refresh top end

rokdog13 · 03-09-2001, 01:12 AM

I pulled the top end off my 82' 302 to repair bad manifold oil leak right by the dist..
the inside of the valve covers were coated with black tar as was every other interior surface that didnt move.
alot of the water passage's on the drivers side of the block and head were at least 50% plugged with rusty gunk.
the reason i started this little project was because the readiator was plugged with rust so i got a new one and a water pump which was fine after dis-assembly inspection.
So, i'm hoping that with the new radiator and water pump in place that i'll have a heater again!
the car ran really good before i did this other than the cooling problem and the oil leak that drove me crazy! i would pull up th a light and stop and smoke would just roll out from under the hood. how embarrasing. it would run down the front of the block onto the exhaust manifold.
anyway, im concerned about the inside of the block and how dirty it was. you know how it works...if it aint broke dont fix it. i could have gotten away with intake gaskets, radiator and water pump but once i saw how gross it was...i just hope that the bottom end looks alot better than the top end did!
it ran damned good before, so i'm sure it will be o.k..
i figured i would do this to make the car dependable enough to make it through the suspenion mods i want to do first. my last car i did the other way around. motor first. not good.

03-09-2001, 02:13 AM

Yeah it's normal for a ford small block to be full of sludge (my teacher at school even told me ahead of time that my engine was going to be full of sludge and that it's normal). The only way to get rid of it is to pull the engine apart and clean the oil galleries. My engine was coated in crap at 150,000 miles (HO 302) and even the outside is covered in crap because of the valve cover leak it's had for probably ever. If you change the oil every 3000 miles it probably won't get much if any worse unless there's alot of blowby by the rings. Good luck

03-09-2001, 01:12 AM	#1
rokdog13 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Aberdeen, WA 98520 U.S.A. Posts: 7	refresh top end I pulled the top end off my 82' 302 to repair bad manifold oil leak right by the dist.. the inside of the valve covers were coated with black tar as was every other interior surface that didnt move. alot of the water passage's on the drivers side of the block and head were at least 50% plugged with rusty gunk. the reason i started this little project was because the readiator was plugged with rust so i got a new one and a water pump which was fine after dis-assembly inspection. So, i'm hoping that with the new radiator and water pump in place that i'll have a heater again! the car ran really good before i did this other than the cooling problem and the oil leak that drove me crazy! i would pull up th a light and stop and smoke would just roll out from under the hood. how embarrasing. it would run down the front of the block onto the exhaust manifold. anyway, im concerned about the inside of the block and how dirty it was. you know how it works...if it aint broke dont fix it. i could have gotten away with intake gaskets, radiator and water pump but once i saw how gross it was...i just hope that the bottom end looks alot better than the top end did! it ran damned good before, so i'm sure it will be o.k.. i figured i would do this to make the car dependable enough to make it through the suspenion mods i want to do first. my last car i did the other way around. motor first. not good.

03-09-2001, 02:13 AM	#2
84stang83zephyr Guest Posts: n/a	Yeah it's normal for a ford small block to be full of sludge (my teacher at school even told me ahead of time that my engine was going to be full of sludge and that it's normal). The only way to get rid of it is to pull the engine apart and clean the oil galleries. My engine was coated in crap at 150,000 miles (HO 302) and even the outside is covered in crap because of the valve cover leak it's had for probably ever. If you change the oil every 3000 miles it probably won't get much if any worse unless there's alot of blowby by the rings. Good luck