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Worn out engine - WWYD? #2805184
08/04/20 08:39 PM
08/04/20 08:39 PM
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Posts: 19,774
Puttin' on the foil in Charles...
not_a_charger Offline OP
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Puttin' on the foil in Charles...
My 82 F250 has low oil pressure. When hot, I have about 30 lbs at speed, and it drops to near 0 lbs at idle. The truck otherwise runs great. Decent power, no noises, only 1 minor fluid leak...the rear main seal, which is how I found out the crank bearings are worn. The truck is rock solid, and is in otherwise excellent mechanical condition as well. Tires, brakes, hoses, belts, battery, etc. are all new or in like-new condition. It needs zero maintenance items. Every light, switch, gauge, dual tanks, etc. works perfectly. Clutch has 35k on it. AC is inop, but I don't know why, and don't care. The paint sucks. The door panels are shot, but the rest of the interior is pretty nice. I only drive it about 2,000 miles/year. I've had it on several hour+ freeway trips like this without any problems. No problems driving around town, either. I've got about $4,400 in the truck as it sits, including what I paid for it.

I've got 3 options:
A) have the existing 400 rebuilt
B) swap in a reman 400
C) drive it and hope it doesn't blow up, and if it does, either sell it, or revert to one of the first 2 options.

No interest in changing to a different engine, so a 460 is out. laugh

A is likely the most expensive, which would rule it out. I'm inclined to go with C and hope for the best. If I do end up doing A or B at some point, I would swap in a straight-up timing set to get a little more power. The factory setup is retarded 4 degrees. I've read that this change alone makes a nice low-end difference.

WWYD?

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Re: Worn out engine - WWYD? [Re: not_a_charger] #2805186
08/04/20 08:41 PM
08/04/20 08:41 PM
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Tucson, AZ
Ramrod39 Offline
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Option C.

Re: Worn out engine - WWYD? [Re: Ramrod39] #2805197
08/04/20 09:05 PM
08/04/20 09:05 PM
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Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Can...
moparmike1 Online content
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Just a suggestion but another option is to keep an eye out for a similar truck, but rusted, with the same 400 but better oil pressure than yours.

Another idea, as I'm typing, would a high volume oil pump solve your problem?

Mike.

Re: Worn out engine - WWYD? [Re: moparmike1] #2805207
08/04/20 09:17 PM
08/04/20 09:17 PM
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Between Houston & Galveston TX
SattyNoCar Offline
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shruggy


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The dream is dead, long live the dream.......😥
Re: Worn out engine - WWYD? [Re: moparmike1] #2805209
08/04/20 09:18 PM
08/04/20 09:18 PM
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South Lyon MI
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sleddinfool Offline
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South Lyon MI
400M? I didn't realize they put them in that late. I thought 78-79 was it. It does look nice.. I sure if it was an old mopar money wouldn't matter, lol. Kevin


71 gtx.....
Re: Worn out engine - WWYD? [Re: sleddinfool] #2805210
08/04/20 09:22 PM
08/04/20 09:22 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 16,802
Between Houston & Galveston TX
SattyNoCar Offline
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How about a Coyote swap? shruggy


John

The dream is dead, long live the dream.......😥
Re: Worn out engine - WWYD? [Re: sleddinfool] #2805212
08/04/20 09:24 PM
08/04/20 09:24 PM
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UPPER MICHIGAN, MARQUETTE COUN...
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D] Roll a set of bearings in it along with a new oil pump and drive it.

Re: Worn out engine - WWYD? [Re: moparmike1] #2805213
08/04/20 09:24 PM
08/04/20 09:24 PM
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Phila
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PhillyRag Offline
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75% 20-50 oil, 25% gear oil for an oil change. May not help that much, but sure can't hurt it.

Re: Worn out engine - WWYD? [Re: NITROUSN] #2805216
08/04/20 09:27 PM
08/04/20 09:27 PM
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Posts: 19,774
Puttin' on the foil in Charles...
not_a_charger Offline OP
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Originally Posted by NITROUSN
D] Roll a set of bearings in it along with a new oil pump and drive it.


Thought about that, but the engine has 189k on it. I'm concerned I'd be throwing good money after bad if I did that.


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Re: Worn out engine - WWYD? [Re: not_a_charger] #2805218
08/04/20 09:32 PM
08/04/20 09:32 PM
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PA
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70Duster Offline
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First, verify the gauge and sending unit are telling you the truth about the oil pressure. Then option C but run a thicker viscosity oil to see if pressure improves.

Last edited by 70Duster; 08/04/20 09:38 PM.
Re: Worn out engine - WWYD? [Re: not_a_charger] #2805219
08/04/20 09:37 PM
08/04/20 09:37 PM
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Originally Posted by not_a_charger
Originally Posted by NITROUSN
D] Roll a set of bearings in it along with a new oil pump and drive it.


Thought about that, but the engine has 189k on it. I'm concerned I'd be throwing good money after bad if I did that.


While that is always a gamble, in my opinion it would be a good gamble. Rock auto rods, mains, oil pump and pan gasket less than 200.00 with good parts. Cheaper less. If it bothers you to do so go with C and heavier oil which might help some.

