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By Babyboomerboy - 11 Years Ago
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I am pulling the engine out of my 56 Ford Fairlane and would like your input as to how far I should go with my rebuild. First, the engine is fine. It doesn’t smoke, knock or leak a bunch of oil. The exhaust manifolds that are on the engine have cracks and leak and the intake is an ECZ-A. I found and bought a set of 1957 exhaust manifolds and a ECZ-B intake manifold so I can upgrade the carburetor. I have bought a Cardone Industries 30-2808 Remanufactured Distributor for the upgrade. Then I got to thinking about what the engine would look like with a painted intake and exhaust and the rest of the engine dirty and oily. So a total clean up job became the idea. Now since I will have the engine out, it became obvious that this would be the best time to replace anything that might be close to worn out. I am planning on buying an engine overhaul gasket kit and pull off parts for cleaning and repainting. I am thinking about buying a water pump, fuel pump, timing chain and gears, and clutch, pressure plate and throw out bearing. What else would you replace since you had the engine out on a engine stand? I will also be pressure cleaning and painting the engine compartment of the car before reinstalling the engine. Sorry for such a long post and thank you for any replies and information you have.
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By Ted - 11 Years Ago
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I would at least perform an oil pressure check on the engine if you haven’t already done so. Low oil pressure when hot and idling could indicate worn bearings. This would be an opportune time to replace those bearings and/or check out the oil pump if the oil pan is going to be off anyhow to replace the pan gasket.
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By Chuck - 11 Years Ago
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I've a couple of points to add:
1) I would recommend a compression check as well. An engine can appear to run fine and either be down on compression - or - a specific cylinder (or cylinders) could be low and it wouldn't necessarily be noticeable. The metallurgy of OEM Y block rings was such that they wear quickly as compared to "modern" rings. A Y with 100,000 unrebuilt miles will be worn - even it it was well cared for all its life.
2) If you're going so fas as to remove the heads, note that all gasket sets for Y blocks have composition gaskets; they're thicker than OEM steel shim gaskets. Swapping the intake manifold will add HP, the thicker head gaskets take it away. You'd either have to get the heads milled about 0.020" - or - buy a set of steel head gaskets to maintain the stock compression ratio.
3) If you're taking the heads off - check the exhaust valves for recession. The engine was built to run on leaded fuel. It's a long discussion (and it's probably here somewhere in detail) but the lead would plate out on the valve and valve seat, protecting and sealing the valve. When we switched to unleaded 40 years ago (wow! it's been that long?) engines designed to run leaded fuel would often wear out their valve seats, with the valve "sinking" or receding into the head. If you have the engine out and are tearing it down, this is a good time to have hardened seats installed on the exhaust side.
4) It's also a great time to replace the rear main rope seal (assuming it hasn't been replaced already). Most gasket sets come with a modern lip seal set for the Y block - the exception being the 312's. Rope, or packing type seals were the standard on Y blocks and they're supposed to drip a bit of oil so as to keep the packing lubricated. Lip seals, on the other hand, are virtually oil tight and help keep an engine clean and dry.
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By miker - 11 Years Ago
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I always like to check the timing marks for TDC, making sure the balancer hasn't slipped. Then mark it every 90degrees. Makes settling the valves much easier.
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By Lou - 11 Years Ago
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Replace the timming chain this is the weak point of a y-block.
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By slumlord444 - 11 Years Ago
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I would suggest a leak down test. Thought the engine in my Bird was not bad. Turns out it also needed rings and while it was apart new bearings also.
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