broken dipstick...

[BLOODBANE]

With the C-6 you won't have enough room. I am presently looking at somewhat of the same problem (mine is just a leaky oil pan gasket on a new engine). I will drain the block of all fluids, unbolt the tranny and torque converter, headers, starter and the motor mounts and just lift the engine enough to clear the pan. It sucks but I will be able to fix it correctly.
Check your local junkyards for the inspection plate on the tranny

 

[wade]

i am not a "motor guy", so this crap is kinda new to me.

Come by my place and get my engine hoist. You'll have enough room then! The $200 spent on the hoist was a good decision. Your "wooden blocks" will work. I made 6" long studs out of all-thread and used pieces of 1/2" pipe about 4" long. The pipe was the spacer between the block and the mount, with the stud going through the mount, the pipe, and into the block - a nut under the mount. Perhaps a bit extravagant, but it sat that way for quite a while, and was very safe.
Get yourself a copy of a manual (like Haynes) at your favorite auto parts store and beef up on the 5.0L (302). Full-size Ford, F150/Econoline -- something of that nature with a 5.0L.
Drop the oil pan onto the crossmember. Reach up through the "gap" and disconnect the oil pump suction tube from the pump and the main bearing stud. Remove the oil pump, if you have to. (Be aware of the pump drive shaft.) Drop the tube and the pump (if removed) into the pan, and lower it down and back. Do your repairs to your dipstick, reassemble w/ new gaskets. If you have the cork gasket on the oil pan, now is a good time to replace it with a reuseable one-piece rubber/metal composite gasket.
Be safe!

 

[BLOODBANE]

I just got done doing my oil pan gasket and like I said even jacking the engine up another 3 or 4 inches the pan will not come out, even with the oil pump and pickup tube off. The C-6 bell housing is too big to give you enough room....I will be surprised if mine doesn't still leak. What a PITA!!!!!!!

 

[jmattwells]

ill put some more time in it soon....i think i am going to have enough room.

the truck is on a bodylift, and the bell housing is a little ways from hitting. ill just take it slow and try.

if i were to jack it up, and use a few 2x4's on the front of the motor, where is a good place to support the motor? i was told the "harmonic balancer", but i dont know whtat that is. Is that the large pulley with a belt on it, toward the bottom part of the motor? that may not have been a good explanation, but you get the drift.

 

[dude772]

cut the crossmember on either side of the pan hahaha that'll make space, expecially if you've got a solid axle under your truck

 

[wade]

cut the crossmember on either side of the pan

No matter how you lift the engine for clearance, safety is most important. Remember, your fingers are gonna' be underneath, between pieces of metal that will not be forgiving, if it slips. That would make it more difficult for you to post a reply.
Be safe!

 

[dude772]

Be safe!

HAHAHA it would probably take more effort to try and cut the crossmember out than lift the engine. But it would definitly be the unconventional way of getting it out.

 

[jmattwells]

okay,

i went to order a few things on summit for the truck, and i have a question:

how do i know what year my motor is, and if it has a 1 piece or 2 piece main rear seal? the reason i ask is because i need to order a new oil pan gasket, and those are the two questions i was unsure of.

this will probably answer my question on how to order the right dip stick as well. i am not going to splurge for the lokar, are there any other options out there?

thanks!
Matt

 

[red85]

Just look at the casting # on the block and that will tell you what year the casting was updated. Ford went to a 1 piecs rear seal in about 1982 IIRC.

 

[jmattwells]

is that going to be hard to see with the motor installed? where on the block is it written?

 

[jmattwells]

so i got up there yesterday and was only able to lift the motor up high enough to get a couple pieces of 2x4 between the block and the motor mounts. so the lift is less than 2".

needless to say, that is not enough, and after more investigation, i dont even know if 5" would be enough. I need enough clearence to negotiate the pan out while clearing it between the crossmember and the oil pump.

can i cut the crossmember out without hurting anything? do i need it? i have a frame-mounted front hitch which will add some support, and a dana 44 front axle. if i can cut it out, will a saws-all work? maybe with the right type of blade? i have an air compressor, is there a tool that i could get?

if the crossmember wont come out, i have one final idea, but i need to get this thing running ASAP, mud season is NOW!

 

[wade]

can i cut the crossmember out without hurting anything?

No.

do i need it?

Yes.
The only crossmember that could be removed / reinstalled is the Radius Arm Crossmember. That makes it easier to R&R an AOD. It involves grinding 2 hot-rivets on each frame rail. But, I get the impression that you want to remove the crossmember under the engine. My thought is, "Don't do it!" Find another way.

 

[jmattwells]

looks like im going to get a cherry picker and pull the motor. i got no other option if im going to do this right.

i can get some other things done while its out too.