My daily driver is a 95 Mustang GT I've been driving for 20 years. It has 411,000 miles on it now and still runs pretty well. The 302/351W are some of the most reliable engines ever made in my opinion.
My first car was a 95' GT. My dad had it as his daily driver for about 260k miles, then I drove it another 5 years to right around 380k miles. Still ran perfectly until I was rear ended and the car was totaled.. Best car I've ever owned.
411k. Whao. You got me beat I’m at 306k on my 93 and the guide on my cam went out along with damaging my timing belt and timing belt bolt broke. Do you post pics of vids of your car?
The 5.0 blocks from 1979 and later crack when you put power to them is the only problem. 351W is a much better engine in my opinion. Stock they do last forever though. But all sorts of older simple engines can rack up miles if you take care of them. For example my friend has an 82 Toronado diesel with 500,000 or more miles on it. Not exactly known as a reliable engine but it's had it's oil changed every 3000 miles and has head studs and a water separator, so everything has lasted longer than you would expect.
Not a surprise, it seems like these Ford small blocks will just run forever. I wouldn’t be surprised if the ‘66 Ford Galaxie 500 I plan on picking up in the future with a 289 in it (the same thing as the 302) has 162,000 original miles on it judging by the shape the transmission is in.
I bought a '95 mustang for $700 in momo state. From a bad, shor temper gambler. Couldn't resist and sold it as is, I considered him a friend but I never was to him. He rammed a forklift in through the windows chasing his wife who was cheating right out the car raised and dropped it. Now onto the car itself.. this didn't affect it a bit. Had bad ass roll cage throughout the design custom specifically for long distance circuit racing. A 302 boss with everything you could ever do to beef it out nice heads, a cam with a monster lift, efi, 5.0 t5 trans, with a slap stick, this car was just muah a spicy meatball. But I never got to see it, thanks to my father who told the seller go ahead chop it up and bring us the parts. I think I received approx 1% of it. The engine had screws in the cylinders, froze, used a blow tourch on the heads to free it. Gasket sealer around the exhaust manifolds because it was leaking.. lol. Not the brightest but anyway, should I file a stolen vehicle report? I'm not one to be a cop caller. Got the title but he is no where to be found. So what y'all think?
Your tear down confirmed what we at the plant and everyone with a 302 knows, beast engine. The 302 block line was my primary responsibility lot of pride went into those engines! Piece of trivia for you, 1980 on 302 blocks were 12 lbs lighter than previous engines. Ford wanted 20 lbs removed but we couldn't broach the engine block w/o it coming apart in the fixture.
Small block Fords are not really a marvel of engineering but absolutely in execution. They are tough, 100 lbs. lighter than a similar GM engine, and rarely fail on their own. I rebuilt 18 GM engines before I got a reason to rebuild my 289.
this is an extremely telling observation. extremely. not a marvel in engineering, but in execution. my mantra (i am old) is keep it as simple as possible, but execute correctly. in the developement of engines it is always a crap-shoot. so, my friends look to the tried and true to pull you thru.
I dunno, I have both Chevy and Ford. The mustang as he stated has a broken odometer. However the car wasn't well kept. I'm the 5th owner and for what it's been through I'd say it's a good car.
@@rosshoenke8368 If you got my old Mustang it doesn't even come alive until 6000 rpm. It always needed more gears. From 6 to 8500 it screamed. 3 speed sucked. I built the top end to breathe beyond Shelby. Bottom end only needed ARP rod bolts.
If anything, the transmission was the first to go on the 80s/early 90s Mustangs. The engines were solid. And even the tranny would go at least 150k miles before it started to slip.
Unfortunately 4 guys before me beat the snot out of the car before I had the chance. It still has decent compression, but I see sparkles in the oil when I change it. It definitely could use an overhaul
I used to think the same way, and there's nothing wrong with that thinking, but I've become a believer in the coyote, especially as the one in my 2013 F150 recently crossed the 250k mile mark. Sure, there's a lot more complexity with the DOHC TiVVT system, but it works, it's reliable, is it as reliable as the old pushrod chuggers? Time will tell, but at a quarter million original miles, I have to say, so far so good
Yep my done up 302 all Got better gas mileage on the highway then most cars do today but when you decided to go fast you could watch the fuel gauge go down lol
From the looks and lifelong experience with Small Block Fords I’d say you have a typical Mustang engine that was run very hard for many miles without any maintenance at all. I absolutely Love all Windsor & Cleveland’s as they are so easy to make massive power with and are reliable as stone.
I actually thought this engine looked very good. I have pulled them apart with half the vanes gone on the water pump, several flat lifters and some very loose rods. Not to mention oil pickup screens nearly blocked with timing gear crud. No broken rings was a huge plus. When you still have cross hatching on the cylinder walls its not that worn. The only thing in questionable condition was the main bearings and rod bearings - but even they weren't that bad - for an engine that is at least 25 years old. I suspect they were subject to some high RPMs.
I really respect your morals about standing behind your products. My brother in law says I'm crazy for guaranteeing the used small engine equipment I sell like snowblowers, lawn tractors and anything else I get free or cheap. It's my way of making ends meet and helping people get what they need cheap plus I love keeping stuff from the landfill or scrapyard. I donate a lot to especially window ACs because they're not cheap and I've been there sweating trying to sleep. I wish I had space and a landlord for doing cars as I've given away many before moving here in New Rustshire.
On small engines I used to guarantee stuff, but the majority of my returns and unhappy customers were the result of operator error, now when I get something cheap I just move it cheap, and all my adds tell people exactly what I found, did and what I may be unable to fully test. I don’t intentionally sell anything with issues, but most small engine stuff isn’t worth the cost of full rehab, let alone the time. I accept well less then top dollar and the buyers take the risk that comes with any used equipment. I’ve lost to much money to people who try to mow pastures with riding mowers, or didn’t remember to pickup their doormats before it snows.
I agree, and im not ford guy. I just wished they made all their other engines easy, thank god they don't make them 5.4 3v anymore, I was tired of doing cam phasers on our shop trucks...
When I rebuilt my dads 5.0 from his truck that had over 500000 miles on it, yes half a million miles, it only had one thousanth of a ring groove . Went back with a hone ,std rings and std bearings,E303 cam,ported the heads and put in a 94 Ranger.It makes around 325hp and is a blast to drive. 5.0 Fords are one of the best ones ever made,along with the 460 big blocks
And they got really good mpg especially in the lighter ranger mine got damn near 40mpg highway with a 750 carb it just got really thrirsty when you drove it hard lol
Lots of people don't realize this. The Chevy small block best this to market by 7 years, but itself shows its age (shared center exhaust port). The SBF is a very light block with just the bare minimum of iron used where needed, saving Ford millions over its production life. It isn't the sturdiest motor ever made, but a stock cam/block motor cam make easy 300hp with just heads and intake. Unsurprising that the LS motor has lots, and I mean lots of similarities to the SBF. If nobody believes me, just note that the LS shares the same bore spacing and headbolt pattern as the SBF. You can literally bolt LS heads to a SBF without mods. Not saying it will work, but interesting that a motor designed over 3 decades later uses very similar architecture.
@@perotekku yeah only you left out the inferior sbf vs sbc oil pump & timing cover & waterpump and bore to stroke ratio . The sbc has held the title winningest engine in all motorsports to date
@@jarvislarson6864 Never said the Windsor was a better performance platform than the SBC. Simply stating that it had very modern design elements, even for the 1960s, and was a very efficient design in terms of iron material used in block construction. Always has to be that one Chevy guy 😂
"...no signs of malice in the combustion palace." You have a way with words! I have three Mustangs and I can't get enough of your teardowns. Keep up the great work!
'69 mustang with a factory 4 speed and Boss 302 was an awesome ride and I loved the sound... I sure miss that car now... bought it after I came home from 'Nam..
