motor is tight musta done sumpin dumb

1stanger1 · Jan 19, 2011

first of all its a 99 mustang that i dropped in an 87 mark 7 ho roller motor

i installed a b303 cam and added an edlebrock typhon intake manifold 75mm tb 30lb injectors and a set of bbk headers

now while trying to set the harmonic balancer back to zero to install the distributor it gets really REALLY tight at 10 degrees before and after tdc
and there are no spark plugs in it yet

i can turn it with my 1/2" breaker bar but it gets stuck and i cant turn it at all when using the 1/2" ratchet....which by normal standards..with no plugs should be no problem...

tell me is this normal with the ford racing cam or do i have a bent pushrod or somethin else wrong......i am yankin my hair out here this is ther first time this has ever happened to me
if you have any info please let me know...also you can call if you like
717-609-7391
Alan
i am in the usa and it is a pennsylvania number i'm usually up till round 11 or so

mob · Jan 19, 2011

What gear is the transmission in?

1stanger1 · Jan 19, 2011

already thought of that its in nuetral had to do that to bolt on the drive shaft

also i just added a lil oil to the mix seemed to loosen it up a bit..not a whole lot...just a bit

Chrome_Rust · Jan 19, 2011

is it a stock bottom end? If it has new bearings you might need to set the thrust end-play.

capri debris · Jan 20, 2011

Your valves may be hitting your pistons. Do you have flat top pistons or ones with valve reliefs?
If your valves are hitting and have rotated the engine by force, the damage is already done... bent valves.

mob · Jan 20, 2011

Wait so can you actually turn it though with the breaker bar? You say it gets really tight, but does it "rollerover" or does it not turn anymore. I would imagine it would be difficult to turn the engine over with a ratchet even 1/2". With the valve train assembled the motor isnt going to exactly just role over. It is going to take a little force to open and close the valves.

Has this motor run before? I wonder if the t-bird 302 had flattops? How did you degree the cam?

rd · Jan 20, 2011

Engine, w/o sparkplugs should take 20-35 ft lbs to turn the short block. Add the heads an maybe another 10 ft lbs. If it takes 50 ft lbs to turn the engine only, it would indicate a problem.

Take it apart until you find something.

90lxcoupe · Jan 20, 2011

did you use a geardrive on the car?

Stever89 · Jan 20, 2011

capri debris said:
Your valves may be hitting your pistons. Do you have flat top pistons or ones with valve reliefs?
If your valves are hitting and have rotated the engine by force, the damage is already done... bent valves.

If this were true, it would have been hard to turn the first time, then a lot easier after that. Sure hope that's not what it is.

Cam bearings?

1stanger1 · Jan 20, 2011

see i also thought of the cam bearings...being that the block has 130k on it...

a good friend of mine...goes by the name speedy hes out of quincy pa , and is a hard core mustang guy... said that if it is in fact a cam bearing it would eventually wear itself in..and i also asked him about cam degree and he said just set it like any other cam...

so i guess i got some things to clear up...

i made a mistake its an 89 bill blass lincoln and it has 130k on it stock bottom end so whatever pistons are in it came from the factory i never had the heads off...
also with my ratchet it is easy to turn until i get to the 10 degree mark either before or after depending on which way i go

but if i use my breaker bar i can turn it with no problems..and i installed the starter and hooked a few wires to itto touch it to a battery and the motor turns over fine...i pulled the valve covers back off and watched as it cranked the motor by hand, everything looked good no bent rods or anything..then i stuck my little snake light into each cylinder and seen no marks on the pistons...so here i am back to the cam...by the way the cam didnt want to go in the whole way so i finessed it with a rubber mallet...(done it a 100 times never hurt nothin yet) i'm thinking maybe either i had a dry cam bearing or either the cam or the bearing has a high spot on it which in time will work itself out or seriously Fucl< some $hit up ...either way if i blow it i'm going to go out and have fun doing it...maybe i'll get to use the 331 with the 69 windsor heads that i have sittin on the stand

Stever89 · Jan 21, 2011

1stanger1 said:
see i also thought of the cam bearings...being that the block has 130k on it...

a good friend of mine...goes by the name speedy hes out of quincy pa , and is a hard core mustang guy... said that if it is in fact a cam bearing it would eventually wear itself in..and i also asked him about cam degree and he said just set it like any other cam...

so i guess i got some things to clear up...

i made a mistake its an 89 bill blass lincoln and it has 130k on it stock bottom end so whatever pistons are in it came from the factory i never had the heads off...
also with my ratchet it is easy to turn until i get to the 10 degree mark either before or after depending on which way i go

but if i use my breaker bar i can turn it with no problems..and i installed the starter and hooked a few wires to itto touch it to a battery and the motor turns over fine...i pulled the valve covers back off and watched as it cranked the motor by hand, everything looked good no bent rods or anything..then i stuck my little snake light into each cylinder and seen no marks on the pistons...so here i am back to the cam...by the way the cam didnt want to go in the whole way so i finessed it with a rubber mallet...(done it a 100 times never hurt nothin yet) i'm thinking maybe either i had a dry cam bearing or either the cam or the bearing has a high spot on it which in time will work itself out or seriously Fucl< some $hit up ...either way if i blow it i'm going to go out and have fun doing it...maybe i'll get to use the 331 with the 69 windsor heads that i have sittin on the stand

Good luck... I hope there's no catastrophic damage.

DonMaximo · Jan 21, 2011

Thoughts...

- Valve is kissing piston
wrong pushrods ?
too large a multiplier (1.6, 1.7, etc) in your rocker arms ?
Incompatible piston/cam lift combo ?

- Valve tappet binding up

- debris caught in timing chain

1stanger1 · Jan 22, 2011

all good ideas...but i think i'ma try and start it after the wiring is done tomorrow and see if i can grenade it...like i said....got a few more just like it!

although i will keep you guys posted..

keep an eye out on my albums page cause i will be posting a crap load of pics on there on the build from start to finish

motor is tight musta done sumpin dumb

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