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Home , Main bearing, Valvetrain

ENGINE DISASSEMBLY

One of the most fascinating parts of an that has never been rebuilt. A get 289 Build-Up,” they invited us to fol- engine rebuild is the teardown. During 289/302/351W block that has been low to gather information for this book. an engine teardown, you can learn a bored .020- or .030-inch oversize can go The engine had failed coming off of a Los great deal about how the engine ran, one more oversize up to 4.040 inches, Angeles freeway. Suddenly, it had no how it was treated, and how its many but that’s it. The 351C can go as high as power and developed a horrible knock in components wore in during its service 4.060 inches, but no more. rhythm with the . When Mus- life. Hammered rod bearings indicate Although quite a few builders push tang Monthly Senior Editor Jim Smart was hard use and abuse. Scuffed the 289/302/351W to 4.060-inches, this troubleshooting the noise, he knew it was walls indicate oil starvation issues and is strongly discouraged because the serious. He started by shorting each of high operating temperatures. Valves lightweight gray-wall iron cylinder walls the spark plugs out one at a time. When worn deep into the seats indicate a are quite thin. Taking size to 4.060 he pulled the number-4 wire, poorly executed valve job or hard use inches is courting trouble, but doing it the knock stopped –abad sign. He also with unleaded fuels. without sonic-checking the block is fool- did a compression check. All cylinders The area you should be concerned ish. By taking the bore size to 4.060 checked healthy except for number 4– with most is the cylinder block and its inches, you drive the which came in low. Pouring some oil into many dimensions. Ideally, you will find a higher, which raises operating tempera- number-4 cylinder and checking com- block with standard 4.000-inch bores tures and pressures. With a larger bore, pression showed a big improvement – we drive compression higher by increas- another bad sign. Cylinder sealing on ing the volume we squeeze into the number-4 was poor for a reason. The pis- existing . Because ton was cracked, which allowed compres- cylinder wall thickness is marginal at sion to escape. That cracking also caused best at this oversize, you also risk getting the knock. into the water jackets. So, take it from us Jim also learned in the course of the – do not go above 4.040 inches on bore teardown that number-5 cylinder on the size with any small-block Ford. opposite bank was in all kinds of trou- ble, too, even though compression The Teardown checked within limits. Coolant was leak- ing into cylinder number-5 from a defec- Gloves are a great idea when you’re In Chapter 1, we told you about our tive head while the engine sat. tearing down your engine – it will be subject engine, a 1965 289-2V engine Compression from the number-5 cylin- dirty. Take your time, and be careful not removed from Jeff Fischbach’s der undoubtedly leaked into the water to drop anything on your foot. convertible. When Mustang Monthly jacket, aggravating overheating issues decided to target this engine for a “Bud- already caused by the right-bank cylin-