Some notes from my sbf build/nightmares for any of y'all that might put these sbfs back together (kind of an info dump): 1) the headgaskets CAN be installed backwards. If they are, the engine will have an unsolvable overheating problem (well, solved only by putting the gasket on the right way) so pay close attention to the arrows (this mostly applies to novice builders) 2) The oil pump driveshaft has a washer that does not slide. It's there for a reason, that washer faces UP towards the dizzy. The shaft goes in when the bottom end is assembled and putting the oil pump on will sandwich it slightly. This is important because if the dizzy is disturbed or when you go to prime the oil pump (turn the shaft CCW), the driveshaft will not be able to fall out of the oil pump. Putting the shaft washer down, towards the pump, will make that a guarantee and then you need to drop the oil pan to fish it out and it becomes a nightmare. 3) For sbfs with eccentrics for mech fuel pumps, always, always make sure to get the right length cam dowel (1.375 is the longest made and Summit racing carries it). If it does not go through the eccentric which rides over the cam gear, the eccentric will spin out, and the cam gear bolt WILL strip and come out. 4) Roller spiders can be retrofitted to older sbfs by drilling and threading their mounting holes. 5) Stock rods are forged for the entire production run of SBFs and they are quite beefy. The cranks, even the cast ones, can be spun high/hold power and live if in good shape and balanced. The 60s sbfs used nodular cast cranks in the hipos that spun to 6-7k rpm, for example, stock and on the race track. 6) There are two different harmonic balancers to balance the rotating assembly and thus two different flywheels/flexplates. Be very wary of which one your engine came with, or just balance the rotating assy internally and use a neutral balancer/plate 7) There are several styles of timing covers and 3 different pointer locations. The older engines put the dipstick in the timing cover, newer put it in the block; timing pointers are another deal that you must research for yourself 8) There are LH and RH side outlet water pumps, they need to match the rads in the car and the rest of the build. Pumps and covers are interchangeable between 302s, the mounting is the same but you'll likely need different bolt kits to secure them. Use RTV in addition to the gasket or else... also, if the pump has a metal cover on the back, it will have a gasket there, too, and I really recommend using some rtv on it as well. 9) The threads in the timing cover really, really like to strip when you put the water pump on. It would be a good idea to invest into thread inserts and do them all when the cover is off. 10) The intakes are wet and contain coolant. Drain the block before removing, there are 2 3/8 drain plugs with one on each side at the bottom of the water jacket - one by the passenger side near the alt and one on the driver side near the exit of the exhaust manifold. Also, use rtv around the water ports in addition to the intake gasket, and don't try to replace the front and rear cork seals with RTV - it will most likely leak, just use the cork and put a dab of RTV in the corners where the gaskets join. 11) Head bolts and main bolts are not torque to yield and on *stock* rebuilds can be reused, though checking for stretch is still necessary. Use motor oil on all threads when installing
Yes. I have 3 302 engines in my garage. 2 of them were made in '68 not sure about the third one. I also have 2 original 351 Windsor engines from the same time period. One of them still has the 4 barrel carb I think it came from a truck. Also have a small assortment of old Ford inline 6 engines. A couple of the 2xx cubic inch (can't remember the exact displacement) one came from a '66 Mustang and the other from about a 72 or so Maverick. Those old Ford straight 6s will run forever, it's pretty amazing. You can find some that have sat for 10 or 15 years inside a barn. And as long as the motor isn't locked up and will spin over, you can usually get them to crank up and run within a few minutes.
Since you didn't limit the cars I'm going to have to say the most versatile engine is the Detroit 6-71. If you were referring to the small block Ford instead of just a 302 I'll vote for the entire Detroit 71 series.
@@johnkizziah108 I raced a 63 fairlane with that 221 engine years ago. I was 63/3 until the bottom went out. The only competition I had were 6 cyl. due the cubic inch limit for that class. The thin wall casting small block fords were quite a bit lighter than the bigger 6 cyl. also. And they just couldn’t keep up with the high winding little ford. Soon, hydroplane racers caught on to the same advantages. Nothing could touch them in that class. That little 221 would scream a beautiful sound out on the water. There was a high demand for that engine in those days. Thanks for bringing back memories.
@@garysuper5338 this is a fresh little 221 had one in a 63 falcon wagon when I was a kid..real low gears and a 4 speed I was he'll light to light..been savein this one..hopin for another falcon wagon
the late heads have nearly no value except for GT40 and GT40P, their specs are even worse than 60s heads. Literally not worth saving when alum and iron aftermarket heads exist, unless it's for somebody's daily driver who's on a budget to rebuild an engine Performance-wise, it's likely an e7 head. Ported and machined to the max, it will perform and flow similar to a GT40 head that is stock. Ported and polished GT40 will perform similar to an aftermarket head. If you get either for free and/or you have the facilities and tools to homeport, yeah it's worth it. Otherwise, not really. stock, unported heads are also done flowing by like 4-5k rpm, they're that bad. Low end they're ok.
I remember back in the days when the lifter valley, valve covers and oil pan would have been full of sludge. The cam sprocket was made out of plastic and all 8 pistons would have cracked skirts. I still love small block fords, they kept me in work and made me a master at removing frozen and broke off water pump bolts.
Flashbacks to pulling GT40 heads off of an Explorer 302. As fast as I could 😂 They were crushing that row of cars at the time but set it aside for me so I could finish getting the heads.
So glad you don't sell questionable engines and waste people's time absolutely loved hearing that after being a mechanic for over 20 years my time has been wasted a lot lol enjoy watching the videos man 👍
SBF's are solid motors. I've had a '65 289 and an '86 5.0. Amazing how similar they are outside of the fuel delivery. IMO, they're one of the all-time classic blocks.
Brings back memories of building my hot rod 302 Fairlane years ago. It was my first time doing any internal engine work, but I completely tore it down, had the whole thing gone through at the machine shop, put a shift kit in the trans, entire aluminum top end, cam, roller rockers and 4-barrel carb, aftermarket radiator, etc. I had a few hiccups, like some bent pushrods from using cheapo ones, and a poorly adapted throttle linkage that didn't work right at first, but I was proud that after I got it dialed I was able to run it for 40k miles before I sold it without any major issues, and I ran it to redline at least once every time I drove it. My current grocery getter would probably give it a run, but it felt like the fastest car I've ever been in, and let me tell you, there's not a whole lot that sounds better than one of these singing at 7000 rpm through magnaflows.
SBF is my pride and joys, i have an 85 mustang with basically a stock 88 5.0 long block a single turbo and a hint of nitrous. Only makes 585hp 620tq at the wheels but its a blast for a street cruiser, glad you finally tore one down and cant wait till you come across one with a split block so i can read all the thoughts about why it split in the comments lol
I bought my '93 LX 5.0 Mustang new in May of 93. Still have it. It's got 114,000 on the clock and runs great. No mods at all to the motor, just a Cervini Ram Air hood, off road X-pipe (no cats) and Flowmaster mufflers. Been an awesome car! Thanks for tearing down this 5.0! I always wanted to see one disassembled.
It’s amazing how much more complex modern day engines are when compared with this thing. I saw this thumbnail on a different video I watched and I knew what type of engine it was without reading the text. And you’re right, these are definitely one of the best sounding engines out there. Great channel!
What you have there is a typical high mileage, drove hard, put up wet Ford small block. A previous owner probably drove it like a racecar but did not treat it like one.
I had a 289 in a Galaxie, had an overheat situation in a snowstorm (themostat as i recall), drove it till it quit on the edge of town (it got me home). Fixed the thermostat next day, it started right up, and no follow on issues. Typical of this great engine family.
My grandparents had a 64 country sedan with a 289 and 3 speed overdrive. my uncle took the thing to college in probably 1972 or so. Dead of winter, battery dead and he had someone helping him tow start it or whatever and when he let the clutch out the timing chain jumped time and it crashed valves and everything and it never even started lol. That car got a long block after that. It was pretty high mileage by that time, my grandpa used it as his work car for quite a few years before that point.
Ya gotta love the simplicity of the good ol' 302! Upgrade to gt40 heads and B303 cam and you can put at least 300hp + to the wheels! Not bad for early 90's technology!
And that was in a Fox body you could order from Ford as light as 2800-2900 lbs (as a base coupe) with a 5 speed. Mine would rev to 6K rpm's all day and sounded beautiful.
My first car was a '94 Mustang GT convertible. You're right, it DOES sound great, especially out on the highway with the throttle wide open and the top down on a summer evening. 😊
I still own a 94 GT convertible, and it's sound makes everyone want one whenever they hear it. With 240k on the odo, I'm betting my bearings are starting to look like this one's though. :(
I had an '82 GT - but along the way it got a pair of Headman headers, Sonic Turbo header mufflers, and 2.5" dual pipes to a couple of tips. Serious overkill, but it sounded kinda "hollow" neat 'till I hammered the throttle.
