302 teardown

Time for winter projects here in Iowa. First up, tear down the Ski Tique's 302 and find the tick. My plan is to take the block in to a machine shop here and have them diagnose/repair....and if we get into the lower parts of the motor, possibly stroke.

I've never physically torn down a motor myself so I thought I'd ask you guys for advice/make sure I'm doing everything correctly.

They basically want the block and told me to tear down everything else.   Can I take the motor off the bell housing and leave the trans? What is the process for doing so? I know this info is probably on the site somewhere, but I didn't find any threads so I thought I would start my own.



So far I've pulled:
Manifolds
Carb
raw waterpump
alternator
Top of the thermo housing

Had to stop there as I ran out of tape. I've been labeling all the wires as I go and marking their locations on the respective posts.

Still need to pull:
wiring
plugs/plug wires
coil
circ pump
cooling lines

Thanks Greg...You're saying to pull it all at once? Then pull the trans?

Are you reusing the cam Chris? If so you need to keep the lifters in order as to which lifter goes to which cam lobe.Personally if your going thru all the work,get a better cam.
Keep the rods together with their caps also and make sure the main caps are back in the same place too.

Chris - I think you were asking if you should pull the motor with tranny still attached. I think that would be easiest, you will have more working room on the bench/stand tahn in the boat. You can leave the bell housing attached to the tranny if you want to when you separate them from the engine.

Like Greg said, label everything, put all of it in some semblance of order (like cardboard boxes), takes lots of photos, & get a good repair manual - (I have an old Chilton's & it's been worth it's weight in zddp).

Have fun, learn something, & post some photos.

PS- If you don't have anyone nearby to help you, maybe you could inquire about an auto mechanics class at the community college. The instuctor I am sure would be very helpful to you.

Great info guys! Progress is going to stop for a couple days but I am hoping to get it pulled on wednesday or thursday and to the shop. I'll get some pictures up tomorrow night and make sure we are ready for the pull!

Edit- Gary, I saw your post about this book last week and almost ordered myself a copy. Looks like I will be getting one now!

eric lavine wrote: what will the machine shop be doing? if you are going with a new set of pistons the normal clearance is .001 to .0025, because its marine have them opened to the larger clearance...its a must! depending on the machine shop if you get a flat price the cheapest of the parts tend to go into the engine, keep an eye on these guys and if you can and have the abilities just lem them do the machining and you source the parts, alot of pistons are made in China, India and are far inferior to a piston such as a Wiseco piston....spend the big qaulity money up front so you dont have to the second time

Eric, I totally agree with sourcing the parts yourself (or at least picking the parts and buying them through the shop). Im not certain I agree with your blanket statement on the piston to cylinder wall clearance comment though. If Joe stumbles in here hopefully he will comment- but I think he would say to check with the piston manufacturer for a recommended clearance range with your specific application in mind.

These last few posts are the reasons I bring stuff up here!

The guy I'm working (Jon) with seems to be a great guy. He rebuilt a buddies 318 for a southwind and did a hell of a job. Jeff (my buddy) would get a few calls every week to discuss progress and what he wanted to do next. He was always working with Jeff to make sure they had the correct parts sourced and was always open to discussing what he was doing. It's nice to find someone who has a true passion for what they do and not treat you like you're a number walking through their door.

Eric- Jon is going to find the source of the tick first and then help me decide what our best option is. If the crank is trashed- we will look into stroking. If it's something less severe we will fix it and put it back together. Either way, he will make sure I know what's going on before they make any decisions.

Photo's from last night after pulling a few more items:

Thanks Jon, I actually used a buffer pad I had laying around the shop to cover everything up. Fits right between the mounting bolts for the carb!

the only reason i caught it was because i had the engine flipped and pan off and was rotating and just happen to see the piston kick at bdc

Chris I have been watching this thread closely since I also have a 302. That's one helluva tick! I am sure you will have it in top shape for next season and am looking forward to the results.

Eric, I did try to pull each wire....even ran it in the dark to make sure it wasn't my wires. Jon is pretty sure it's something lower in the motor. When I took it to my old man's marine guy they said the same and quoted me 4,500 to rebuild and couldn't guarantee it would be done before the end of the summer....I decided to pull it myself and take it to Jon.

storm34 wrote: Keeganino wrote: Chris I have been watching this thread closely since I also have a 302. That's one helluva tick! I am sure you will have it in top shape for next season and am looking forward to the results. Thanks Keegan! We're hoping it will be running pretty quick in the spring! I'll be sure not to let the guys paint my manifolds black either!

Yep you gotta watch those guys. Marty got me a can of paint that looks right. Hot Rod Green I think is the name. I need to pull them off and repaint them the right color. Of course my block and trans were painted old ford blue which is not the right color either. The waukesha blue is almost a navy.

Merry Christmas guys! Got some time to work on the Ski Tique today with my Big Brother home from New York. We decided it was time to pull the motor and get the trans separated from the block.

I'll hopefully be able to get it loaded up and drag it into the Shop to find the diagnosis. I've been asking a few people here plenty of questions along the way so I thought I would share some pictures and a quick video of the pull.

Gotta cut us some slack, it was the first time we'd pulled a motor so forgive me for the shift after the initial lift. We were cutting it pretty close to the Dist. but cleared everything and it sitting on a cradle ready to go!

Ben is in the boat and I'm driving the Bobcat.




Some pictures, in reverse order.

horkn wrote: I personally couldn't stand the sight of the nasty green exhaust manifolds.

Don't tell Keegan and Marty that!


Motor gets loaded up and taken to the shop tomorrow!

dont let them tell you, let them show you