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How to Rebuild the Small-Block Ford 1 Click or Visit the Link Below to Learn More: www.CarTechBooks.com/ford-sb wasn’t installed properly (no backing seized due to total number-4 fail- plate), and the right-bank cylinder-head ure. Had that not done him in, cylinder gasket was installed backwards. The back- number 5 on the left bank would have ward cylinder- is an easy mis- finished the engine off by drawing take to make because it isn’t very apparent coolant into the cylinder bore. at first glance. It happens whenever we’re Let’s take this idea a step further. not paying attention to what we’re doing Had the sat for several months, during an engine build. Each and every coolant would have filled cylinder num- head gasket has “FRONT” stamped in the ber 5, causing a nasty hydro-lock the first surface to ensure proper installation, but time Jeff tried to start the engine. Hydro- people mix it up all the time building lock is what happens when we try com- Ford V-8s. Cooling passages in the cylin- pressing fluid in the area above the der-head gasket must always go at the rear piston. Because fluid cannot be com- of the block to ensure proper cooling. pressed, more fragile elements (piston, This allows coolant to circulate com- rod, and block) are compromised pletely through the block and heads on its instead. Typically, the piston and rod way to the thermostat and radiator. both fail – even causing the cylinder wall Whenever we install both head gas- to crumble in the process. We have seen kets backwards, trouble begins the hydro-locked engines in which the cylin- minute we fire a new engine. If we der wall failed right along with the pis- get both head backwards, over- ton and rod, causing coolant to flood the heating will become apparent immedi- oil pan. In this case the hydro-lock would This is our rebuild candidate for this ately. Whenever you install a small-block have bent or snapped the number-5 con- book – a 1965 289-2V engine from a Ford cylinder-head gasket backwards, necting rod, and even could have broken Mustang convertible. It has experienced coolant flow is cut off to the rear of the the crankshaft. at least one rebuild by a Los Angeles block and cylinder heads. Coolant then Jeff probably noticed his Mustang’s area mass-production rebuilder. The circulates only at the front of the block temperature gauge running on the high prognosis for this engine isn’t good. It and heads, causing a large percentage of side, especially during hot weather, but it appears well maintained and clean the engine to overheat. In this case, only was never quite hot enough to boil over. inside, thanks to regular oil and filter the right bank ran hot because a signifi- As Jeff, and earlier his uncle, drove the changes, but improper assembly by the cant percentage of the coolant was Mustang, the right bank of cylinders ran rebuilder caused it to fail. allowed to circulate and cool normally. In time, engine oil broke down on der-head gasket being installed back- the extremely hot surfaces – cylinder wards during the last rebuild. walls, and rings, bearings, valve- What we learned from this teardown guides, and more. Because cylinder num- is something we hope you’ll learn from ber 4 suffered the greatest amount of this book – what not to do when thermal abuse, it failed first. Extreme you rebuild your small-block Ford. heat cracked the piston from the crown Because our 289 engine experienced a to the skirt. It probably wasn’t noticeable really sloppy mass-production-style until the piston cracked all the way rebuild at some time in its past, it was through, when a horrible misfire and not properly machined and assembled, knock developed. which led to the failure. We’re going Jeff’s engine failure wasn’t some- Since the owner, Jeff Fischbach, wants to talk about this failure in great detail to thing that happened overnight. It hap- this engine to be kept original, he has help you avoid the same mistakes. We’re pened over a period of many years. Heat elected to go with a factory cast-iron also going to address common mistakes went to work on the rear of the right four-barrel manifold with the that cause a lot of engine failures. bank of cylinders, resulting in eventual correct Autolite 4100 . We Jeff’s 289 engine failed for two fun- failure. Had he continued to drive the car can improve its performance without damental reasons – the water pump the way it was, the engine would have adversely affecting originality.

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How to Rebuild the Small-Block Ford 2 Click or Visit the Link Below to Learn More: www.CarTechBooks.com/ford-sb 1 Remove and Inspect Jim Grubbs Motorsports is 2 Remove the the going to rebuild our 289 Separator Plate engine. Disassembly is organized, with all parts being cataloged and properly stored. Knowing which parts came from where helps us to determine why this engine failed. First, we remove the flywheel, which needs resurfacing. The flywheel suffers from heat cracking because the clutch disc The separator plate slides off the was improperly installed. alignment dowels on the back of the block. Special Tool 3 Put the Engine on an Engine Stand Once the separator plate and flywheel are removed, the engine is fitted to an engine stand for the teardown. You can buy an

Step by Step: Tearing Step Down by the Step: Engine Tearing affordable engine stand from Harbor Freight for around $75. We suggest one with four casters for the best stability. Notice the rebuilder’s overheated detector at the freeze plug on the right-hand . It indicates an overheat (the dot) – actually the rebuilder’s fault in this case. 4 Remove the 5 Remove the 6 Remove the Water Pump Valve Covers Intake Manifold

Engine failure happens for all kinds of reasons. Here’s one. When the water pump was replaced, someone forgot to use the steel cover that goes on the back of the water pump. That’s why the impeller ground this circle into the timing cover. Not only is impeller contact with the timing The intake manifold bolts are cover unacceptable, but coolant flow removed next. Place these bolts in a was also hindered by the absence of Both valve covers are removed. This plastic container and label it so you the plate. This is one reason why this engine, for all the heat damage we can find the bolts when you need engine ran so hot. found, was surprisingly clean inside. them. Remove the intake manifold.