I have gone through more small block 327 & 350 motors than I can count. But that was a good long time ago. Now I’ve purchased a 1973 F100 short bed. I’ve stuck all Jaguar independent front and rear suspension on it with air-ride. It goes pretty low now. But I’ve never torn down a ford motor. I have cam, lifters, new heads, intake and a new carburetor with a single wire distributor. But I’ve been kind of nervous about tearing into it. So I guess this is where I say thank you for taring this one down. It looks really easy. I’m not going into the lower end. I’ve pulled a couple of rod caps off and they look brand new. I purchased it from a customer. He had said the motor died with 98K on it so he went out a bought anew motor for it. He says it only had just over 20K on the motor and all of that lines up with the odometer. Now I’m pretty comfortable in taring it down and sticking all the parts I have sitting on my shelves in my shop. Thanks again
A technique I use to check valve seal on a head that has been removed is to position the head so the ports are pointing straight up then fill the runner with gasoline and look for seepage around the valve.
Having been an old Ford technician from that time period I’ve seen countless SBF engines that the rod/ main bearings looked like that. It’s normal for them. Ford was still using old design tri-metal bearings in Windsor engines. They were very soft . With the advent of the modular concept they switched to high silicone aluminum bearings which were very hard and very durable. The LS design was also released with high silicone aluminum bearings in them which is why they look great even after many miles.
Interesting. Thanks for sharing. So you don't think this engine has been run hard without regular oil changes? I am not even close to being a mechanic of any shape or form, but I'm always interested in hearing what others with experience have to say about these teardowns.
@@prevost8686 Thanks. The reason I am curious about this is that I have a 5 L Windsor engine in a 1990 Grand Marquis that I only drive in nice weather. It has around 150,000 km on it. As those crank bearings wear through the layers like that, at what point will it damage the crank journals and will there be something to warn before damage is done to the crank?
I have a 302 in my f150 and I’m starting to think my bearings might look like this… 110k miles and the oil pressures starting to be a tad on the low side… how much time do I have 🥲
I have a 2001 Explorer Eddy Bauer with this same engine. 175,000 miles and still runs like new. I never let it go past 3,500 miles without an oil & filter change (I never need to add oil). I'm generally a (Dodge) RAM man myself, but I love this engine.
A mechanic friend of my bubby and I had a fox body Mustang he was going to give to his step-son a while back that had an uncommon 255 v8 in it. The car was in fairly decent shape for its' age. Sadly the kid didn't want anything to do with it. Then after that the guy himself thought it was probably for the best and sold it because the kid would end up killing himself in it.
351 had a different block height. 221/260/289/302 were all the same block design except for bore changes, 'til they came out with the 4-bolt version (and that was a minor change).
@@Slane583 255 was a VERY short lived engine. 1980 and 1981, possibly 1979, ONLY. It was intended to be a "more economical" version of the 302 - but died when horsepower started returning to engines.
@@bricefleckenstein9666 My fathers 79 Firebird had an engine in it that was also short lived. The loved by no-one 301. It was enough to make the car drivable and that was about it. He always told me how people hated them because they had thin cylinder walls and a tiny crank shaft. So you couldn't do anything to them without fear of it wanting to give out in one spot or another.
Thanks for showing some mid school stuff. 👍👍 Was a tech during the late 80s till early 00s. Very familiar with these and bring a smile to my face. ALOT of great motors (90s Ford and GM V8s) with ALOT of miles still left got put down during the whole "cash 4 clunkers" BS.... This was one of the lucky ones.
Old 302 engines head bolts didn't go into the Water jacket, Ford Went cheap in the 1980s when they re-tooled their blocks. this was the start of the head bolts into the coolant and the 50 oz balance.
The 289 in my 68 Mustang I bought in 1977 has never been touched except for a timing chain replacement in 1979. Car is in beautiful condition, lifelong Southern California car, and engine still runs very nice. Probably put about 500 miles a year on it. Car had just under 70.000 thousand miles on it when purchased, was my daily for 2 years. Smokes a little bit on cold startup, definitely needs valve guide seals.
@@bricefleckenstein9666 What? I wish my comment dislike showed on here. What you just typed hurt my eye. Blasphemy and Moe just rolled over in his grave. Keep your monkey ball references to yourself please.
@@chicagomodzz Moe, Curly Joe, Shemp, and Larry can roll over all they like, I'm 60+ and *I* don't remember "Malice in the Palace" having anything with the Stooges, while the "Malice in the Palace" incident between the Pistons and the Pacers is known by almost ALL that pay any attention to Basketball (which was better known when it happened than the Stooges ever were, they can argue the point in the USA but they were never a WORLD WIDE well known act). You can take your "monkey ball" insult and return it to the defecation orifice it originated from.
That engine with that wear had another 150K left on it. You can't hardly kill the small block ford. I have tried in my Maverick Grabber...... Several times!
The first thing I thought before you even started taking the engine apart was I wonder how many water pump bolts were going to break off. I'm without words and disappointed.
@@barryaiello3127 they usually break off at the timing cover cause of the corrosion where the stud portion goes through the cover. Once you get the cover pried off you can usually unscrew the rest of the bolt with vise grips and a fire wrench if needed.
@@barryaiello3127 Having broken down about a half dozen myself, the answer is heat. Give each bolt about a minute, aiming where the threads sit in the block, and being careful to move the flame around so as not to bubble the aluminum timing cover. Give it 15 seconds to cool, then try removing. Takes a bit of patience, as if it doesn't come, you just do the same heat cycle again until she's free. For any rusty bolts I'd also recommend unthreading a few turns, then running the bolt/but back down, then reversing and unthreading again. Helps to keep the threads from galling with rust, which can snap bolts.
I do not understand how ford went from this to the 4.6 5 4 modular motors where you can never get an exhaust stud out of them! Lol. The modular motors are superior in many ways but...... The 302 was or is a great motor i agree probably one of the best sounding motors. Great video
I’ve heard one past Ford employee say that they had the basic LS design before GM did but chose to pass on it for the modular design. If that’s true and who knows if it is, I’m sure Ford has privately regretted that decision more times than once.
It was for "emissions" which I don't understand seeings how Chevy kept going with big pushrod LS's in their cars. I had a 5.0L pushrod and 2 4.6s. While the 4.6s make decent power for their size and they sound beautiful, I otherwise missed my SBF dearly.
The sbf in my mountaineer has a piston with a chunk missing right around the edge because of piston ring explosion under boost, and believe it or not, it still runs like a top, no joke. Same power, everything. God i love these motors
This small block actually started as a 221 before the 260. Ford Motor Company Windsor V8 1961-2002 221 cu in (3.6 L) 255 cu in (4.2 L) 260 cu in (4.3 L) 289 cu in (4.7 L) 302 cu in (5.0 L) 351 cu in (5.8 L) Cylinder bore 4.000" (289, 302, 351W) 3.800" (260) 3.680" (255) 3.500" (221) Piston stroke 3.500" (351W) 3.000" (302 & 255) 2.870" (221, 260, 289)
Happy to tear down a motor that doesn't take long at all, why they were popular and easily to set up for racing application. My 87 and 89 after some minor modified pieces and a chip easily 300-500 hp. Enjoy your weekend and we enjoyed the video, us crusty guys, LOL.
Even though I’m a Chevy guy, I absolutely love this engine, they run forever had one in a 90 town car and it wouldn’t die, no matter how much I tried How about doing an small block Chevy some time to compete with the sbf would love to see that, love the channel, I have been working on cars since I was 16, am 63 now, all the best to you, be safe, Rick
You sound like me. I lean Ford but two of my favorite cars were a '75 Monte Carlo I had in HS (350) and a C5 Vette (LS). When the fanboys are all done shouting at each other, the truth is that the the Ford, GM, Chrylser, and old long-gone American manufacturers all made reliable V8s.
When I saw what shape the bores were in (very good) I would like to have known if the block was made in Mexico. The iron mines in Mexico have nickel in them which makes the blocks harder and more durable. I have one in my '86 Bronco 302 and with 65K+ and he bores look like new with clearly visible cross-hatching still there. The 302's were super little engines. I have a chip, cam, recurve distributor, headers, etc and it runs perfectly without a drop of oil consumption (and I've always leaned on this engine very hard).
