II Oil Pan on an H.O. Block -- Dipstick Location?

[joeythesaint]

Okay, I can't be the only guy running an H.O. I'm starting to build up a mondo '88 H.O. to replace my '86 H.O., and in this build I want to use the serpentine assembly. (I can get the clearance if I use a custom radiator and an electric fan.) But I'm still flummoxed on the dipstick location; the H.O. dipstick is in the back of the block, which won't give a good reading with the II oilpan. On the '86 H.O. I'm using the 302 accessories and timing cover. EDIT: On the '88, I want to use the H.O. timing cover, which doesn't have a dipstick tube.

How did you solve the dipstick issue? All I can come up with is to drill a hole in the block to the front of the pan and improvise a sleeve, but that doesn't strike me as a real good idea.

Any other ideas?

 

[mustangmods]

I,m thinking maybe a flexable dipstick tube from lokar in the stock location in the timing cover.

 

[joeythesaint]

That's the trick. I won't be using the 302 timing cover. Do you mean I should drill a hole in the 5.0 timing cover? That's not a bad idea.

 

[THE78II]

I put an '84 HO motor in a '77 once.....

and had two dipsticks.
You can drill the HO cover, but it's thick right there. Fortunately, it's aluminum.

 

[jeffnoel]

What's the diff between a 302 timing cover and a 5.0 cover? Other than a place to mount a mech fuel pump what's different? If your going with an electric fuel pump they make block-off plates for the 302 cover?

 

[joeythesaint]

On the 5.0 timing cover there is no place for an eccentric to drive the fuel pump. Also, the 5.0 timing cover doesn't have an oil dipstick hole. And for some reason, the locator pins on the 5.0 H.O. block are offset a little from the holes in the 302 timing cover, just like 1/8", but enough that I had to pull the locator pins from the 5.0 block.

What else. The 5.0 timing cover would take a gear drive timing set but I had to grind the holy hell out of the 302 cover to fit the same gear drive. There are different channels inside each timing cover, too.

IIRC, the 5.0 timing cover fits a different kind of water pump (5.0 H.O. water pump runs in reverse so it would make sense that the two are not compatible), and the bracket mounting points for attachment of the accessories assembly is different. I remember looking at the serpentine stuff and measuring it out, and realizing that one set wouldn't fit on the other.

 

[2muchtime]

i drilled a hole in the oil pan, welded a fitting for 3/8 brake line..
i will pull some pics i have shot and resize tonight.
95 5.0.HO...95 timing cover and serp system.

 

[G.A. Heath]

Most 302/5.0 and 351W timming covers are similar and interchangable. There are two notable exceptions to this which would be the explorer and 94-95 mustang 5.0 covers.

The late model timming covers (escluding the two mentioned above) can be drilled (do so with care) to accept a dipstick if they have a thick flat surface where the distick should go (90% do).

Most late model timming covers even have a provision for a mechanical fuel pump that was never opened up after casting. As for cam eccentrics I know that until as late as 1989, and possibly later, many EFI motors still had a cheap cam eccentic installed.

Now for the subject of the water pump, they will interchange. I had a rebuilt mustang II water pump that had a reverse rotation impellered accidently installed when it was rebuilt. Fortunately I noticed this when I pulled the pump to figure out why the engine kept wanting to run warm (to put it nicely). The impeller is in fact the only significant difference between a standard and reverse rotation watter pump. Right now I have a reverse rotation pump installed on a timming cover pulled from a 1971 302, its been there for two years.