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How to Rebuild the Small-Block Ford 3 Click or Visit the Link Below to Learn More: www.CarTechBooks.com/ford-sb 7 Remove the Rocking Arms

Next, remove all rocker arms as shown. Keep them lined up with the cylinders they came off of. This enables you to examine wear patterns. Here’s one result of sloppy mass- production rebuilding – incorrect valves. On one bank, we have the correct valvestem length, short and flush with the top of the retainer. On the other bank, we have longer valvestems, designed for mid-1966 to ’77 small-blocks with rail-style rocker arms. Note the longer valvestem tip, designed for the rail-style . This throws the rocker-arm geometry off with 1962 to early 1966-style rocker arms. 8 Remove the Cylinder Heads

Remove all of the cylinder head bolts and put them in a labeled plastic container. Take your time. You need an organized teardown, with all fasteners properly cataloged for proper assembly later on. Cylinder heads are pried from the block. Hold onto the cylinder heads when you are prying them loose. They can slide off the block dowels and land on your feet. Take extra care when you are removing the heads, and keep track of which bank each head came from.

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How to Rebuild the Small-Block Ford 4 Click or Visit the Link Below to Learn More: www.CarTechBooks.com/ford-sb 9 Inspect the Head Gaskets Precision Measurement 10 Measure the Bores

This 289 sat for a year after it failed. Look what coolant Measuring the cylinder bore with a micrometer (called leaking into cylinder number 5 from a defective head gasket “miking” the bore) brings bad news. Jeff’s block has did. Electrolysis between the aluminum piston and iron already been bored .040-inch oversize. We could bore cylinder, via the coolant, caused the piston to corrode badly. it to .060-inch oversize, but this would be a risky practice. Coolant came from this water jacket into the bore. We need a replacement block.

11 Inspect the Bores

Our 289 engine didn’t live very long after its previous rebuild. There are no ridges at the tops of the cylinder bores, which happens as piston rings wear into the cylinder walls short of the top of the cylinder. These are cheap cast .040- inch oversize pistons. 12 Disassemble the Intake for Cleaning The C5AE four-barrel intake manifold is disassembled for cleaning. The manifold heat stove cover is removed as shown. Then, the manifold goes into a cleaning machine, which tumbles the iron with steel shot for a “like-new” appearance.

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How to Rebuild the Small-Block Ford 5 Click or Visit the Link Below to Learn More: www.CarTechBooks.com/ford-sb Important! 13 Clean the Intake 14 Inspect the Harmonic Balancer

This is the cleaning machine composed of a rolling carrier that exposes the iron pieces to steel shot, which is blasted The harmonic balancer is 40 years old and needs to be against the iron. When these parts come out, they will look replaced because the rubber has deteriorated. We will like brand new iron. toss this one and replace it with a new one. 15 Remove the 16 Removing Timing Cover and Set Harmonic Balancer

The harmonic balancer is removed next using a puller. Remove the large crankshaft bolt first. Then, screw the bolt back in a Remove the timing cover and timing set. Examine the chain for stretching. couple of threads for the puller to work Excessive stretch tells us something about wear patterns in the chain, gears, against. and block. 17 After you have Removing the Oil Pump removed the oil pan, remove the oil pump and shaft. We suggest replacing the shaft and pump. An oil pan with a stripped-out drain plug should be replaced.

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How to Rebuild the Small-Block Ford 6 Click or Visit the Link Below to Learn More: www.CarTechBooks.com/ford-sb 18 Remove the Rods and Pistons

Piston and removal is next. Remove the rod bolt nuts and gently tap the rod bolts as shown with a hammer, pushing the piston and rod out through the top of the block. As with the rocker arms mentioned earlier, keep the pistons and rods with the cylinders they came out of for wear-inspection purposes.

19 Inspect the 20 Remove and Inspect the Main Caps Rod Bearings

Close inspection of this rod bearing reveals some bad news. Look at the The caps are removed next. Like the rod bearings, close inspection of damage to this rod bearing from the main bearings tells a story about poor engine assembly technique. Look at this excessive engine heat and oil badly scored main bearing. A piece of dirt got in there during assembly. When the breakdown. With oil breakdown came engine was started, the grain of dirt was ground into the bearing. A close study of excessive friction, grinding the bearing the main bearing journals shows excessive heat damage. Oil breakdown here down to the copper. caused excessive scoring.