@@tomnekuda3818 From what I recall about the debunking, it's that there is no higher nickel content/no proof of the blocks being stronger/harder in anyway. Sounds like somebody way back in the day started the rumour they were more desirable, and it's just persisted since. Wouldn't doubt somebody had a bunch of Mexico blocks that people wouldn't buy because they weren't "Made in USA", so he started talking them up for being premium and the legend was born.
@@tomnekuda3818 Just what I heard, could still be true, but I had heard recently it wasn't. Could be a half-truth, maybe some were harder some weren't. Similar to the Shelby 289 Hipo cranks. They were standard cranks that just happened to be harder, and were tested by Shelby to prove as much.
@@alonsomora5773 They will wear out .... eventually. Had one that reached that point in a '69 Custom once, but it was an old high-miles CHEAP car I bought when I was in the Navy just to have something to drive around in.
Hey brother I have a 1996 Ford F150 with a 5.0L (302) Windsor V8 with 210,000 miles and still going strong 💪. The only things I replaced on my truck was the starter, the rear fuel pump, and the power steering megunisum but other than that mostly was just simple maintenance, took out the transmission fluid just to get rid of the shuttering it was making and it hasn't had a problem ever since.
Brings back memories of my 72 Ford Maverick, 302/2 bbl, 4 dr.,3 speed Auto. Did a lot to beef her up, including: top end removed and cleaned, intakes cleaned through to remove old carbon and rough edges, carburetor rebuilt, transmission rebuilt and shift kit added, true dual exhaust system, with turn down tips just past the rear differential, threw on some “5th” hand-me-down Aluminum rims and mounted F-60-14 front wheels and E-50-14 rear wheels ( back before Metric sizes came in). Was going to change rear gears from 2.76 to 3.23, but sold it soon after. Miss the car, 🇨🇦🇨🇦
We call those bolt sizes "freedom units!" I do have to say its refreshing to see something this old. I'd love to see some old Pontiac or Olds big blocks but those are getting hard to come by.
Coolant from a headbolt hole on a Ford small block is normal...the bolts pass into the water jacket as you said...you have to use thread sealant on those.
windsors are solid reliable designs.... they take neglect and abuse, they can even make twice the power they were designed to make and live. This one sat too long and had dry cylinders......a little oil in the spark plug holes and it would run just fine.
Yeah I just wonder what happened with Ford, especially in their commercial vehicles, Like the 4.6s and 5.4s suck to tear apart and rebuild, the 3v ones I hated... The v10s were alright when they ran but gas hogs and annoying to work on, especially while int he vehicle, I'd take a 302 any day of the week, even a y block lol.
Next time you do a Ford you can remove the balancer bolt, remove the washer rethread the bolt to use as spacer to avoid thread damage to the end of the crank by your puller shaft
I think that is the same engine as is in my 2000 Mountaineer. My car still runs great. I wish I needed your engine. It looks like a good, fun project that will result in a very nice engine.
It was leaking coolant from the lower head bolt because it's not a blind hole in the block, when those bolts are installed, sealant is used to seal the threads.
Ford US had some amazing engineers in the mid-fifties to early sixties. Within those few years they laid down the FE engines and the wonderful little small block engines. Meanwhile they engineered the new Lincoln/TBird chassis, a modern full size Galaxie linup, the mid-sized Fairlane family, and the Falcon which was brilliantly designed to be a LHD/RHD world car (so good that Japan effectively outlawed it) and which begat the Mustang and derivatives which soldiered on for over 20 years. I was a pre-teen when we got a '63 4 bbl 390 powered wagon and can still hear the sounds it made when Dad kicked it down to pass lumber trucks out on the 2-lane highways of the time. Later I drove a super basic (and light) '67 Mustang to college with a little 2 bbl 289 that could wrap up the rear axle and hop down the road like a frightened rabbit in a heartbeat. Good memories.
The 8.2" deck, 289, was Carroll Shelby's favorite engine ever. Not to say he didn't like any others, but he said it was the best, lightest V8 the Americans had in the 60s that could compete with European engines.
Wasn't the lightest - that would be the short-lived BOP 215 ('61-'63) that BL/Rover ended up buying from GM to turn into the Rover 3500 and offspring. But it cheated, being one of the first production aluminum block engines to ever be MASS produced.
My daily driver is a 95 Mustang GT I've been driving for 20 years. It has 411,000 miles on it now and still runs pretty well. The 302/351W are some of the most reliable engines ever made in my opinion.
My first car was a 95' GT. My dad had it as his daily driver for about 260k miles, then I drove it another 5 years to right around 380k miles. Still ran perfectly until I was rear ended and the car was totaled.. Best car I've ever owned.
411k. Whao. You got me beat I’m at 306k on my 93 and the guide on my cam went out along with damaging my timing belt and timing belt bolt broke. Do you post pics of vids of your car?
The 5.0 blocks from 1979 and later crack when you put power to them is the only problem. 351W is a much better engine in my opinion. Stock they do last forever though. But all sorts of older simple engines can rack up miles if you take care of them. For example my friend has an 82 Toronado diesel with 500,000 or more miles on it. Not exactly known as a reliable engine but it's had it's oil changed every 3000 miles and has head studs and a water separator, so everything has lasted longer than you would expect.
Not a surprise, it seems like these Ford small blocks will just run forever. I wouldn’t be surprised if the ‘66 Ford Galaxie 500 I plan on picking up in the future with a 289 in it (the same thing as the 302) has 162,000 original miles on it judging by the shape the transmission is in.
I bought a '95 mustang for $700 in momo state. From a bad, shor temper gambler. Couldn't resist and sold it as is, I considered him a friend but I never was to him. He rammed a forklift in through the windows chasing his wife who was cheating right out the car raised and dropped it. Now onto the car itself.. this didn't affect it a bit. Had bad ass roll cage throughout the design custom specifically for long distance circuit racing. A 302 boss with everything you could ever do to beef it out nice heads, a cam with a monster lift, efi, 5.0 t5 trans, with a slap stick, this car was just muah a spicy meatball. But I never got to see it, thanks to my father who told the seller go ahead chop it up and bring us the parts. I think I received approx 1% of it. The engine had screws in the cylinders, froze, used a blow tourch on the heads to free it. Gasket sealer around the exhaust manifolds because it was leaking.. lol. Not the brightest but anyway, should I file a stolen vehicle report? I'm not one to be a cop caller. Got the title but he is no where to be found. So what y'all think?
"Every Ford small block he gets in runs fine so he sells it"- a testament to the quality of the Windsor Ford!
Your tear down confirmed what we at the plant and everyone with a 302 knows, beast engine. The 302 block line was my primary responsibility lot of pride went into those engines! Piece of trivia for you, 1980 on 302 blocks were 12 lbs lighter than previous engines. Ford wanted 20 lbs removed but we couldn't broach the engine block w/o it coming apart in the fixture.
i wonder if that goes someway to explaining the random (?) block splitting of the 8.2 deck motors running high power mods
Did you do it in 1978? I have a 1978 LTD II with the 302.
Small block Fords are not really a marvel of engineering but absolutely in execution. They are tough, 100 lbs. lighter than a similar GM engine, and rarely fail on their own. I rebuilt 18 GM engines before I got a reason to rebuild my 289.
this is an extremely telling observation. extremely. not a marvel in engineering, but in execution. my mantra (i am old) is keep it as simple as possible, but execute correctly. in the developement of engines it is always a crap-shoot. so, my friends look to the tried and true to pull you thru.
I dunno, I have both Chevy and Ford. The mustang as he stated has a broken odometer. However the car wasn't well kept. I'm the 5th owner and for what it's been through I'd say it's a good car.
@@rosshoenke8368
If you got my old Mustang it doesn't even come alive until 6000 rpm. It always needed more gears. From 6 to 8500 it screamed. 3 speed sucked. I built the top end to breathe beyond Shelby. Bottom end only needed ARP rod bolts.
If anything, the transmission was the first to go on the 80s/early 90s Mustangs. The engines were solid. And even the tranny would go at least 150k miles before it started to slip.
Unfortunately 4 guys before me beat the snot out of the car before I had the chance. It still has decent compression, but I see sparkles in the oil when I change it.
It definitely could use an overhaul
The old school pushrod engines were a beast for durability .. single cam, no problematic variable cam timing nor turbos …
not all pushrods engines are durable.
