Flathead Disassembly Help

I am finally in the assembly mode of the 8ba. It ended going .060 over on bore, and .010/010 on crank. I have a few questions. I have washed the block with soapy water, used brake cleaner, and compressed air to clean the block and crank including the throws of the crank.

Questions:
1. Is ISKY rev lube good to put on the crank mains, connecting rod bearings, cam, lifters, rods, etc.? Should I use something else? I already bought a container of it in addition to the little container that came with the cam.
2. Should I use new bolts for the main caps? Get a set of ARP or?
3. connecting rods, old nuts good, or do I need new ones?
4. Main cap bolts, do they go in dry or should I use anti-seize or lock tight?
5. Nuts on conn rods, dry, anti-seize, or lock tight? I have the thin locking nuts that go on top of the nuts too.
6. There is a bushing for the fuel pump rod, does this need to be replaced or checked before I put this engine back together?


Sequence:
1. put main bearings in dry
2. put crank in dry
3. bolt main caps w/bearings on dry
4. individually plastigage and make sure each bearing is at .001 to .003
5. remove crank
6. install main bearing seal
7. install one piece front oil seal
8. lube the mains with Isky Rev Lube (IS THIS OK or do I use something else?)
9. bolt main caps on
10. make sure it still spins fairly smooth
11. Move on to pistons and connecting rods - I'm sure more questions will come.
12. Put cam and spring assemblies back in.
 
Last edited:
I think the rev lube is just for the cam and lifter faces. Everything else should lubed with oil or maybe a mix of oil and something like STP. People who have built more motors than me can advise on that.

Mart.
 
Put the cam in befor the crank, much easier. Cam lub for cam, oil and stp goodbearing lub or assy lub. ATF for rings. Good luck.
PS .0035 too much for street engine .0025 better. Remember this engine was designed for 10wr oil not the sh** most people uz.
 
OK, checked the mains and they are .002 for two and between .0025 for the third.

Real question, so I put a few of the compression rings in the cylinder, at the top and bottom, measured the same. I measured all the pistons with one ring and received a consistent reading on the top and bottom of each cylinder. I tried about 3 rings from the top groove and 1 ring from the bottom groove.

When I put the ring in about two inches down and measure the gap, I am getting around .0023, but my rebuilding the Famous Ford Flathead by Ron Bishop says the compression rings for the piston should be between .010 and .017.

I am out of spec. Any thoughts on this? I am 60 over on the piston and I have the Offy 4 ring set, which says 3.248" on the box.

What to do...
 
Ol' Ron said:
Put the cam in befor the crank, much easier. Cam lub for cam, oil and stp goodbearing lub or assy lub. ATF for rings. Good luck.
PS .0035 too much for street engine .0025 better. Remember this engine was designed for 10wr oil not the sh** most people uz.
Click to expand...

Straight 10W SAE oil? Really? Probably non-detergent at that.

Guess the 20W50 I'm running is a little thick. Like a lot of folks I'm probably compensating for worn everything by running heavier oil.

What do you recommend running in a fresh motor? Straight weight or multi-viscosity oil? What weight?

Money aside, I like Mobil 1 after break in. We use Mobil products in all our working engines.
 
Hi "d', we use Lubriplate on all the bearings, rods, mains, and cam.

We use only "moly" lube on the cam lobes/lifters.

We use a set of ARP studs on the mains, and 16 new ARP rod nuts (when the stock rods are in the program).

On that ring gap number you show (.0023"), do you mean .023" or is it the correct number as posted?? If it IS the .023" number you will still be fine.

We set the rings at .018" top and second, I have used .012"/.014" on the 2nd compression with no issues. Some rings "make-the-numbers", some don't. You can use the same oil you plan on running for the piston/ring install.

The following here is important and makes the ***'y somewhat easier. Before you install ALL the piston assy's, take the time and set the valve lash first. You can only do this on the Flathead's. In other words, install the cam, all the valves, and the crank (with the timing gears in place) and finish the lash. It's much easier turning the unit over without the pistons/rings in place. I believe this is what Ron is saying in the above post.

Plus, if you encounter ANY issues with the cam "turning" it's much easier to get in there without the crank in the way!

The main clearances are fine, the rods should be similar! I would not use synthetic at all, but at least not on the "break-in". I use the Brad-Penn break-in oil, it's made specific for the initial fire-up.

Absolutely no "Loctite" on any internal fasteners (rods or mains). Cam bolts would be OK. We use it rarely on any assy's.

Thanks, Gary in N.Y.

P.S. We refuse to use any STP anywhere, anytime. Use the Lubriplate on the timing gears also!
 
Sorry, I fat fingered the number. Yes, it is .023". So, will this cause a problem being .005" over sized?

I did get Permatex assembly lube for the bearings. I didn't see the lubriplate at the auto parts store.

I have the one piece front oil seal and the rope rear seal. The rope rear seal instructions have a roll pin that I am supposed to drill in to hold the seal in place. Is this normal?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top