alright guys, im going up **** creek with out a paddle right now. Every car but one is broken right now and thats including my bike. So I finnaly got the 352 back together after a timing chain and cam change. I start it up and set the idle screw so that its at 2000 RPMs for the cam break in, and then I start blowing smoke due to a HUGE oil leak. I shut it down, and I have oil all over the back of the oil pan and in the bell housing. I thought I had some loose oil pan bolts, so I snug some up, top off the oil and start it again. Still bad, oil all over and white smoke from it getting slung all over the p***anger side header. I think I knocked out a cam plug after talking to a buddy. So do I need to drop the ****** to fix it or pull the motor? I need to get this truck drivable in the next week and a half. Thanks for any input guys.
I think your right, I'd pull the trans, but thats up to you. Pay attention to which way the old plug was installed. Good luck, Tom
You are going to have to pull the trans but if it is an automatic and hard to get back up there get two long bolts = 10 or 12 inches long the same diameter and thread as the bellhousing bolts. unscrew the bottom bolt on each side and screw the long ones in and then take the rest of the bolts out. Then you can slide the trans back on the bolts on a floor jack and drop the converter and flex plate. Not a lot of room to work but it might be easer than fighting the trans back up in there by yourself. I've put front seals in the trans that way and have changed the rear freeze plugs in and engine that way.
The FE Ford engine uses a reverse taper camshaft plug. It goes in cup toward the camshaft. I love my Fords but this is typical stupid stuff they pull. If its put in backward the camshaft will stick out to far to install the thrust plate. Good luck Matt
I should be able to drop the ****** and pop the plug back in and not have to pull the timing cover or cam back off right? And thanks for the heads up on the plug, I saw pkictures abojut how to make sure to install it.
Whoa, wrong info on the cam plug on the back of the block on an FE. The "plug" that closes off the camshaft hole in the block on an FE on the back of the block, goes "CUP" facing OUT, not towards the camshaft. The block "plugs" for an FE just look like what we all call "freeze plugs", but the cam "plug" MUST be installed with the "cup" facing the ******, not the camshaft. And, it is possible to install the camshaft with the plug installed as if a freeze plug in the side of the block, with the cup facing "in", but the camshaft will rub the plug, make metal, and ruin the engine. MR48's got the right idea, slide back the ****** and see if you can replace the leaking/missing plug. A block plug kit for an FE is only about $8.00. Its the labor to replace it that will take a bit of time. Put some good sealer around the plug perimeter before installing, like Permatex. I don't like RTV because it can dislodge inside the block and plug oil galleries. Good Luck.
If the block plug on the back of the block is where your leak is, there would be no reason to have to pull anything off the front of the engine.
Just to be clear on the cam plug, it may be just a matter of semantics. When installing the cam plug, as seen from the back of the engine, the surface should be smooth, no cup visible,so Matt is correct, the inside of the CUP does FACE the camshaft. The FLAT side of the cup should face the ******. I misread his explanation. I was calling the CUP the bottom. This is very important. My error in reading his interpretation. I was calling the bottom of the cup the face. Sorry for any confusion I may have caused.
Yes it should look backwards from the "freeze" plugs. Very important. Did you install the plug before or after the cam?
its a labor intensive but fairly easy fix. leave the front of the engine all put together, the cam retainer plate keeps the cam from going forward when installing the plug. you will prob find the plug is not all the way out when you get it apart, dont try to just tap it back in, it wont stay. a few hrs of work and a few bucks for a new plug and oil and you should be good to go.
Before you go to all that trouble, make sure the leak is not either the back of the intake manifold (where it meets the block), or the valve cover gasket. They sometimes like to leak from one, the other, or both of these areas, and the oil flow can be impressive. Especially at the valve cover where the intake meets the head. Make sure the intake gasket is trimmed flush at the cover rail, and that there isn't a huge step there. Make sure the valve cover rail isn't warped also. Sometimes double stacking gaskets is necessary. If the intake is leaking out the rear, clean the heck out of it with a good solvent, seal off all but one of the breather and/or pcv ports, then hook a vacuum source (like a shop vac) onto the breather port you left open. While running the vacuum, smear silicone all over the leaking area, and the vacuum will draw it in to seal it. Takes some effort to knock out the cam plug, and I think you would hear it bouncing around in the bellhousing, so my guess is teh leak is from one of the above areas. Hope this helps!
Ill check valve covers and intake today, but when installing the cam gear I had to convince the gear to take the dowel pin and I think that's when I nocked it out. The cam slid back a bit farther then I guess it should have.
The Jalopy Journal