Re: Worn out engine - WWYD? [Re: NITROUSN] #2805221
08/04/20 09:38 PM
08/04/20 09:38 PM
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 19,774
Puttin' on the foil in Charles...
not_a_charger Offline OP
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I'll give that some more thought. thumbs


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Re: Worn out engine - WWYD? [Re: Ramrod39] #2805223
08/04/20 09:44 PM
08/04/20 09:44 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,326
Addison Twp, Mi.
RobG Offline
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It is a nice truck. Pull a crown vic motor out of a police car and swap it in.


I am not rich...but I get off my ass everyday to make sure I am not broke!

Can we get the Mexican cartels to help us with our supply chain issues? They don't seem to have any trouble getting stuff from one place to another.
Re: Worn out engine - WWYD? [Re: RobG] #2805227
08/04/20 09:47 PM
08/04/20 09:47 PM
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 19,774
Puttin' on the foil in Charles...
not_a_charger Offline OP
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I love the truck. It would be perfect with a 5 speed (creeper low, OD high). It's currently a 4 speed with a creeper 1st gear, and with the 4:10s, it's a little steep on the freeway.


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Re: Worn out engine - WWYD? [Re: not_a_charger] #2805229
08/04/20 09:49 PM
08/04/20 09:49 PM
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Shopping @ HoBo Fright
340SIX Offline
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Originally Posted by not_a_charger
Originally Posted by NITROUSN
D] Roll a set of bearings in it along with a new oil pump and drive it.


Thought about that, but the engine has 189k on it. I'm concerned I'd be throwing good money after bad if I did that.

I would do what I would have done in 1980 with the exception of it being PAW that the parts came from. I assume Summit has them the same way.
Get the Ring/Bearing/Oil/Pump/ Gasket Rebuild Kit/ Ball Hone that Sucker and add in a new Summit Cam & Lifters "Drive the Wheels Off It"
Maybe send the heads out just so I never had to mess with it again


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73 Dart Sport 340/ 70 challenger vert. That may still get built, If I live long enough
Re: Worn out engine - WWYD? [Re: 340SIX] #2805234
08/04/20 10:03 PM
08/04/20 10:03 PM
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WI
Dcuda69 Offline
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Originally Posted by 340SIX
Originally Posted by not_a_charger
Originally Posted by NITROUSN
D] Roll a set of bearings in it along with a new oil pump and drive it.


Thought about that, but the engine has 189k on it. I'm concerned I'd be throwing good money after bad if I did that.

I would do what I would have done in 1980 with the exception of it being PAW that the parts came from. I assume Summit has them the same way.
Get the Ring/Bearing/Oil/Pump/ Gasket Rebuild Kit/ Ball Hone that Sucker and add in a new Summit Cam & Lifters "Drive the Wheels Off It"
Maybe send the heads out just so I never had to mess with it again


This^! Or just yank it out, throw a crank kit,oil pump and gaskets at it and jamb it back in. Did LOTS of Ford crank kits back in the day. Pull them, put it on a stand, flip it over, pull t-cover and oil pan. Yo-yo crank,t-chain and oil pump. Back together and back in the same day. All of them ate the mains causing low oil pressure. Few hundred bucks and you're good to go!

Re: Worn out engine - WWYD? [Re: not_a_charger] #2805236
08/04/20 10:10 PM
08/04/20 10:10 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,326
Addison Twp, Mi.
RobG Offline
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Is that a 4x4 model?


I am not rich...but I get off my ass everyday to make sure I am not broke!

Can we get the Mexican cartels to help us with our supply chain issues? They don't seem to have any trouble getting stuff from one place to another.
Re: Worn out engine - WWYD? [Re: 340SIX] #2805237
08/04/20 10:12 PM
08/04/20 10:12 PM
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Posts: 10,486
Freeport IL USA
poorboy Offline
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I'd start with verifying the gauge isn't lying about the oil pressure being low. Use a real mechanical gauge. If it really is low, I'd probably try thicker oil and see what that did for it. The next step would be a compression test, and maybe a leak down test. I guess I'd really want to know what condition the motor is in. If the compression and leak down tell you the motor is pretty sound, I'd roll in the rod & main bearings, new oil pump, and a pan gasket, and maybe that timing chain and gears.

If it fails muster on the real oil pressure test and fails on the compression test, save your money for a reman motor, and then drive this one until it retires itself. I've seen low oil pressure Ford motors run a long time without issues. Gene

Re: Worn out engine - WWYD? [Re: poorboy] #2805243
08/04/20 10:32 PM
08/04/20 10:32 PM
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Posts: 20,644
So Near, Yet So Far
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What viscosity oil is in there now ?
I'd verify with a mech gauge first.
Then, depending on how long you're keeping the truck:
20W-50
or higher-pressure pump
or plug in a good used or quality rebuilt engine.
Bonus if you find a good used deal with an OD trans.
You can kill some gear ratio with, say, a 33-inch or taller tire...

Re: Worn out engine - WWYD? [Re: topside] #2805259
08/04/20 11:28 PM
08/04/20 11:28 PM
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NE OHIO
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kevin69bman Offline
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I'd start with verifying the gauge isn't lying about the oil pressure being low. Use a real mechanical gauge.

That said as before Mike just run it if it blows then deal with it i ran a 351 with a rist pin knock and low oil pressure for 40,000 miles and if you need I have a 460 here

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