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How to Rebuild the Small-Block Ford Click or Visit the Link Below to Learn More: 7 www.CarTechBooks.com/ford-sb 21 Remove the 22 Inspect the 23 Inspect the Crankshaft Crankshaft Main Bearing

The crankshaft is removed next. Remove all of the main bearings, Remember what your mother (and OSHA) The crankshaft journals are measured inspect the wear patterns, and throw always told you: Lift with your legs – not with a micrometer. These journals have them away. We inspect wear patterns your back – to prevent back injury. already been machined down .020 inch because we want to know the history 24 and are badly scored. We could of the crankshaft. If the is Remove the machine this crankshaft to .030-inch distorted or bent, main bearings will Rear Main Seal undersize. Instead, we’re going to find be excessively worn toward the sides another “1M” crankshaft. and radiuses. 25 Remove the and Lifters

The rear main seal is removed and tossed. Wear issues are important here, too. Inspect the number-5 main journal and seal lip while you’re here. This, of course, does not apply to late-model 5.0L engines with one-piece rear main seals. It does, however, apply inspection-wise. Always check the seal contact areas. Scored seal contact surfaces mean oil leakage later on.

To remove the camshaft, you need to remove all of the lifters first. As you remove the lifters from their bores, inspect the contact surfaces for wear patterns. Once the lifters are removed, remove the front cam retainer plate by removing the two bolts. Then, gently slip the cam out of the block.

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How to Rebuild the Small-Block Ford 8 Click or Visit the Link Below to Learn More: www.CarTechBooks.com/ford-sb 26 Inspect the Lifters Important! 27 Remove Freeze Plugs Remove all of the freeze plugs and oil galley plugs. This enables the machine shop to clean out the water jackets and oil galleys. The block needs to be Excessive and abnormal lifter completely bare. wear tells us this engine suffered from oil breakdown, which happens with overheating. 28 Remove the Cam Bearings 29 Remove the Oil Galley Plug

Cam bearings are removed next using a cam bearing installation tool. Bearings There is an oil galley plug at the top of are removed from the front of the block, working toward the back. We knock the block, located beneath the intake them out the same way we install them. These cam bearings were badly manifold. Remove this plug, which makes damaged during installation. Oil breakdown from extreme heat also did a way for a more thorough block cleaning. lot of damage. Important! 30 Remove the Cam Plug 31 Remove the Adapter

The screw-in oil galley plugs at the rear of the block must be removed. Don’t forget to remove the cam plug. Remove the screw-in oil filter adaptor.

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How to Rebuild the Small-Block Ford 7 Click or Visit the Link Below to Learn More: www.CarTechBooks.com/ford-sb 32 Inspect the Inspection of the 33 Remove the Valves Chambers right cylinder head shows evidence of a troubled number-4 cylinder (bottom chamber). Notice how dark the chamber is from a lack of compression and oil burning. The rest are normal, with white exhaust Cylinder head disassembly begins one valve at a time. Each spring is valves and tan compressed and the two keepers are removed. Sometimes, chambers. valvespring retainers and keepers become seized. It’s a good idea to whack on the side of the retainer with a hammer, and then compress the spring again when the keepers stick. All eight valves from each head need to be lined up for inspection to determine wear patterns that need your attention. 34 Inspect the Valves 35 Inspect the Valve Seats

When we look at the valve seats, the valve face’s condition makes sense. A bad valve job (improper seat and valve face Each valve is inspected closely. angle) has caused the This cylinder head has obviously valves to wear deeply been apart before and had a valve into the seats. All 16 job. The valve faces show abnormal valves and seats will wear to the point that they were have to be replaced. sinking deeply into the seats. 36 Inspect the Valveguides

Our cylinder heads send a mixed message. Some valveguides are bronze – some are not. We are replacing all 16 guides for uniformity.

