Pics of the guts of a 400

[surewhynot]

Ryan asked me to put up some pics as I tore down my 400, so here goes.

Looky what I found, aren't these things supposed to be straight?

The rest of them are.

A beheading is always fun

Bottoms up!

Main cap with worn bearing-

Rod cap

She's nekkid!

Parts galore

The pushrod is grinning at me.

All in all, it's not that bad. The crank doesn't need to be turned down, so it's gonna get polished and fresh bearings. Some preliminary measurements are showing the bores may just need a hone, and not an overbore. I may just get away with an oil pump, rings and bearings. Oh, and pushrods.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

cool - never gotten to tear down my own motor before.

Ryan

 

[surewhynot]

In a way, that's a good thing.

 

[john112deere]

In a way, that's a good thing.

Uh huh.




Take a poll of your mechanically-inclined buddies...every Chevy guy you meet can, and has, rebuild a smallblock before breakfast.

Ford guys have the luxury of not getting that much practice.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

What I'd like to do is buy a seperate one and piece it together how I want it and put it in my pickup before I HAVE to.

Ryan

 

[Bricks]

Nice that you'll just be polishing your crank.......................



instead of having to turn it.

 

[89frankenford]

haha i saw the rod and was like damn thats not good haha

 

[LEB Ben]

Not so bad Tony...I've never had the luxury of a complete tear down either. So I may have a few questions for you whenever I get to the ol' 351.

 

[surewhynot]

A good way of learning is like Ryan said. Buy a complete engine before you need it and get started. Grab a good manual and keep a keen ear to anybody you know that has some experience. That is how I learned. My first truck was a 65 F100 with a 352. Me and my Dad found a 390 and rebuilt it for it. What a runner that was. I could lay rubber through 3rd gear.

 

[LEB Ben]

That's actually how I learned body work and assembly/disassembly of the dentsides...dad bought a junked one and told me to have at it, and that he wanted every nut and bolt turned...although there was no engine.

 

[hollenjoe]

Surewhynot,

I noticed on the 3rd picture, the number 1 piston seams to be above deck height or at level with it, so it seams the block has been shaved alot, be carefull when choosing new pistons....

Also these engines are known for bending pushrods for lots of reasons, you can still re-use those pushrods.....theres no danger there..

 

[Dirky]

Looks good! Well...For the most part.

I just have one thing to add. Your Crankshaft...You have it laying on its side. Having the crank sitting like that, even for a small amount of time can warp it. They should always be stored vertically on the flywheel flange. Just thought I'd let you know!

I want to see rebuild pics

 

[surewhynot]

Surewhynot,

I noticed on the 3rd picture, the number 1 piston seams to be above deck height or at level with it, so it seams the block has been shaved alot, be carefull when choosing new pistons....

Also these engines are known for bending pushrods for lots of reasons, you can still re-use those pushrods.....theres no danger there..

Rod was disconnected and the piston was pushed up.

 

[TexasNomad]

Man I wish I could get my hands on a engine I could tear down..

 

[radialarm]

I noticed in the pic with all the parts on a shelf that you had your crank laying down. That's a no no!!! It's supposed to be standing on end!!! You never lay them down like that. No personal experience but just what I read in a motor manual once!!!

 

[Dirky]

Man I wish I could get my hands on a engine I could tear down..

I've got a windsor I've been considering getting rid of...

Rather build the 460

 

[1985 Ford F-150]

I was just thinkin about it bendin a pushrod a couple hours ago. My 428 also bent em when it blew but I cant blame it. I would just buy 1 new one and check the rest of em by rollin em on a piece of glass (that I know ya have) and see if any others are bent. I reused some of the straight ones from the 428 in my 390 and it runs fine except the oil burnin. Glad to hear that its just a quick and dirty rebuild.

 

[surewhynot]

Didn't know about laying cranks down guys. It's standing on the flywheel end now. Thanks.

I will be re ringing it with new ones Dan.

 

[Dirky]

Hey, what brand of screw driver is that in the first pic? I'm looking for a good new set of screw drivers.

Thanks!

 

[1985 Ford F-150]

Yeah I just re read your first post. I didnt know it was that important to put em up on end. My 428 crank has fell over so many tim es it probly wont matter if I lay it down.