My first engine pull/rebuild - 1994 351w

[O'Rattlecan]

Here are some top side pics a little closer with no flash.

And here's a typical cylinder so you can see all the sides.

Ryan

 

[SuperCab]

How much ridge is there in the cylinder at the top of the piston's travel?

 

[Fellro]

The ridge (once carbon is all cleaned off) will tell what you need to do. Since the pistons came out without having to cut the ridge down, that is a good sign, but not a promise you won't have to bore. The way to find out, and how they will advise you, is measure at the top, and measure at the middle. You may have some shifting at the center, which is the common location. That will be the most likely place to find it out of round. The most wear and shifting occur in the middle of the cylinder, not at the ends.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

That's right, but I can't exactly get my caliper down there (even for a guess). I'm going to let the pros make the call, but I couldn't be happier about the amount wear on this thing.

I literally can't feel a bump where the piston's travel stops.

Ryan

 

[Fellro]

They use an extendable t-gauge, then measure it. Some have actual bore gauges as well, but a caliper only gets the 1st inch or so. The next thing is that if the hole is bigger, you still only can measure the smallest area.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

So could a rube like me learn to port heads? I was thinking about touching up the heads a bit. I don't want to get crazy or look a my reflection in the intake ports, but would it be worth my time to touch them up?

Ryan

 

[73F100Shortbed]

There are probably videos on YouTube showing how to port and polish heads.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

Yeah, here we go.



Ryan

 

[conanski]

So could a rube like me learn to port heads?

Yes anybody can do it.

I was thinking about touching up the heads a bit. I don't want to get crazy or look a my reflection in the intake ports,

Well the first thing you should learn is that you really don't want intake ports that smooth, a slightly rough surface actually promotes higher airflow and helps keep fuel suspended in the air column.. which isn't as big a deal with EFI but it's still an issue on the heads.

As with most Ford heads the biggest gains are to be found on the exhaust side and there you pretty much can't do anything wrong, the whole port can be smoothed and polished if you like... though the gains for this step alone after the port is shaped and sized correctly are relatively tiny so there isn't high value in the time spent unless you need every last horsepower. The roof of the exhaust port is where most attention should be placed, it needs smoothing right from the valve seats, around the valve stem, and through the smog bump meaning it should be removed completely. The port should open up smoothly from the pocket out to the gasket surface where it should not exceed the dimensins of whatever gasket you are using or the header tube.. whichever is smaller. Here is a good Ford Windsor porting resource.. http://www.diyporting.com/index.html

 

[conanski]

Well.. as stock cams go that one isn't all that bad, it's a little small for a 351 but is hugh compared to the earlier flat tappet cam these motors got.

The craptacular stock Ford camshaft:

 

[BIGRED911]

On our full race atv engines we polished the exhaust ports to mirror finish after porting them to match the exhaust pipe, the intake ports looked like the surface of a golf ball....I had an 01 raptor that was putting 75-85hp with stock valves but massive amounts of porting, its not all about air flow, velocity makes more swirl and better burn.....I won't argue that the more air and fuel crammed into an engine will make more power but I've seen first hand the difference proper porting can make...

 

[O'Rattlecan]

Any recommendations on rockers?

I'm half tempted to let the machine shop put this together as a long block for me. I don't even own a torque wrench. I'll have to get a quote from him.

Ryan

 

[DNFXDLI]

Scorpion rollers, made in USA and a good price.

 

[Fordzilla80]

You've gotten pretty far along Ryan!

One thing I just can't wrap my head around is why you're so hesitant to touch the wiring aspect of the MAF swap? As long as you have a good wiring diagram, a good cheat sheet as to which color wires do what, and a good test light and maybe a good meter, you really have nothing to worry about. As long as you account for what you have, you'll be fine.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

Wiring diagrams hold a strong resemblance to abstract art for me... I'm not a dumb guy, but I know my limitations. Electricity is 'magical' to me.

Ryan

 

[O'Rattlecan]

Scorpion rollers, made in USA and a good price.

I was wondering which of the more affordable brands would be good for me. Thanks, Dunc.

I'm still apprehensive about putting this thing together. I don't trust myself and will probably screw something up.

Ryan

 

[DNFXDLI]

I was wondering which of the more affordable brands would be good for me. Thanks, Dunc.

I'm still apprehensive about putting this thing together. I don't trust myself and will probably screw something up.

Ryan

No sweat and really Ryan, if you take your time, read manuals, check and recheck.....you won't have a problem.

 

[Fordzilla80]

Wiring diagrams hold a strong resemblance to abstract art for me... I'm not a dumb guy, but I know my limitations. Electricity is 'magical' to me.

Ryan

That's a common thing I hear all the time, but you wouldn't believe how easy they are once you get the hang of it. Yea, some diagrams are like Chinese, but all you really have to do is study them. In reality, learning to read wiring diagrams is like cake compared to some of the stuff I know you had to learn in school.

When I have a wiring diagram that outright sucks, I always make a new one that a 5 year old could understand.

The only problem you have is that you don't trust yourself with it. Pick up your Hayne's book and study the wiring diagrams in it. Familiarize yourself with the symbols. If you can master reading the wiring diagrams in a Hayne's manual, you'll be able to read just about any automotive wiring diagram.

 

[DNFXDLI]

Get a Ford shop manual...Haynes, Chiltons and Clymer suck donkey balls for all but the most basic thing. I would be willing to bet that you could get a whole set for $50-$100 on eBay. Nice part is that you can always sell them later.

 

[Fordzilla80]

Get a Ford shop manual...Haynes, Chiltons and Clymer suck donkey balls for all but the most basic thing. I would be willing to bet that you could get a whole set for $50-$100 on eBay. Nice part is that you can always sell them later.

Agreed 100%.

I have a Ford wiring diagram manual for my Ranger, and it tells me which connector should have which color wires, where said wire should go, what said connector looks like, what the connector harness should look like installed in the truck, and plenty of other invaluable information. It helped me immensely when I had to re-pin the main transmission connector on the Ranger.