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How to Rebuild the Small-Block Ford 10 Click or Visit the Link Below to Learn More: www.CarTechBooks.com/ford-sb very hot without notice. Adding insult to system neglect when you’re running into the oil pan. When they do, they injury was the fact that the water pump iron cylinder heads. Whenever you step wind up in the oil pump and bearings. was installed without a backing plate, up to aluminum heads, you are mixing Finally, main, rod, and cam bearings are which further aggravated cooling issues. dissimilar metals that don’t like each damaged from the debris. Without the steel backing plate, coolant other. Aluminum particles wind up Sometimes, timing sets are replaced was never properly channeled through attached to iron castings – and vice with no regard for the debris that got the pump and the water jackets, making versa. The result is corrosion. This is one into the oil pan. We press them back a hot-spot situation even worse. In this reason why we don’t see copper and into service, with serious fluctuations in case, the water pump impeller contacted brass radiators in new anymore. oil pressure and volume. If we’re lucky, the timing cover due to the missing Other reasons include weight and cost; we’ll get an “oil” or “check engine” light plate. Why anyone removed this plate in aluminum radiators with plastic tanks and have sense enough to pull the oil the first place is beyond us. In any case, are lighter and cheaper. pan and clean out the debris. Some peo- it all contributed to engine failure. So why do engines wear out? ple will just push the engine until it fails. Engines wear out mostly due to dirty oil, Engines also fail from poor tuning Why Do Engines Wear Out? poor filtration, poor tuning, neglect, and technique – too much timing or too lit- even improper assembly to begin with. If tle. Too much timing hurts the engine Automobile engines have a tough job an engine is built with poor dynamic by changing the way the air/fuel mix to do. For the most part, they do it well for balancing, vibration will shorten its life. ignites in the chamber. The more we many years and thousands of miles reli- If main and rod bearing side clearances advance the timing, the longer the ably. Trouble abounds when we don’t take are too tight, expect a short trip. Piston- flame travel and the higher the com- care of them, or when we put them to-cylinder-wall clearances are yet bustion temperatures. With this together improperly. When we do take another reason. This is why checking advance in , we create good care of them, engines can last and rechecking clearances during the hot spots – additional ignition sources between 100,000 and 200,000 miles. build up is so important. that create colliding flame fronts and Depending on how much you drive, that’s issues are likely the great- shock waves across the top of the pis- about five to ten years of use. With a new est cause of engine failure. This encom- ton. This is known as detonation, or the timing set and oil pump at 120,000 to passes a lot of items – burned valves, “pinging” we hear in spark knock under 150,000 miles, along with regular oil and worn stems and guides, excessive rocker- hard acceleration. filter service every 3,000 to 5,000 miles, arm wear, wiped cam lobes, worn lifters, Advancing the timing in healthy you might see in excess of 250,000 miles and timing chain and gear failure. The increments helps us make power. How- from your engine. greatest area of neglect we see time and ever, too much timing (too much The greatest rider you can put on time again is the timing set. When our advance) can do permanent engine dam- your engine’s life insurance policy is small-block Fords were young, most of age. Late ignition timing won’t hurt the regularly-scheduled oil and filter them had nylon-coated aluminum tim- engine as badly as too much advance. changes using Mobil 1 synthetic engine ing gears. Ford did this to help make the However, late ignition timing sends high oil and a Wix or Motorcraft oil filter. timing set run quieter. We have replaced combustion temperatures teaming With clean oil in the pan, you’re assured an untold numbers of nylon and alu- toward exhaust . This causes a solid barrier between all moving parts minum gears with steel gears over the exhaust valves and headers to run con- inside your small-block. And when you past 40 years. I’ve never been able to hear siderably hotter. It also robs us of power. use synthetic engine oil, it stays on the difference in the steel gear or chain. An extremely lean fuel mixture that moving parts, even when an engine sits Many people tend to whistle in the comes from improper carburetor jetting for days. This affords you good protec- dark when it comes to timing sets. or a worn-out can cause seri- tion during start-up. They’re like that elephant in the living ous engine damage. If your engine has Another important point is regular room that no one wants to talk about. electronic , faulty sensors cooling-system service. The wise enthu- Timing sets are a pain in the neck to will create all kinds of grief. Faulty oxy- siast will flush and service the cooling replace, which is why we continue to gen sensors can cause extremes in fuel system every spring or fall. If it’s hard to put replacement off. And then they fail, mixture – either overly rich or remember to do that, opt for cooling- often with catastrophic results. With the extremely lean. Coolant temperature, system service every two years. You can nylon-coated aluminum cam gears, both manifold air pressure, position, get away with some degree of cooling- aluminum and nylon crumble and flow inlet air temperature, and mass-air sen-

