69 302 Engine Rebuild Problems

[jdsimpson]

Hello all. Just joined and need advice. This 302 came to me with a problem with getting water in The oil and The cam was messed up.so i pulled it out and overhauled it. The only things i didn't change was The pistons and rings. Got it back together and runs fine.

My first question is. When i pulled The cam gear off, double roller cam gear, it still had The spacer in there. I left that out cause i thought that was making The cam walk. Could that have caused The cam and lifters to wear down under 200 miles?

Next question. It still gets water in The oil. Don't know where it is coming from but its a fast leak. The pressure drops rapidly with a Radiator pressure tester. No water is getting into The cylinders and all have great compression. The heads have been milled The Guy said and doesn't know how much. Could The intake not be seating properly or could they have been milled crooked?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[horse sence]

if it had a spacer and you removed it ,it is walking now
you may have the wrong intake gasket newer 302 have a larger water port than the older motors the new gasket looks the same but it will leak

 

[jdsimpson]

The spacer that was removed is The spacer between The cam and The cam gear. I put it on when i had it out but there was a gap The size Of The spacer between The thrust plate and The gear and i could move The cam back and forth. The dial pin was too small to fit as well with The spacer. It didn't reach The feul pump gear to hold it still. As far as The gaskets i'm gonna have to pull that off and see. i'll report back. Thanks.

 

[horse sence]

that spacer if its the one i think your talking about is only used on early 260s and 289s
i would check the end play on the cam, if it were ran with that spacer in it may have already dammaged the cam , usualy a gasket set comes with both gaskets for the early and late motor but only the smaller water port gasket will work with the older
302 -289 -351 ect. did you check for a crack in the block or head? also check the timming cover inside to see if the cam gear was rubbing from the cam walking.
i recently replaced a cam in a 429 that had a gear drive in it . the guy left that spacer out,a gear drive uses that spacer, the cam had half of every lobe burned away and ate up every lifter ,it only ran a short time . wound up tearing the whole thing down to get all the metal shavings out ,it was a mess, i hope yours is still good

 

[horse sence]

just realized your from corcoran,only a few miles apart i am in strathmore between lindsay and porterville

 

[bartl]

+1 on checking the timing cover for corrosion/sealing issues.

 

[jdsimpson]

Right on. Well new gasket for intake and timing cover and still water in oil. Runs great though. Plenty of power. It doesn't get water in the oil till i take it for a drive. It can just sit there and idle for hours and not get water in the oil. So would that be saying that it needs the higher pressure of water to leak or no. And if so what could be leaking like that?

 

[horse sence]

if it seems to have slowed down i would say you had more than one leak or it is still leaking at the intake just not as bad did you use sealer around the water passages?
check the torque on the head bolts one of the top bolts may have been missed. wish you were a little closer i would take a look ,also check the timing cover for loose or striped out bolts around the water passeges . look around the corners of the intake and see if there is any signs of leakage,water or rusty looking stains. did the old gaskets show any sighns of leakage?

 

[bartl]

Okay.... did you by chance verify the block casting date? In later 302's the bottom head bolt holes DO enter the water jacket and sealant must be applied to the bolts when installing. Perhaps it's not a '69 block?

 

[jerthemost]

Had a similer issue with my 68. Had to have heads removed and checked. Heads cked out fine and the only thing we could find was a very tiny dimple in one block surface. Went back with Edelbrock heads and thicker head gasket and now no problem. My symptoms were same as yours. Not leak till driving and leaked very fast. It is critical how you install intake as to where to put gasket sealer and what kind etc. Edelbrock will give you exact instructions for theirs. I also used Edel gaskets. Interesting item.... although supposed to be a 289 turned out to be a 302. Ford changed engines mid year 68 but still designated it as a 289.

 

[Hack]

It's very hard to know the problem without looking at the parts. However, since both the previous owner and you had the same problem I tend to think that there is a defect in block, heads or timing cover that is causing it. I wouldn't think both of you bought the wrong gasket or made the exact same mistake.

Regarding the cam, you should always check all clearances when putting an engine together. That includes cam end play. However, if there was a shim and you removed it, odds are the cam end play is too much now.