Engine replacement & tranny rebuild

[t_chelle16]

Engine replacement & rust repair

I've decided that rather than rebuild old Sadie's 289 to swap into new Sadie (currently has a 302), it would be much better to just get a remanufactured long block (faster, cheaper, and has a 3 year warranty). I'll also be rebuilding new Sadie's tranny (eventually I'd like to get either a 5 speed or an AOD, but for now, rebuilding what I have will do).

So at the moment, I have a long block picked out (Recon 302) and I'm in the process of tearing new Sadie's engine so I can pull it out & turn it in for the core and hopefully within the next few days I'll be able to order the new engine, tranny rebuild kit, shift kit, and a few other things. Also, while the engine is out, it will give me the opportunity to patch the rust in the radiator cross member, replace the battery apron & tray (also rusted), and clean & paint/POR15 the engine bay.

I'm sure I'm going to have a few questions along the way and I'll be posting some pics so I figured I'd just start a thread for everything to go into.

So here's question #1:
According to my history 999 report, I have an XP tranny. Is that the same thing as a C4 (in terms of which rebuild & shift kit to order)?

Question #2: How do I get the valve covers off? I have the bolts out & tried pulling, but I can't get them to budge. I'm guessing using a pry bar is a bad idea. Is there some trick other than trying to get a good grip somewhere and pulling really hard (and hope I don't get a hernia)?

-Chelle

 

[SoCalCruising]

Can you see cork gaskets just under the valve cover? If so, you'll have (probably) enough room to slip in a puddy knife between the rail on the head and the gasket. Work around the valve cover until the cork gasket is separated from the head and remove the valve cover. You are smart not to just pry it up - it will bend the rails of the valve cover and they will not seal well if bent.

When you put the valve covers on the new engine, use two sets of cork gaskets. Seal one set to the head, the other to the valve cover. So, when you place the valve cover on the head, you will be placing one cork gasket on top of the other. Removing the valve cover will then be simple in the future (no sealant is needed between the gasket sets, but you may need longer valve cover studs/bolts. OR, you can get the trick valve cover gaskets that are rubber with an imbedded steel wire in it. Ford Racing sells them, among others. These seal very well and are re-usable.

 

[t_chelle16]

Thanks. I'm done for the day, but I'll try that tomorrow. And I'll look into those trick gaskets too. I eventually plan on getting different valve covers so those will probably be worth it in the long run.

Here's what I got accomplished today:

Removed everything from the intake up, the timing chain cover forward (including the alternator & p/s pump), drained the coolant & oil, disconnected pretty much all the wires, and removed the spark plugs & header bolts.


Old Sadie is doing her part to help:



Now I just have to finish disconnecting/removing a few more things on the engine, disconnect everything from the tranny, get my friend's engine hoist, and pull it out. And I'm hoping to get the other engine ordered within the next couple of days (the guys at Autozone like me so they said that if I want, I can hold off turning in this engine until my other one comes in and they won't charge me the core fee.) I do have to get the casting numbers off of this engine before I can order the new one, though.

I also learned a couple things:

#1: If you're going to remove the header bolts & spark plugs, do the plugs first.

#2: I'm allergic to either engine oil or power steering fluid (could be the antifreeze, but I'm leaning more towards the p/s fluid).

-Chelle

 

[LMan]

Valve covers:

pop em with a rubber mallet.

 

[1320stang]

AHEM.... you ARE going to clean up that nasty engine compartment while the engine is out, correct?

Pull the battery, solenoid, radiator and windshield washer bottle. Leave the converter in the tranny and use a piece of 2x4 sitting on top of the frame rails with a couple of long bolts thru the top holes or use some coat hanger wire to support the tranny without a jack under it if you want to be able to roll the car around.

Easy Off oven spray should take care of grease and loose paint. Pressure washer or even just a garden hose will help that, then wash with old rags and some Dawn or liquid Tide in a 5 gallon bucket.

If you have a 4" angle grinder, the best tool you can get for it is a knotted wire cup brush.

Anything that you don't want to paint that is still under there, mask by using tinfoil around the part. This way you don't have to use tape.

I like the satin black underhood if you're going black. You might also take out the grille and clean up and paint the front of the core support as well.

 

[SoCalCruising]

Don't get oven cleaner on any aluminum parts. Otherwise, go baby, go. I used lacquer thinner as the final wipe down before painting. It will disolve and roughen the top-most paint, if any, left in the engine bay and will clean any stubborn grease that the other methods may have left behind. Use gloves ... of course, you knew that. You're a girl. You're smarter than us knuckle draggers. Some guy might benefit from that comment, though, so I won't edit it out.

You know, you're paying attention to detail, so I'll mention this. It will be a long time before you have the engine out again (we hope), so take the time to remove any paint runs/drips from any previous painting of the engine bay. You won't regret it. I think I used semi-flat paint when all was done. That's pretty close to stock, but use what you like.

 

[dennis112]

Krylon #1613 is a "semi-flat" spray paint that is a near match to the original engine compartment black.

 

[D.Hearne]

Valve covers:

pop em with a rubber mallet.

Works everytime. As for the transmission ID, you've either got a C-4 in there or an FMX. The FMX main body is cast iron. The C-4 is all aluminum. On that factory reman long block, I'd check all the torque values before going farther. Also check out the timing set, many use "el-cheapo" sets, if it looks flimsy, replace it with a good double row, roller chain & gears. Also recommend a new heavy duty oilpump driveshaft, it's cheap insurance.

 

[CarFreakGT]

On an off-topic side note: I LOVE seeing women work on cars! Good work and best of luck t_chelle!

