My first engine pull/rebuild - 1994 351w

[mrxlh]

In that vid, it sounds pretty dang good. How many teeth was the dist off?

 

[O'Rattlecan]

Thanks, Lester. Well it wasn't the teeth on the cam-to-distributor that was off. It was just my rotation of the distributor. Previously I had it set as if the distributor rotated clockwise, even though it rotates counter clockwise (whoops). I guess that was about 25* off where it should be.

Ryan

 

[blacksnapon]

Yeah, desk drivers twisting wrenches...............never a good combination!

 

[O'Rattlecan]

downright dangerous!

Ryan

 

[Beach66Bum]

Alright gents, the moment you've all been waiting for.

Ryan

is there a drag race in the future between you and Chris?

 

[fatherdoug]

Sounds nice! Since I am unfamiliar with this generation, did you replace a MAP sensor with a MAF sensor?

 

[SuperCab]

Nice, except for that part at the end where you're gonna have somebody else tune it

 

[O'Rattlecan]

Hey bozo.

Yeah the map sensor is situated on the intake manifold, and it's sitting there with nothing plugged into it. The sensor is simply filling the hole in the manifold at this point. The MAF sensor is where all that activity happens now.

I swapped out the TPS just now and took it for a short drive. The transmission shift points are way healthier and more normal. It still lurches into gear just a little, but maybe that's normal. It's been a while.

I fiddled with the timing and I just can't quite get it right. The spot I'm on is the smoothest but it's not smooth, you know what I mean?

Ryan

 

[SuperCab]

Just giving you a hard time buddy. Looks like it turned out good... Especially the maf swap. Take a lot of studying to tear in and change efi stuff like that.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

But seriously, a man knows his limits. I would like to tune it myself but I know someone else can get it performing way better than I can. I'm going to drop it by the transmission place I had it rebuilt and let that guy look over the transmission (per his request for warranty purposes) and give me the 'all clear.'

I wonder if I should take it to a professional 'tuner' to get it dialed in or just a normal mechanic. There are other things I want to do like an adjustable fuel pressure regulator, but I want her purring as nicely as possible.

Ryan

 

[primetime]

"Good men always know their limitations." So sayeth Harry Callahan. But in all seriousness, take it to a good tuner shop. It will cost you more, but with everything you have done and changed, a regular mechanic will probably be a little overwhelmed.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

I took it to the mechanic to get the transmission looked at. The transmission checked out okay, and he did a once-over of the truck to see if I missed or messed up on anything.

The rough running condition was due to improper plug gapping. I read somewhere that I could go to .55, which was utter crap. They might be able to get away with this in 302's, but on a 351, .45 will do the trick. It now runs like a RAPED APE!

I'm thrilled with the build. It's not licensed yet so I can't drive around willy-nilly. I need to get a windshield put on and I need 2 new plug wires that my header already burned. Also my radiator tank is leaking for no apparent reason.

Ryan

 

[DNFXDLI]

Right on Ryan!

 

[slmann]

that's great.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

This is a non-interesting post, I'm just leaving myself a to-do list.

1. Switch Wire Harness on windshield wiper motor from 1995 harness to 1994.
2. Have the mechanic fully install the dipstick when it gets inspected
3. Windshield
4. New Radio headunit (current one is dead as a doornail)
5. Swap in a new radiator
6. Replace a couple coolant hoses that have hairpin leaks in them
7. Plug wires at my convenience (they're not really that bad)

Ryan

 

[SuperCab]

Does that have the crappy plastic tanks on the radiator?

 

[O'Rattlecan]

Why yes sir, yes it does!

It torques me off. If my memory is right, the original radiator was replaced in 2009 with this piece of junk.

Ryan

 

[SuperCab]

I'd see if they make an aftermarket all aluminum one and ditch the plastic tanks. The plastic ones suck.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

I completed the windshield wiper wiring solder job. Not too bad, all the wiper speeds seem to work perfect.

Ryan

 

[DNFXDLI]

Right on Ryan!