And you could beat those old 302 to death and they would still run
I used to think the same way, and there's nothing wrong with that thinking, but I've become a believer in the coyote, especially as the one in my 2013 F150 recently crossed the 250k mile mark. Sure, there's a lot more complexity with the DOHC TiVVT system, but it works, it's reliable, is it as reliable as the old pushrod chuggers? Time will tell, but at a quarter million original miles, I have to say, so far so good
Yep my done up 302 all Got better gas mileage on the highway then most cars do today but when you decided to go fast you could watch the fuel gauge go down lol
I love the tactile response you get when snapping the headbolts free. And the popping audibles too. I can't be the only one, right?.
I'm always here for the head bolt ASMR.
Noise makes me cringe. Snapping sound makes to similar a noise.
Sounds like my knees before they got fixed!
I was just about to comment something similar. Love that sound
No, no you’re not
From the looks and lifelong experience with Small Block Fords I’d say you have a typical Mustang engine that was run very hard for many miles without any maintenance at all. I absolutely Love all Windsor & Cleveland’s as they are so easy to make massive power with and are reliable as stone.
Cleveland and 9.5" deck Windsors get most of the love, but the humble 289/302 blocks are great stock motors for what they are.
Love them!
I actually thought this engine looked very good. I have pulled them apart with half the vanes gone on the water pump, several flat lifters and some very loose rods. Not to mention oil pickup screens nearly blocked with timing gear crud. No broken rings was a huge plus. When you still have cross hatching on the cylinder walls its not that worn. The only thing in questionable condition was the main bearings and rod bearings - but even they weren't that bad - for an engine that is at least 25 years old. I suspect they were subject to some high RPMs.
I'd take just about anything over a Ford engine if I want too make power.
You won't be making massive power with a 302 that's for sure lol
302s are definitely tough as nails indestructible love them
Something to be said, still Mr. Fords signature, on the emblem, even to this day!!
Yep I’m a Ford man!!!
Proudly!!!
I really respect your morals about standing behind your products. My brother in law says I'm crazy for guaranteeing the used small engine equipment I sell like snowblowers, lawn tractors and anything else I get free or cheap. It's my way of making ends meet and helping people get what they need cheap plus I love keeping stuff from the landfill or scrapyard. I donate a lot to especially window ACs because they're not cheap and I've been there sweating trying to sleep. I wish I had space and a landlord for doing cars as I've given away many before moving here in New Rustshire.
On small engines I used to guarantee stuff, but the majority of my returns and unhappy customers were the result of operator error, now when I get something cheap I just move it cheap, and all my adds tell people exactly what I found, did and what I may be unable to fully test. I don’t intentionally sell anything with issues, but most small engine stuff isn’t worth the cost of full rehab, let alone the time. I accept well less then top dollar and the buyers take the risk that comes with any used equipment. I’ve lost to much money to people who try to mow pastures with riding mowers, or didn’t remember to pickup their doormats before it snows.
God bless you
The 302 Ford is probably one of the best engine ever Designed
I agree, and im not ford guy. I just wished they made all their other engines easy, thank god they don't make them 5.4 3v anymore, I was tired of doing cam phasers on our shop trucks...
I’m going to say that the 300 I6 was better
Power nation took the 300 6 banger and turboed it and got 500 hp.
No, that would be the small block chev or the big block chev. :)
@@tomwinkle5536 are you talking about the ones with the midfield boss head
When I rebuilt my dads 5.0 from his truck that had over 500000 miles on it, yes half a million miles, it only had one thousanth of a ring groove . Went back with a hone ,std rings and std bearings,E303 cam,ported the heads and put in a 94 Ranger.It makes around 325hp and is a blast to drive. 5.0 Fords are one of the best ones ever made,along with the 460 big blocks
And they got really good mpg especially in the lighter ranger mine got damn near 40mpg highway with a 750 carb it just got really thrirsty when you drove it hard lol
One of the best bang for the bucks engines ever made … created the bolt-on era of the 1990s
Lots of people don't realize this.
The Chevy small block best this to market by 7 years, but itself shows its age (shared center exhaust port). The SBF is a very light block with just the bare minimum of iron used where needed, saving Ford millions over its production life.
It isn't the sturdiest motor ever made, but a stock cam/block motor cam make easy 300hp with just heads and intake.
Unsurprising that the LS motor has lots, and I mean lots of similarities to the SBF. If nobody believes me, just note that the LS shares the same bore spacing and headbolt pattern as the SBF. You can literally bolt LS heads to a SBF without mods.
Not saying it will work, but interesting that a motor designed over 3 decades later uses very similar architecture.
@@perotekku someone on youtube made a 351 with LS heads. Very interesting series
@@GeoffTheGiraffe well yeah, if you add a distributor to the LS, you get a SBF
@@perotekku yeah only you left out the inferior sbf vs sbc oil pump & timing cover & waterpump and bore to stroke ratio . The sbc has held the title winningest engine in all motorsports to date
@@jarvislarson6864 Never said the Windsor was a better performance platform than the SBC.
Simply stating that it had very modern design elements, even for the 1960s, and was a very efficient design in terms of iron material used in block construction.
Always has to be that one Chevy guy 😂
"...no signs of malice in the combustion palace." You have a way with words! I have three Mustangs and I can't get enough of your teardowns. Keep up the great work!
'69 mustang with a factory 4 speed and Boss 302 was an awesome ride and I loved the sound... I sure miss that car now... bought it after I came home from 'Nam..
Some notes from my sbf build/nightmares for any of y'all that might put these sbfs back together (kind of an info dump):
1) the headgaskets CAN be installed backwards. If they are, the engine will have an unsolvable overheating problem (well, solved only by putting the gasket on the right way) so pay close attention to the arrows (this mostly applies to novice builders)
2) The oil pump driveshaft has a washer that does not slide. It's there for a reason, that washer faces UP towards the dizzy. The shaft goes in when the bottom end is assembled and putting the oil pump on will sandwich it slightly. This is important because if the dizzy is disturbed or when you go to prime the oil pump (turn the shaft CCW), the driveshaft will not be able to fall out of the oil pump. Putting the shaft washer down, towards the pump, will make that a guarantee and then you need to drop the oil pan to fish it out and it becomes a nightmare.
3) For sbfs with eccentrics for mech fuel pumps, always, always make sure to get the right length cam dowel (1.375 is the longest made and Summit racing carries it). If it does not go through the eccentric which rides over the cam gear, the eccentric will spin out, and the cam gear bolt WILL strip and come out.
4) Roller spiders can be retrofitted to older sbfs by drilling and threading their mounting holes.
5) Stock rods are forged for the entire production run of SBFs and they are quite beefy. The cranks, even the cast ones, can be spun high/hold power and live if in good shape and balanced. The 60s sbfs used nodular cast cranks in the hipos that spun to 6-7k rpm, for example, stock and on the race track.
6) There are two different harmonic balancers to balance the rotating assembly and thus two different flywheels/flexplates. Be very wary of which one your engine came with, or just balance the rotating assy internally and use a neutral balancer/plate
7) There are several styles of timing covers and 3 different pointer locations. The older engines put the dipstick in the timing cover, newer put it in the block; timing pointers are another deal that you must research for yourself
8) There are LH and RH side outlet water pumps, they need to match the rads in the car and the rest of the build. Pumps and covers are interchangeable between 302s, the mounting is the same but you'll likely need different bolt kits to secure them. Use RTV in addition to the gasket or else... also, if the pump has a metal cover on the back, it will have a gasket there, too, and I really recommend using some rtv on it as well.
9) The threads in the timing cover really, really like to strip when you put the water pump on. It would be a good idea to invest into thread inserts and do them all when the cover is off.
10) The intakes are wet and contain coolant. Drain the block before removing, there are 2 3/8 drain plugs with one on each side at the bottom of the water jacket - one by the passenger side near the alt and one on the driver side near the exit of the exhaust manifold. Also, use rtv around the water ports in addition to the intake gasket, and don't try to replace the front and rear cork seals with RTV - it will most likely leak, just use the cork and put a dab of RTV in the corners where the gaskets join.
11) Head bolts and main bolts are not torque to yield and on *stock* rebuilds can be reused, though checking for stretch is still necessary. Use motor oil on all threads when installing
Thanks for the insight, it's really useful when approaching a rebuild.
cool story bro
Amazing engine. So many years of reliable service in all types of applications. Might be the most versatile engine ever built.
