Wishing I Was Working On A V-Twin

[exfed12825]

Oh how I wish that I was working on a motorcycle right now. It would be so nice to have everything right out in the open, with easy access to both sides, top, and bottom. I'd really enjoy not having to lay on my back, on a cold cement floor, and try to slide my fat ass under the side pipes, to weasel my way between the legs of my cherry picker, and then try to hold a oil pan up with one hand, hold the gasket in place with the other, and try to screw in a couple of bolts with my what ??....... When I ruined the second oil pan gasket today, and living in this 1 horse town that is 2 days away from anything that you needed yesterday, I turned out the lights.

[88v8]

There's a chap, describes his hobby as 'lying under cars looking up'.
I do find that after 48 years of tinkering, I enjoy this aspect of our hobby less, nowadays.

And sympathy with being two days away. With me, it's 5 miles from basic supplies and a couple of days in the post for anything specific, but that's far enough when one is trying to get something done, and seems a hardship compared to when I lived nearer town and it was half a mile.

Could you get a scissor jack under the oil pan to act as your extra hand?
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Torin-Jacks-1.5-Ton-Scissor-Jack/14560046

And could you apply the gasket goo and stick the gasket to the pan and put a couple of bolts through before you slide it under?

I find this great for sliding myself under, although one has to jack the car up a bit higher on the stands. It's the lowest and most comfortable creeper I know. In fact, I once recall dozing off as I lay on it contemplating what to do about, whatever it was.
http://bonecreeper.com/roughrider.html
Not cheap, but money you'll never regret.
Beware though. It not only rides over rough ground, cables, tools, but it will also run right over plates of cucumber sandwiches.

Ivor

[tr8todd]

Stick the gasket to the pan and let dry over night.  Install pan and gasket the next morning with more goo.  Let that sit for a day or more and then tighten bolts.  This way it seals and doesn't squish out when you try to tighten the bolts like it does when the goo is still wet.  This way it will seal up tight as a fish tank.

[exfed12825]

The biggest problem I had was not knowing what year this engine block is or type of vehicle this block came from. Ford like the rest of these manufactures change little things like bearing caps or seals and the only way a parts store knows the part you need is by model, year, and size. When you go into a parts store the first question they ask is what kind of car, I used to just laugh, but lately it has become terribly frustrating, and expensive to play guess a part. The guy I bought this car from disappeared off the face of this earth after he cashed my check. Ron Bessel, built the stroker kit and did the machining on the block but did not supply the block or bearing caps, he just did the machining to make his parts fit. Judging from the fact that the guy that sold me the car used the wrong oil pan gasket to begin with and glued it in place left me working upside down playing guess a part. Not being an expert on Ford engines, coming from an area where Chevy's are king, and not being computer literate have left me picking my nose and scratching my ass

I think I've got it figured out now, the engine block came out of a 1981  - 1987  Ford light trucks and passenger cars with a 302 engine the only years Ford used this particular bearing cap. I didn't think the block was that old seeing the engine was built in 2012 - 13


One of my friends on OFOPOS.com suggested gooping the gasket then tying it in place with sewing thread start a couple of bolts and then cut the thread and pull it out. That sounds like it might work.

[MGBV8]

The quickest path to block identification is the casting number and date code found above the starter on the right-hand side of the block on 221/260/ 289/302, Boss 302 and 351W/351C engines.

http://www.mre-books.com/interchange/interchange2.html

[pspeaks]

I learned my lesson a long time ago.  I throw the bolts away and replace them with studs.  Much easier to line the pan and gasket up, hold it with one hand and start a couple of nuts.


Paul

[Charles]

Been holding the gasket to the oil pan with thread on the outside of the bolt holes since I was working on 59AB Ford. We didn't have gasket sealer and more often than not reused the old gaskets.