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How to Rebuild the Small-Block Ford 11 Click or Visit the Link Below to Learn More: www.CarTechBooks.com/ford-sb sors can become defective, adversely revs, which can lead to engine failure. which moves the lip away from the chain. affecting fuel mixture and spark curves. refers to runaway valves that This is best performed by using a block of There are engine failure issues that don’t seat at high revs because the valve wood between the hammer and oil slinger. aren’t as obvious as some of the items springs aren’t stiff enough to snap them An oil pump driveshaft with worn we’ve covered here. The use of incorrect closed. When valves float (stay open) at ends can slip, twist, and fail, rendering parts is one of them. Our 289 had two high revs, we run the risk of valve-to-pis- the oil pump useless. When the oil pump different valvestem lengths, which ton contact, which virtually guarantees brakes down, the engine brakes down – adversely affected rocker-arm geometry us total engine destruction. This is cer- unless you’re quick with the ignition on the left bank. This could have caused tainly more possible if we’re running a switch. rocker-arm failure due to stress. A failing high-lift camshaft where valve-to-piston Using rail-style rocker arms on a 1962 rocker arm can cause a pushrod to come clearances aren’t much to begin with. through early 1966 small-block Ford is a right through the valve cover. It can also Using a double-roller timing chain mistake we see from time to time by tech- cause valvespring retainer failure, which without considering the clearance nicians who are not familiar with these causes a valve to drop into the cylinder. between your oil slinger, timing chain, engines. The side rails press on the Using incorrect valvesprings can and timing cover can cause metal trash to valvespring retainers, especially if you use cause engine failure or abnormal wear enter the oil, eating the main, rod, and a high-lift camshaft. The repeated pressure issues. Valvesprings that are too stiff can cam bearings alive. Metal gets into the oil on the retainer leads to keeper failure – wear cam lobes and cause excessive when the oil slinger lip rubs against the and catastrophic engine damage when valvestem wear. Valvesprings that are dual-roller timing chain. You can flatten stray valves fall into cylinders. too soft can cause valve float at high the oil slinger gently with a hammer, Understanding Engine Failure

henever we disassemble an engine, we have to learn power? Normal oil pressure should be 10 psi for every 1,000 Wto be forensics experts, able to determine what hap- rpm. That means you should have roughly 30 to 40 psi at pened to our engines before they were torn down. Some- cruise. Each of these dynamics tells us about our engine’s times we rebuild engines because we want something fresh state of health without turning a bolt. and new. And sometimes we rebuild them because they Intake tells us a lot about the engine’s stop dead in their tracks, like Jeff’s 289. In either case, we respiratory health – cylinder and valve sealing, cam profile, need to know what to look for during a teardown. intake manifold sealing, and more. We want the highest Before you begin a teardown, take a look at the intake manifold vacuum possible at idle – around 18 to 22 inches. and exhaust ports. Gray and tan exhaust ports are normal. When manifold vacuum reads only 10 to 12 inches, we White exhaust ports can mean trouble – high combustion either have a radical camshaft or an ailing engine. Watching temperatures and lean conditions. Are the exhaust ports wet needle behavior on the vacuum gauge can be interesting or dry? Oily exhaust ports indicate faulty valveguides and because it, alone, tells us a lot about engine health. A seals, or piston oil-ring issues. bouncing needle indicates valve-seating issues. It can also What about spark plugs? Spark plugs are the greatest indicate a wiped cam lobe. barometer of an engine’s health. White and tan spark plug A compression check tells us as much about an insulators are normal. A spark plug with small particles on the engine’s health as intake manifold vacuum. Take a piece of firing tip indicates lean conditions and serious detonation. paper and a pencil, write down cylinders 1 through 8, and Those particles are typically bits of molten aluminum from a check compression. The engine should be warm because failing piston. cylinders won’t seal as well with the engine cold. As the Have you ever checked your intake manifold vacuum at engine warms, pistons and rings grow in the bores, which idle? Did you ever run a compression check with the engine improves cylinder sealing. The same can be said for cylinder warm? What was the oil pressure at a hot idle and at cruise head gaskets and the like. With heat, everything grows into right

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How to Rebuild the Small-Block Ford 12 Click or Visit the Link Below to Learn More: www.CarTechBooks.com/ford-sb Understanding Engine Failure CONTINUED