Yes. I have 3 302 engines in my garage. 2 of them were made in '68 not sure about the third one. I also have 2 original 351 Windsor engines from the same time period. One of them still has the 4 barrel carb I think it came from a truck. Also have a small assortment of old Ford inline 6 engines. A couple of the 2xx cubic inch (can't remember the exact displacement) one came from a '66 Mustang and the other from about a 72 or so Maverick. Those old Ford straight 6s will run forever, it's pretty amazing. You can find some that have sat for 10 or 15 years inside a barn. And as long as the motor isn't locked up and will spin over, you can usually get them to crank up and run within a few minutes.
@@voterfraudisreals8612 lol, c'mon man, just no
@@voterfraudisreals8612 Absolute truth.
Since you didn't limit the cars I'm going to have to say the most versatile engine is the Detroit 6-71. If you were referring to the small block Ford instead of just a 302 I'll vote for the entire Detroit 71 series.
@@voterfraudisreals8612 Not. 350 blocks don't split in half.
Refreshing to see the old technology. Actually, the small block Ford started off as a 221.
Correct, in 1962.
Same size as the original 1932 flathead !
I have a sweet little 221 in the corner waiting for a falcon or cool pinto.
@@johnkizziah108 I raced a 63 fairlane with that 221 engine years ago. I was 63/3 until the bottom went out. The only competition I had were 6 cyl. due the cubic inch limit for that class. The thin wall casting small block fords were quite a bit lighter than the bigger 6 cyl. also. And they just couldn’t keep up with the high winding little ford. Soon, hydroplane racers caught on to the same advantages. Nothing could touch them in that class. That little 221 would scream a beautiful sound out on the water. There was a high demand for that engine in those days. Thanks for bringing back memories.
@@garysuper5338 this is a fresh little 221 had one in a 63 falcon wagon when I was a kid..real low gears and a 4 speed I was he'll light to light..been savein this one..hopin for another falcon wagon
"Shoo... That coulda been NOT good. Which is ALSO bad..."
LMBO!
That was worth the watch all by itself!
Heck, get the heads worked over at a machine shop, dingle hone the block, replace main, rod, and cam bearings, fresh rings, and slap it back together.
the late heads have nearly no value except for GT40 and GT40P, their specs are even worse than 60s heads. Literally not worth saving when alum and iron aftermarket heads exist, unless it's for somebody's daily driver who's on a budget to rebuild an engine
Performance-wise, it's likely an e7 head. Ported and machined to the max, it will perform and flow similar to a GT40 head that is stock. Ported and polished GT40 will perform similar to an aftermarket head. If you get either for free and/or you have the facilities and tools to homeport, yeah it's worth it. Otherwise, not really.
stock, unported heads are also done flowing by like 4-5k rpm, they're that bad. Low end they're ok.
I remember back in the days when the lifter valley, valve covers and oil pan would have been full of sludge. The cam sprocket was made out of plastic and all 8 pistons would have cracked skirts. I still love small block fords, they kept me in work and made me a master at removing frozen and broke off water pump bolts.
Flashbacks to pulling GT40 heads off of an Explorer 302. As fast as I could 😂 They were crushing that row of cars at the time but set it aside for me so I could finish getting the heads.
So glad you don't sell questionable engines and waste people's time absolutely loved hearing that after being a mechanic for over 20 years my time has been wasted a lot lol enjoy watching the videos man 👍
SBF's are solid motors. I've had a '65 289 and an '86 5.0. Amazing how similar they are outside of the fuel delivery. IMO, they're one of the all-time classic blocks.
Our family had one in our 1964 Ford wagon.
the 302 and the 351 are some of Fords best engines for the small block !!!
Ah, the 90's. SAE bolts, Iron Everything, 2 valves per cylinder and valve covers that were 12 inches deep.
timing chain, singular, maybe, ....maybe a double-roller. good times.
The car is metric. Some engine fasteners were not. The heads were from an 85 truck.
@@nickma71 they were E7 heads, so a 87 truck.
@@JohnDove On the 94 in the video?
@@nickma71 yeah. 10:54 in the video you can see E7TE on the deck side of the head.
Had an 88 LX 5.0, bullet proof engine!
Back in the day...When engines were still easy to work on...
Brings back memories of building my hot rod 302 Fairlane years ago. It was my first time doing any internal engine work, but I completely tore it down, had the whole thing gone through at the machine shop, put a shift kit in the trans, entire aluminum top end, cam, roller rockers and 4-barrel carb, aftermarket radiator, etc. I had a few hiccups, like some bent pushrods from using cheapo ones, and a poorly adapted throttle linkage that didn't work right at first, but I was proud that after I got it dialed I was able to run it for 40k miles before I sold it without any major issues, and I ran it to redline at least once every time I drove it. My current grocery getter would probably give it a run, but it felt like the fastest car I've ever been in, and let me tell you, there's not a whole lot that sounds better than one of these singing at 7000 rpm through magnaflows.
SBF is my pride and joys, i have an 85 mustang with basically a stock 88 5.0 long block a single turbo and a hint of nitrous. Only makes 585hp 620tq at the wheels but its a blast for a street cruiser, glad you finally tore one down and cant wait till you come across one with a split block so i can read all the thoughts about why it split in the comments lol
These 302 small block engines are among the strongest most indestructible bullet proof engines EVER built. And that is coming from a Chevy guy.
I've torn down at least a dozen of these engines, but I still watched the entire video! Thanks!
I bought my '93 LX 5.0 Mustang new in May of 93. Still have it. It's got 114,000 on the clock and runs great. No mods at all to the motor, just a Cervini Ram Air hood, off road X-pipe (no cats) and Flowmaster mufflers. Been an awesome car! Thanks for tearing down this 5.0! I always wanted to see one disassembled.
It’s amazing how much more complex modern day engines are when compared with this thing. I saw this thumbnail on a different video I watched and I knew what type of engine it was without reading the text.
And you’re right, these are definitely one of the best sounding engines out there. Great channel!
“I win! I WIN!” 😂😂😂
Loved the tear down! Old school American Iron!
Missed one! In addition to the 260, 289, 302, and 351W, there was the original size: 221.
351W was a different (but similar) block. Higher deck height, not much if anything else different though.
always a GM guy.......but I always appreciated those Fox bodied Mustangs with the 5.0 and ground effects.
GM products are junk
What you have there is a typical high mileage, drove hard, put up wet Ford small block. A previous owner probably drove it like a racecar but did not treat it like one.
I had a 289 in a Galaxie, had an overheat situation in a snowstorm (themostat as i recall), drove it till it quit on the edge of town (it got me home). Fixed the thermostat next day, it started right up, and no follow on issues. Typical of this great engine family.
My grandparents had a 64 country sedan with a 289 and 3 speed overdrive. my uncle took the thing to college in probably 1972 or so. Dead of winter, battery dead and he had someone helping him tow start it or whatever and when he let the clutch out the timing chain jumped time and it crashed valves and everything and it never even started lol. That car got a long block after that. It was pretty high mileage by that time, my grandpa used it as his work car for quite a few years before that point.
Ya gotta love the simplicity of the good ol' 302! Upgrade to gt40 heads and B303 cam and you can put at least 300hp + to the wheels! Not bad for early 90's technology!
And that was in a Fox body you could order from Ford as light as 2800-2900 lbs (as a base coupe) with a 5 speed. Mine would rev to 6K rpm's all day and sounded beautiful.
You can get GT40 heads from a ford explorer? Am I correct
I miss my 302 powered RX7
precursor to the Miata
My first car was a '94 Mustang GT convertible. You're right, it DOES sound great, especially out on the highway with the throttle wide open and the top down on a summer evening. 😊
I still own a 94 GT convertible, and it's sound makes everyone want one whenever they hear it. With 240k on the odo, I'm betting my bearings are starting to look like this one's though. :(
I'm a Chevy guy all the way but have to admit that nothing could ever compare to the ol 5.0 and a set of Flowmasters 👍
I got a few Vids on my channel with my former 1994 gt, stock headers, high flow cats, muffler delete...I miss that car looking for another sn95 now
I had an '82 GT - but along the way it got a pair of Headman headers, Sonic Turbo header mufflers, and 2.5" dual pipes to a couple of tips.
Serious overkill, but it sounded kinda "hollow" neat 'till I hammered the throttle.
