Pulling motor

[traildevil67]

Pulling motor/ No oil pressure problem

Hi guys, I recently bought a 85 ranger with a 302 from a 88 thunder bird converted to carb. With a late 70's c4 trans. I had to put new floor pans in it and some other stuff to get it to pass inspections.

The last time it was inspected was 03' but when i was running it around the block my oil pressure was a bit low sometimes around 5 to 10 but then somedays it would be around 40-50. When i went to change the oil, it was basically like black water.. real thin. So i put a new oil filter on it and some 10w 30 in it. The filter was fram though.

When i first fired it up it sounded smoother then it did with the previous oil. So i check it and the level was good, so i took it for a test drive up the hill. When i got to the top it started ticking so i stopped. When i looked down i seen i had NO oil pressure. this is on an aftermarket gauge. So i babied it back down and parked it. i have a new oil pump and gaskets, but i can't drop the pan with it in the truck. So what is the easiest way to pull the motor? Or may something else be wrong.

Truck also has a 3in body lift.

My thought was that the oil pump could push the thinner stuff, but when i put new oil in it, the pump couldn't push it..

Thanks in advance.

 

[Dan B.]

The body lift makes it super easy to remove the bellhousing bolts and seperate the motor/tranny.

List of problems...could be many...luckily though, bone yeard 302's are cheap...$150 in my area. If the pump does not fix the issue, that would be my next (possibly even the first) step.

 

[traildevil67]

What year/model of 302 would be worth it in the long run. That there is usually plenty of?
Motor only has about 75,000 from what previous owner said.
Current motor has edelbrock performer intake and 600cfm carb.
I was thinking about going EFi but not sure.

 

[wade]

Unless I could verify it or had lotsa' faith in 'em, I'd never take the word of a previous owner.

Like Dan B. said, "List of problems...could be many..."
Do some diagnostics before pulling everything apart. Verify, with a mechanical gage, that you don't have oil pressure. Check/replace the oil pressure sender. If you have a mechanical fuel pump, and the oil you drained smelled like gasoline (you said it was "like black water.. real thin"), check the fuel pump for leakage into crankcase. (...happens!)

When diagnostics reveals that you actually have lost oil pressure, then start preparing to drop the oil pan. A 3" Body Lift might make it possible to unbolt the mounts from the block, and put about 3" of spacer in between mounts and block. You can loosen (just loosen) the tranny mount fasteners instead of stressing the tranny mount while lifting the engine.

Drop the pan, reach in through the gap, drop the suction pickup tube and oil pump, lay them into the pan, then remove everything all at the same time.
Once, the pan is removed. You can check the pickup tube (and screen), oil pump, and drive shaft. You can drop mains and rods to check bearings. I'd recommend R&R all bearings, oil pump and a heavy duty pump drive shaft. You certainly don't wanna' open it up again. Install the oil pan with a one-piece gasket that's reusable. This will pretty much take care of the "bottom end", with the exception of piston rings, front and rear main seals. Front seal would be easy enough to do, but the rear will require removal of engine and/or tranny.

 

[Dan B.]

What year/model of 302 would be worth it in the long run. That there is usually plenty of?

EFI Crown Vic's, EFI Grand Marq's, late 80's truck motors.

.....from what previous owner said.

That carries about ZERO weight with me when it comes to any kind of aftermarket or swapped parts.

 

[traildevil67]

Ok what about carbed motors?
Is there any better then some?

 

[mikepotts]

ran into this before... 2x's (2.9, 5.0), turned out to be blocked pump screen. i replaced the pump and screen on them both and kept on truckin for many more miles.

 

[baddad457]

Your best bet on a carbed motor is the 94-97 Pickup/van EFI 5.0. Just remove the EFI upper and lower intake, & swap out the TFI distributor for what you're running now. These 5.0's have the same roller cam the later Explorer/Mountaineers had, works great with a carb, and is only slightly less cam than the HO grind in the Mustang 5.0. Only improvement you should make at the least is a set of full roller 1.7 rockers (Cobra 1.7's or Crane's pedestal mount 1.7 ratio Energizers). I've got this setup in my Ranger with a Ford Racing A321 intake topped with a Holley 570SA. Great mileage and bottom end to 6000 power. Starts without a pump shot to prime the motor down to 25*F.

 

[traildevil67]

I HAVE FOUND THE PROBLEM...

The oil filter relocator was hooked up backwards.
I remember reading that could be the cause of no oil pressure. Well sure enough it was.
I took one line off, and it was labeled for outlet on the relocator. I cranked over my truck and watched through the bottom hood opening and it came out the hose. so i cut the hoses off and switched them and it works perfectly.

Luckily i didn't throw away the old filter and when i looked a gasket was coming out of the little holes... Must have been the anti flow back rubber.

And another question. I just changed my oil when this problem came up. About 2 weeks ago. My oil is extremely black already. No more then 10 min running. Whats the cause of this?
And im going to change my oil and filter in a week. Is 10w 30 good or should i use 5w 30?

Thanks guys,
also im going to keep this engine info in mind, so that i can do an efi swap, and hopefully convert back to a 5 speed.

 

[wade]

I HAVE FOUND THE PROBLEM... ...The oil filter relocator was hooked up backwards.

Don't ya' just hate it when that happens?!

I just changed my oil... ... is extremely black already. No more then 10 min running. Whats the cause of this?

Carbon.

People tend to get excited because the oil is black. Basically, it means that the previous owner(s) didn't change the oil very regularly and the inside of the engine is coated with carbon deposits from "blow-by". Just because the oil is black, doesn't mean that its bad. It's doing its job by removing the carbon and carrying some of it to the filter, where it will be removed when the filter is changed. More of it will be removed with each regular oil change.

Is 10w30 good or should i use 5w30?

You'll hear pros and cons for either, but either will work. Its a matter of opinion. If you intend to change it more frequently to eliminate some of the suspended carbon, either grade - what's on sale.

I use 10W30 for most applications (even the lawn mower). I use 5W20 in my Geo Metro's little Suzuki engine for the sake of the lifters. 5W(or10W)30 - and they tap like crazy (even in the summer!) until the oil heats up. Called my local Suzuki dealer and got their recommendation - 5W20. Seems their lifters have tiny, tiny oil holes.

I added a pic to Post #4.

 

[traildevil67]

Cool thanks wade. I'll keep the mount lifters in mind when i do get around to cleaning the oil pan. (probably in the spring.)