 

[t_chelle16]

AHEM.... you ARE going to clean up that nasty engine compartment while the engine is out, correct?

Also, while the engine is out, it will give me the opportunity to patch the rust in the radiator cross member, replace the battery apron & tray (also rusted), and clean & paint/POR15 the engine bay.

I was going to start by using our power washer (it's a really nice one. With the right nozel, we can cut clean through 1 1/2" tree roots ) then I'll probably do the oven cleaner & a wire brush. And I like the aluminum foil idea, thanks.

Use gloves ... of course, you knew that. You're a girl. You're smarter than us knuckle draggers. Some guy might benefit from that comment, though, so I won't edit it out.

LOL.

I'm not too picky about whether it's sniny or not, I just want it black (the engine & interior - when I get it done - are both going to be black & grey).

Works everytime. As for the transmission ID, you've either got a C-4 in there or an FMX. The FMX main body is cast iron. The C-4 is all aluminum. On that factory reman long block, I'd check all the torque values before going farther. Also check out the timing set, many use "el-cheapo" sets, if it looks flimsy, replace it with a good double row, roller chain & gears. Also recommend a new heavy duty oilpump driveshaft, it's cheap insurance.

Yeah, when I called the company to get more info on their engines, one of the things I asked was if it was a single roller or double roller timing chain and the guy said it just depends on what they have in stock at the time. If it's a cheap one I'll either buy a new double roller or scavange the one that's on old Sadie's engine (I bought it new for her so it's not that old).

On an off-topic side note: I LOVE seeing women work on cars! Good work and best of luck t_chelle!

Thank you. While I was out there working today, and old guy drove by and asked if I wanted to rebuild his engine.

Tomorrow while I tear more of the engine apart, mom is going to finish cleaning the garage (we've been redoing it & putting in new storage cabinets & organizing everything) and when my dad gets home from work, we'll go pick up our friend's engine hoist.

-Chelle

 

[t_chelle16]

I've run into a bit of a problem.

It's a 302 block, but it has 289 heads which means I'm not sure I can use this engine as a core. Off to call Recon and see if they'll take it.
EDIT: Alrighty, not a problem. He said the main thing that they want the casting numbers for is just to make sure you're not going to try to turn in a 6 cyl as a core for a v8. So all's good.

On the plus side, I figured out how to see the casting number without pulling off the heads.



-Chelle

 

[bnickel]

maybe it's just me, could be the pic, but it looks like those heads have had some port work done to them.

 

[t_chelle16]

I have no idea what was done to the engine by the PO, but here's a couple better pics.



And the engine compartment as of right now:


-Chelle

 

[bnickel]

ok, i guess it was just the original pic. those heads are difinitely NOT ported.

 

[D.Hearne]

maybe it's just me, could be the pic, but it looks like those heads have had some port work done to them.

Looked that way to me too. Let's see the exhaust ports. The intakes looked like they were port matched. Any serious work is usually done on the exhaust side.

 

[krash kendall]

Just a silly question, but do you not have an engine stand that you could have stripped that motor down on? It's so much easier on the back and your tools have a lot more room to move. Regardless, you can't argue with results and you definitely are acheiving those! Good work! And I'm really glad to hear you are repairing that rad support. I don't know if anybody else remembers how bad it looked in the pics you posted several months ago.

 

[bnickel]

Just a silly question, but do you not have an engine stand that you could have stripped that motor down on? It's so much easier on the back and your tools have a lot more room to move. Regardless, you can't argue with results and you definitely are acheiving those! Good work! And I'm really glad to hear you are repairing that rad support. I don't know if anybody else remembers how bad it looked in the pics you posted several months ago.

i do. i was worried about her safety when i saw that pic. apparently it wasn't as bad as it looked though.

 

[t_chelle16]

Yes, I have an engine stand I just wanted to get all the stuff that was hanging off the engine off so it would be easier to get to and I also wanted to get to the head casting numbers. I'm going to wait until it's out to finish pulling off the oil pan, harmonic balancer, front cover, and and anything else that doesn't need to be turned in with the engine.

And I'll try to remember to get a better pic of the rust tomorrow. Should be able to get an okay pic now that the radiator is out.

-Chelle

 

[t_chelle16]

Here's some pics. I guess it still looks worse in pics than real life. I've had a few mechanics look at it (including my dad who wouldn't let me drive somethign that's not safe) and they said it wasn't causing any immediate danger. There's still quite a bit of metal in the area. The whole radiator support above it is just fine (this is just the cross member) and that brace that goes diagonally from the frame rail to about the middle of the crossmember is perfectly fine so it's not like the front frame rails are going to start to spread apart.


But while I have the engine out, that will be the perfect time to fix it. I think rather than replacing the whole crossmember, I'm just going to cut out the bad spots and weld in some patches out of some nice thick gauge steel.





-Chelle

 

[Platonic Solid]

... So at the moment, I have a long block picked out (Recon 302) ...

... I'm hoping to get the other engine ordered within the next couple of days (the guys at Autozone like me so they said that if I want, I can hold off turning in this engine until my other one comes in and they won't charge me the core fee.) ...

How much do you know about Recon 302 from Autozone? (Keeping in mind that if you search for dirt on just about any company, you'll find it.) I found some rather negative comments on Ford-Trucks.com (last post on page).

In my quest for a new truck engine, I recently found myself doing lots of research in this area. I even had NAPA quote me an engine, but as soon as I mentioned that I was considering getting a Jasper engine, the counter guy (who I've known for years) said, "Don't buy it from us. Get the Jasper engine". Yes, it cost about $500 more, but I'll gladly spend it for peace-of-mind.

Jasperengines.com

Cool Jasper Engines Video