH!

Click to expand...

Thanks marks73. My whole point of doing this 3/4 resto is to do the work myself and learn learn learn. I want to get dirty with this thing, I want to have mysteries to solve and I don't always want it to be easy. Nothing with while is ever easy. It'll mean a whole hell of a lot more when I can say "yes, I built that motor from the pistons out"

I realize I'll be dependent on a machine shop to get the block right and to do some of the work but to me, it's part of the fun and the joy. Don't get me wrong. I love the route of the crate engine and I'm sure as I do this and gain knowledge and experience I'll probably wish I had gone that route... But I say let the games begin lol.

Click to expand...

Just be sure to take your time and don't try any shortcuts. Many a beautiful motor has been deystroyed because the builder wanted in his car yesterday to enjoy it. So beware the if 1 piston fit good they should all be good syndome. Bearings, pistons, ring gaps, torque specs. ect. Measure, mearsure, measure, then measure it 1 more time!