I have gone through more small block 327 & 350 motors than I can count. But that was a good long time ago. Now I’ve purchased a 1973 F100 short bed. I’ve stuck all Jaguar independent front and rear suspension on it with air-ride. It goes pretty low now. But I’ve never torn down a ford motor. I have cam, lifters, new heads, intake and a new carburetor with a single wire distributor. But I’ve been kind of nervous about tearing into it.
So I guess this is where I say thank you for taring this one down. It looks really easy. I’m not going into the lower end. I’ve pulled a couple of rod caps off and they look brand new. I purchased it from a customer. He had said the motor died with 98K on it so he went out a bought anew motor for it. He says it only had just over 20K on the motor and all of that lines up with the odometer. Now I’m pretty comfortable in taring it down and sticking all the parts I have sitting on my shelves in my shop.
Thanks again
6:11 - thats a first! :D
Now we want to see the mother of all cam issues, the Ford 4.0 SOHC V6..
When you said 1994 I had to look that up because I thought all SN95s were 4.6. Nope. Wasn't until 1996. Learned something today.
A technique I use to check valve seal on a head that has been removed is to position the head so the ports are pointing straight up then fill the runner with gasoline and look for seepage around the valve.
Wonderful to see an engine with no sensors no electronics no weird stuff.
All you have to worry about is fuel spark and compression and hit the road.
Having been an old Ford technician from that time period I’ve seen countless SBF engines that the rod/ main bearings looked like that. It’s normal for them. Ford was still using old design tri-metal bearings in Windsor engines. They were very soft . With the advent of the modular concept they switched to high silicone aluminum bearings which were very hard and very durable. The LS design was also released with high silicone aluminum bearings in them which is why they look great even after many miles.
Interesting. Thanks for sharing.
So you don't think this engine has been run hard without regular oil changes?
I am not even close to being a mechanic of any shape or form, but I'm always interested in hearing what others with experience have to say about these teardowns.
@@c.d.7742 Nope. The proof is in the crank journals. I bet every one of them is perfect.
@@prevost8686 Thanks.
The reason I am curious about this is that I have a 5 L Windsor engine in a 1990 Grand Marquis that I only drive in nice weather. It has around 150,000 km on it. As those crank bearings wear through the layers like that, at what point will it damage the crank journals and will there be something to warn before damage is done to the crank?
the rod/ main bearings looked like that. It’s normal for them.
I have a 302 in my f150 and I’m starting to think my bearings might look like this… 110k miles and the oil pressures starting to be a tad on the low side… how much time do I have 🥲
I have a 2001 Explorer Eddy Bauer with this same engine. 175,000 miles and still runs like new. I never let it go past 3,500 miles without an oil & filter change (I never need to add oil). I'm generally a (Dodge) RAM man myself, but I love this engine.
First in current small block Ford line was the 221 , then 260 , 289 ,302 , 351 . It started in 1962 Fairlanes and Mercury Meteors .
A mechanic friend of my bubby and I had a fox body Mustang he was going to give to his step-son a while back that had an uncommon 255 v8 in it. The car was in fairly decent shape for its' age. Sadly the kid didn't want anything to do with it. Then after that the guy himself thought it was probably for the best and sold it because the kid would end up killing himself in it.
351 had a different block height.
221/260/289/302 were all the same block design except for bore changes, 'til they came out with the 4-bolt version (and that was a minor change).
@@Slane583 255 was a VERY short lived engine.
1980 and 1981, possibly 1979, ONLY.
It was intended to be a "more economical" version of the 302 - but died when horsepower started returning to engines.
@@bricefleckenstein9666 My fathers 79 Firebird had an engine in it that was also short lived. The loved by no-one 301. It was enough to make the car drivable and that was about it. He always told me how people hated them because they had thin cylinder walls and a tiny crank shaft. So you couldn't do anything to them without fear of it wanting to give out in one spot or another.
@@Slane583 Sounds like an early attempt to create the 305.
Love the commentary, in all your videos, cracks me up
Thanks for showing some mid school stuff. 👍👍 Was a tech during the late 80s till early 00s. Very familiar with these and bring a smile to my face. ALOT of great motors (90s Ford and GM V8s) with ALOT of miles still left got put down during the whole "cash 4 clunkers" BS.... This was one of the lucky ones.
Old 302 engines head bolts didn't go into the Water jacket, Ford Went cheap in the 1980s when they re-tooled their blocks. this was the start of the head bolts into the coolant and the 50 oz balance.
Such great little engines. Very torquey for their size and love to rev. And as you said, they sound amazing.
The 289 in my 68 Mustang I bought in 1977 has never been touched except for a timing chain replacement in 1979. Car is in beautiful condition, lifelong Southern California car, and engine still runs very nice. Probably put about 500 miles a year on it. Car had just under 70.000 thousand miles on it when purchased, was my daily for 2 years. Smokes a little bit on cold startup, definitely needs valve guide seals.
Malice in the palace. I get your 3 stooges reference. I wish more people did too. They're missing out.
Malice in the Palace is better known as a Basketball reference.
I am STILL ticked at Ron Artist for starting that disaster.
@@bricefleckenstein9666 What? I wish my comment dislike showed on here. What you just typed hurt my eye. Blasphemy and Moe just rolled over in his grave. Keep your monkey ball references to yourself please.
@@chicagomodzz Moe, Curly Joe, Shemp, and Larry can roll over all they like, I'm 60+ and *I* don't remember "Malice in the Palace" having anything with the Stooges, while the "Malice in the Palace" incident between the Pistons and the Pacers is known by almost ALL that pay any attention to Basketball (which was better known when it happened than the Stooges ever were, they can argue the point in the USA but they were never a WORLD WIDE well known act).
You can take your "monkey ball" insult and return it to the defecation orifice it originated from.
4 inch bore x 3 inch stroke. Love the 302’s.
I LOVE the "I breathed on it really well!! No open flames in here....lol"
That engine with that wear had another 150K left on it. You can't hardly kill the small block ford. I have tried in my Maverick Grabber...... Several times!
I laughed when it started peeing coolant out of the head bolt hole. I love the variety on this channel.
I had this engine in my 82 mustang and 99 mountaineer..after watching thiis video i miss those vehicles all over again. Great video as always!
The first thing I thought before you even started taking the engine apart was I wonder how many water pump bolts were going to break off. I'm without words and disappointed.
Same. Four of those fuckers snapped when I took mine apart.
@@eduardobaez1599 Whats the workaround for that?, drill them out and use a helicoil?
@@barryaiello3127 they usually break off at the timing cover cause of the corrosion where the stud portion goes through the cover. Once you get the cover pried off you can usually unscrew the rest of the bolt with vise grips and a fire wrench if needed.
@@barryaiello3127 Having broken down about a half dozen myself, the answer is heat.
Give each bolt about a minute, aiming where the threads sit in the block, and being careful to move the flame around so as not to bubble the aluminum timing cover.
Give it 15 seconds to cool, then try removing. Takes a bit of patience, as if it doesn't come, you just do the same heat cycle again until she's free.
For any rusty bolts I'd also recommend unthreading a few turns, then running the bolt/but back down, then reversing and unthreading again. Helps to keep the threads from galling with rust, which can snap bolts.
Thanks for the tear down. It makes me want to build another Windsor. They really are a great, simple engines to work on.
What a nice simple little motor. I never tore down a 302 either. Thanks
I do not understand how ford went from this to the 4.6 5 4 modular motors where you can never get an exhaust stud out of them! Lol. The modular motors are superior in many ways but...... The 302 was or is a great motor i agree probably one of the best sounding motors. Great video
I’ve heard one past Ford employee say that they had the basic LS design before GM did but chose to pass on it for the modular design. If that’s true and who knows if it is, I’m sure Ford has privately regretted that decision more times than once.
More than likely emissions control had a major impact on the change.
It was for "emissions" which I don't understand seeings how Chevy kept going with big pushrod LS's in their cars. I had a 5.0L pushrod and 2 4.6s. While the 4.6s make decent power for their size and they sound beautiful, I otherwise missed my SBF dearly.
Great to see you closing in on 100K subscribers.
Wow, I asked for this and I received! I didn't think you would do a SBF because they're so old now. Thanks man!
Still a LOT of them on the road though.
Love how, even if it's a crap engine, you still remove head bolts, main and rods in their proper sequence. Way to stay sharp boss.
I just knew the water pump bolt was going to break. That one is the worst. I was really surprised when you got it out in one piece.