Close inspection of number-4 cylinder prior to disassembly shows Not only did piston number 4 suffer us what happened. Excessive right damage from overheating, oil bank heat caused the number-4 Number-4 piston cracked along its breakdown at the bearing took it piston to crack under the stress, entire length from excessive heat. This right down to the copper. Look at which also injured the cylinder wall caused our knock and misfire. this damage. beyond repair. size – if it’s sized properly to begin with. At operating tempera- cracked cylinder head casting or block deck warpage. ture, your engine should be as healthy as it’s ever going to be. Whenever a cylinder comes in at zero compression, it When you screw the compression gauge into each spark indicates a blown piston, failed valve, or thrown connecting plug hole, make sure it’s snug. It’s a good idea to put engine rod. Even burned or cracked valves will yield some com- oil on the threads and O-ring, which makes it easier to thread pression. The total absence of compression is serious. If a and improves sealing. Disconnect the lead and compression check shows little or no compression on all have someone hold the throttle wide open. Crank the engine eight cylinders, it means a failed timing set or broken crank- several revolutions until the needle has gone as far as it’s shaft. Game over… going to go. When you have checked compression on all eight cylinders, how does it look across the board? Typical cranking compression pressure for a small-block Ford should be around 150 to 180 psi. If compression on all eight cylinders averages 130 psi, for example, that’s still a good sign. It means com- pression is uniform across the board. If one or two cylinders come in way below the others, there is a problem that needs attention. Two side-by-side bores with compression considerably lower than the rest can be blamed on a blown cylinder head gasket between those two With the piston removed, the damage to cylinder number 4 is more apparent. cylinders. Worst-case scenario is a Because this bore is already at 4.040 inches, this block is finished.

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How to Rebuild the Small-Block Ford 13 Click or Visit the Link Below to Learn More: www.CarTechBooks.com/ford-sb THISFULLBOOKINCLUDES:

Acknowledgments...... 4 Rotating Assembly ...... 68 Step by Step: Machining the Block ...... 71 What is a Workbench® Book? ...... 5 Step by Step: Maching the Rotating Assembly . 78 Chapter 1: Before You Begin...... 6 Oil System ...... 83 Planning Your Engine ...... 12 Cylinder Heads...... 83 Our Engine ...... 14 Step by Step: Machining the Heads...... 85 Horsepower and Torque ...... 15 Tools to Get the Job Done ...... 16 Chapter 5: Engine Assembly...... 98 Tools You Should Rent ...... 20 Short Block ...... 99 Keep a Clean Work Shop ...... 21 Basic Torque Specifications ...... 101 Why Degree a Camshaft?...... 102 Chapter 2: Engine Disassembly ...... 23 Step by Step: Assemble the Short Block. . . . . 102 The Teardown...... 23 The Rest of the Bottom End...... 110 Step by Step: Tearing Down the Engine . . . . . 25 Step by Step: Assemble the Rest of the Why Do Engines Wear Out? ...... 33 Bottom End...... 111 Chapter 3: Selecting Parts...... 36 The Top End ...... 112 Blocks ...... 37 Step by Step: Assemble the Top End ...... 113 221/260/289/302 Cylinder Heads ...... 38 Chapter 6: Break-in and Tuning...... 119 Small-Block Cylinder-Head Identification. . . . 43 Cooling System ...... 119 351W Cylinder Heads ...... 45 Ready to Launch...... 120 Aftermarket Cylinder Heads...... 45 Guide to Ford Aftermarket Cylinder Heads. . . 47 Chapter 7: Performance Buyer’s Guide ...... 129 ...... 47 Chapter 8: Engine Math ...... 134 Crankshaft Identification Charts ...... 52 Cubic-Inch Displacement ...... 134 Connecting Rods ...... 52 Calculating Compression Ratio ...... 134 Pistons ...... 54 Choosing the Right Carburetor Size ...... 136 and Flexplates ...... 55 Calculating Horsepower and Torque ...... 136 Harmonic Balancers ...... 55 Estimating Horsepower at the Drags ...... 136 Oiling System ...... 55 ...... 58 Appendix ...... 137 Rocker Arms ...... 60 Cylinder Numbers and ...... 137 Water Pumps ...... 61 Torque Sequences ...... 137 Cooling Fans and Radiators ...... 61 Torque Specifications ...... 138 ...... 62 Gap Alignment ...... 139 Intake Manifolds ...... 63 Timing /Chain Alignment Marks ...... 139 Ignition...... 64 General Engine Specifications ...... 140 Work-A-Long Sheet ...... 141 Chapter 4: Machine Shop ...... 66 The Block ...... 67 Source Guide ...... 144

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How to Rebuild the Small-Block Ford 14 Click or Visit the Link Below to Learn More: www.CarTechBooks.com/ford-sb