[exfed12825]

Carl Floyd, The casting numbers have all been removed That was one of the first thing I checked. If Greg Beishir assembled this motor or who ever did used the wrong gasket and a ton of goo on the front and rear seals, If your assembling on a stand you can easily seal those areas with RTV, in fact I've made complete gaskets with a product call Right Stuff but it's pretty hard to do when your working upside down

I got the right oil pan gasket, finally, and got it installed today. It only took me 3 tries to find the right one but it took me 6 days to run through all the wrong ones,(this living 2 days from any part sucks, there are NO auto parts at the auto parts stores in this town). I also bit the bullet and pulled the electric fan off the radiator so I could get a wrench on the crank and set the distributor. It was actually easier than I thought, all I had to do was pull the grill, the oil cooler, the March Serpentine pulley system, all the aluminum duct work, and the hoses, and it came right out. I'm figuring 2 maybe 3  more days to put everything back together, If it doesn't start or leaks oil, I think I'm going to throw a match on some oil soaked rags and take a long walk. You have to understand that it's been 10 years and a stroke since I've done anything like this, and it's not coming back to me that easy. I've used up all my little tokens and purchased an extra 10 gig from my internet service just watching videos and spent hours on the phone asking questions to kick my memory in the ass

[exfed12825]

I got it all back together on Wed went to line up the steering wheel before locking it down and it wouldn't move. The steering knuckle was pinched between the frame and the motor mount, so I tore it all back down yesterday and finished today. Turned the key and it fired right up. I still have to adjust the valves but I started it without the valve covers and oil sprayed all over everything. Tomorrow I'll go to a junk yard and buy a old valve cover, cut a slot out of the center over the adjusting nuts, and use them as a splash guard. The big thing though is she is alive and everything is working as it should.

[ex-tyke]

The big thing though is she is alive and everything is working as it should.

Perseverance wins again! ....enjoy the twisty ride to Townsend.

[Mickey Richaud]

...and the twisty people once you get here!

[kstevusa]

Tony, unless you have a special valve rocker system we've not heard of, you just put the 5.0 L. rockers & Push Rods at 0 lash warm per cylinder (cam lobes at lowest per cyl.) and torque the nuts to 20 ft. lbs, if torque isn't reached, just put some of the Ford Racing shims under the arm and torque again. 20 #'s is reading and do each one like this.  you will have them correct.  Ford and GM are different animals :-)

[ex-tyke]

Instructions from Ford Racing......another way of saying what Kelly has posted....these are for non-adjustable pedestal type rockers

"Turn the rocker pedestal bolts by hand until there is no clearance between the roller and the valve stem (make sure the pushrod is seated in the rocker arm cup). Slowly torque the bolt to 18-20 FT-LBS. Since you are pushing down the plunger in the hydraulic lifter as you torque the bolt, it will probably take a minute or two to complete the procedure. The bolt should have turned between one-quarter to one full turn to reach the torque setting. This will give the correct lifter preload of .020" to .060". If the bolt turned more than one turn, you will have to shim the pedestal (use Ford Racing Performance Parts shim kit M-6529-A302).
NOTE: M-6500-A301 anti-pump-up lifters only need .020" to .030" preload. If the bolt turned less than ¼ turn,
you will have little or no lifter preload. The solution for this is longer pushrods. These are available from a
number of companies, such as Crane Cams Tech Line (904) 258-6174. There are many modifications
that may have been made to the engine which will change the lifter preload, such as valve jobs, different
cams, different thickness head gaskets, head milling, etc. It is a good idea to check the rocker arm pattern
on the valve stem tip. Use a felt tip marker to "paint" the tip. Then, with the rocker arm in place, turn the
engine through two revolutions. Remove the rocker arm and inspect the pattern. It should be nearly
centered on the tip. If it appears to be too close to the edge of the tip, call the Ford Racing Tech "Hot
Line" for assistance. Note: The lifter preload may be different between the intake and the exhaust or
between one side of the engine and the other. Therefore, you must check lifter preload on each
rocker arm."

[kstevusa]

Thanks Graham, I did not want to appear to "know it all".  That process provides a sure fire way of having correct lash, but it gets tedious if more than 4-5 need shims.  I forget the part #, but locate it if needed for Tony.  Have  set in my toolbox, but they do not work on "Cats" :-)

[exfed12825]

Thanks for the advice but I'm done everything is all buttoned up and this little hot rod is running like it did before. After all it was just an oil change LOL