My first car was a '94 GT. It was 10 years old when I bought it. Absolutely loved that car.
The sbf in my mountaineer has a piston with a chunk missing right around the edge because of piston ring explosion under boost, and believe it or not, it still runs like a top, no joke. Same power, everything. God i love these motors
221, 260, 289, 302, 5.0 liter, 351 are all same engine family......Windsors.
@@tomnekuda3818 correct
This small block actually started as a 221 before the 260.
Ford Motor Company
Windsor V8
1961-2002
221 cu in (3.6 L)
255 cu in (4.2 L)
260 cu in (4.3 L)
289 cu in (4.7 L)
302 cu in (5.0 L)
351 cu in (5.8 L)
Cylinder bore
4.000" (289, 302, 351W)
3.800" (260)
3.680" (255)
3.500" (221)
Piston stroke
3.500" (351W)
3.000" (302 & 255)
2.870" (221, 260, 289)
Very nice old school motor, THANK YOU!
Happy to tear down a motor that doesn't take long at all, why they were popular and easily to set up for racing application. My 87 and 89 after some minor modified pieces and a chip easily 300-500 hp. Enjoy your weekend and we enjoyed the video, us crusty guys, LOL.
Even though I’m a Chevy guy, I absolutely love this engine, they run forever had one in a 90 town car and it wouldn’t die, no matter how much I tried How about doing an small block Chevy some time to compete with the sbf would love to see that, love the channel, I have been working on cars since I was 16, am 63 now, all the best to you, be safe, Rick
You sound like me. I lean Ford but two of my favorite cars were a '75 Monte Carlo I had in HS (350) and a C5 Vette (LS). When the fanboys are all done shouting at each other, the truth is that the the Ford, GM, Chrylser, and old long-gone American manufacturers all made reliable V8s.
The first small block Ford was the 221, offered in the newly mid-sized 1962 Fairlane.
Clear diction and organized process, well explained and visible. No wonder he has a large following. Congrats to your production values
When I saw what shape the bores were in (very good) I would like to have known if the block was made in Mexico. The iron mines in Mexico have nickel in them which makes the blocks harder and more durable. I have one in my '86 Bronco 302 and with 65K+ and he bores look like new with clearly visible cross-hatching still there. The 302's were super little engines. I have a chip, cam, recurve distributor, headers, etc and it runs perfectly without a drop of oil consumption (and I've always leaned on this engine very hard).
The Mexico block metallurgy theory was discounted many years ago.
@@ohger1 That's interesting.....thanks for commenting. That said, what makes those blocks so hard then? Again, Thanks. Tom
@@tomnekuda3818 From what I recall about the debunking, it's that there is no higher nickel content/no proof of the blocks being stronger/harder in anyway.
Sounds like somebody way back in the day started the rumour they were more desirable, and it's just persisted since.
Wouldn't doubt somebody had a bunch of Mexico blocks that people wouldn't buy because they weren't "Made in USA", so he started talking them up for being premium and the legend was born.
@@perotekku Maybe so.
@@tomnekuda3818 Just what I heard, could still be true, but I had heard recently it wasn't.
Could be a half-truth, maybe some were harder some weren't. Similar to the Shelby 289 Hipo cranks. They were standard cranks that just happened to be harder, and were tested by Shelby to prove as much.
Had one of those engines in a 1988 Mustang. Unkillable.
Not true. I’ve killed a few. But definitely rebuildable. Easy and fun
@@alonsomora5773 They will wear out .... eventually.
Had one that reached that point in a '69 Custom once, but it was an old high-miles CHEAP car I bought when I was in the Navy just to have something to drive around in.
I HAVE A 302 IN MY Lincoln Town Car I love it.
Those old 5.0 fords are one tough motor ! It’s like a Timex watch, takes a licking and keeps on ticking !
Hey brother I have a 1996 Ford F150 with a 5.0L (302) Windsor V8 with 210,000 miles and still going strong 💪. The only things I replaced on my truck was the starter, the rear fuel pump, and the power steering megunisum but other than that mostly was just simple maintenance, took out the transmission fluid just to get rid of the shuttering it was making and it hasn't had a problem ever since.
@Self Made Auto Thanks brother
Brings back memories of my 72 Ford Maverick, 302/2 bbl, 4 dr.,3 speed Auto. Did a lot to beef her up, including: top end removed and cleaned, intakes cleaned through to remove old carbon and rough edges, carburetor rebuilt, transmission rebuilt and shift kit added, true dual exhaust system, with turn down tips just past the rear differential, threw on some “5th” hand-me-down Aluminum rims and mounted F-60-14 front wheels and E-50-14 rear wheels ( back before Metric sizes came in). Was going to change rear gears from 2.76 to 3.23, but sold it soon after. Miss the car, 🇨🇦🇨🇦
We call those bolt sizes "freedom units!" I do have to say its refreshing to see something this old. I'd love to see some old Pontiac or Olds big blocks but those are getting hard to come by.
My dad’s 1973 Ford Maverick had a 302. He put over 400k on the car and the engine was fine. Just kept wearing out transmissions. Awesome engine.
Thanks for the tip on Brandon's channel! Let's go Brandon!
Let’s stick with the fox-body theme and tear down a 2.3 liter pinto engine from the late 70’s early 80’s. Love your channel.
Ford put a 2.3 in the Mustang as well for a base engine - but not the SAME 2.3 as the Pinto used.
Coolant from a headbolt hole on a Ford small block is normal...the bolts pass into the water jacket as you said...you have to use thread sealant on those.
windsors are solid reliable designs.... they take neglect and abuse, they can even make twice the power they were designed to make and live. This one sat too long and had dry cylinders......a little oil in the spark plug holes and it would run just fine.
Yeah I just wonder what happened with Ford, especially in their commercial vehicles, Like the 4.6s and 5.4s suck to tear apart and rebuild, the 3v ones I hated... The v10s were alright when they ran but gas hogs and annoying to work on, especially while int he vehicle, I'd take a 302 any day of the week, even a y block lol.
Next time you do a Ford you can remove the balancer bolt, remove the washer rethread the bolt to use as spacer to avoid thread damage to the end of the crank by your puller shaft
Yeah!!!! EEC IV FTW!!!!! Back in the day that was the fun stuff!! When most people were scared of computer controlled cars, I loved it!
I think that is the same engine as is in my 2000 Mountaineer. My car still runs great. I wish I needed your engine. It looks like a good, fun project that will result in a very nice engine.
When I get a used engine I still do a rebuild/refresh. Only way to be sure. I love the Ford 302.
Thanks my friend i hope next video about disamble a jaguar 3.9 v8 from 2000s Lincoln ls
Yes!!! I have been asking for this. Thank you so much for this. I am going to check this ranger out next.
A little old school V8 teardown. Side note: you sound better than the last video. Hopefully your nose is getting better.
Yep my ‘71 f-100 has the same style oil pump setup. I remember priming the pump with the rod and a drill when I rebuilt it
It was leaking coolant from the lower head bolt because it's not a blind hole in the block, when those bolts are installed, sealant is used to seal the threads.
Ford US had some amazing engineers in the mid-fifties to early sixties. Within those few years they laid down the FE engines and the wonderful little small block engines. Meanwhile they engineered the new Lincoln/TBird chassis, a modern full size Galaxie linup, the mid-sized Fairlane family, and the Falcon which was brilliantly designed to be a LHD/RHD world car (so good that Japan effectively outlawed it) and which begat the Mustang and derivatives which soldiered on for over 20 years. I was a pre-teen when we got a '63 4 bbl 390 powered wagon and can still hear the sounds it made when Dad kicked it down to pass lumber trucks out on the 2-lane highways of the time. Later I drove a super basic (and light) '67 Mustang to college with a little 2 bbl 289 that could wrap up the rear axle and hop down the road like a frightened rabbit in a heartbeat. Good memories.
I can do a SBF in my sleep. The 5.0 HO roller cam are simply great engines to work with.
The 8.2" deck, 289, was Carroll Shelby's favorite engine ever.
Not to say he didn't like any others, but he said it was the best, lightest V8 the Americans had in the 60s that could compete with European engines.
Wasn't the lightest - that would be the short-lived BOP 215 ('61-'63) that BL/Rover ended up buying from GM to turn into the Rover 3500 and offspring.
But it cheated, being one of the first production aluminum block engines to ever be MASS produced.