Ford 460 engine questions/issues

[TheWanderer]

Hey everyone, new to the forums and new to RV ownership. (Owned about 2 months now).
Firstly, HI! nice to join a community of like minded travelers!

I own a 26 foot 1988 ford gulfstream rv.

Ok so I am doing a fairly major overhaul on the Ford E350 v8 460 block engine. It has had a handful of things replaced already (starter, map sensor, pcv valve and tubing, spark plugs, etc etc.) and now I am working on lifting the engine to access the oil pump and crankshaft bearings. I just had a couple things I have run into I am unsure on.
Firstly, does anyone who has done work on this engine have any further tips for oil pan removal?? I have never had to go through so much just to get the dang oil pan off on a vehicle! The frame is 1 inch below the 7 inch deep oil pan. So in order to get the pan off and around the oil pump and crank and such, I have to lift the motor at least 5-6 inches. That meant removing a LOT including the throttle body, which leads me to my second question.
I cannot seem for the life of me to find a matching replacement for my bottom gasket for the throttle body, where it mounts to the engine. I will try and link a photo of it to show what mine looks like, but i cannot seem to find a replacement anywhere! It flaked some upon removal of the throttle body.


Thanks in advance for any advice or help!! I am quickly learning a LOT about this engine and RV with all the work i am doing. (I was basically scammed in purchasing a used RV. Tip for others/the future, GET SOMEONE TO INSPECT IT FIRST!)

Hope y'all have a great day, happy trails!

[MEXICOWANDERER]

In my early mechanical years, I painfully learned I did not know and it was too costly to learn the hard way about how to rebuild an engine so as to mimic exactly the performance and longevity of a new car engine. So did 90% of the rebuilt engines I bought. They leaked and burned oil. High volume oil pumps are a farce. I learned for racing only a high volume HIGH-PRESSURE oil pump does a damned thing different than a standard oil pump. The camshaft grinds provided less power on more gasoline. I purchased a fuel saver grind of CRANE cam which provided far less power on the same MPG. All the misfit engines burned far more oil and delivered far fewer horsepower.
I was introduced to factory OEM replacement transmissions. GM Mr. Goodwrench trannys came with improved valve bodies with far less porosity that caused longevity issues. Double hardened gearsets and redesigned reaction shafts for the torque converter. You'll get this is a standard shop rebuilt tranny? Keep dreaming.

Factory rebuilt alternators impressed me and that ain't something trivial. I re-tested rectifiers to MY standards and never found a bad one. They resued only original rotors and stators. Raised my eyebrows.

But to simply slap bearings and rings into an engine is a recipe for disappointment. The extra fuel and oil to be consumed make this choice a real loser in my book.

[RLS7201]

TheWanderer wrote:

I already ordered the high volume pump a while back, but you think that could cause issues? It looks exactly like the one that i took out.

If you intend to use that HV pump, double pin the distributor gear to the shaft. Or install a larger pin. It will shear with added load.
Go to the site I suggested and listen to the professional engine builders.

Richard

[Big_Katuna]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Ford reman long block engines are excellent. Act like a brand new engine.

That’s what I was thinking. The learning curve on engine rebuilds is painful.

[TheWanderer]

Thanks! Yeah I did see the info on the rear seal crush, definitely going to have to research the specs for that.
I already ordered the high volume pump a while back, but you think that could cause issues? It looks exactly like the one that i took out.
I am not looking to have everything 100% perfect for this engine (nor do I have the time/money to do a full overhaul), just good enough to run for a couple years or so (fingers crossed)
Right now the plan is Oil pump, oil pan and gasket, main bearings, rod bearings, ensure the crank is in good order, timing chain, starter, gaskets and seals, and of course full fluids change in the process ( with Lucas additive for both the oil and transmission fluid.)

Also already changed the map sensor, pcv valve, purge valve solenoid, all spark plugs, and checked/replaced all the hoses.

[RLS7201]

That engine has experienced a high degree of oil failure. I'm not saying any thing about brands, just that the delivery system has failed for some reason or other. I took my 95 class A 460 down at 140,000 miles and the bottom end was still good. All bearings had plenty of babbitt on them. I took my engine down to add a stroker crank. Do NOT install a high pressure or high volume oil pump. You'll only be adding load to the cam gear and the distributor. A standard millings pump is all you need. For some really great 460 guidance, go to https://www.460ford.com/forum/37-engine-tech/
Also, while on the 460ford site, inquire about rear main seal crush. You don't want to drop that pan again!

Richard

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Ford reman long block engines are excellent. Act like a brand new engine.

[TheWanderer]

[TheWanderer]

[TheWanderer]

Ok so pretty big update. Got the crankshaft out!
The bearings look ROUGH for "47k miles"...
Wondering if it was rolled over. Also it seems the wear isnt very even? Is that common? The crankshaft looks in good shape but I wont know until I get the correct micrometer in the mail. The bearings are lined up back-to-front as top-to-bottom in the photos.
I ordered materials to do a more-or-less proffessional polish job on the crank but now I am unsure after seeing the wear on the bearings if I may HAVE to have it machined.
I am also a bit concerned about some discoloration under the pistons ahere3 the rods connect.
I am just going to throw some photos I got up, and ig anyone feels like giving me some observations I would appreciate it! This is my first time doing work of this level. Thanks in advance!!

[JRscooby]

For the dipstick tube, I have just welded them back together. One truck I bought somebody had split a piece of copper and formed a tight sleeve then soldered it in place...

[TheWanderer]

Or, does anyone happen to know a reliable way to repair a cleanly sheared off oil dipstick tube? I thought about J-B Weld, but not too sure about that.

[TheWanderer]

Hey everyone!

Been a little while but I am still chipping away after work. Finally got the transmission off, engine raised all the way up, oil pan removed, oil pump and Screen removed, and getting close to starting to remove the crank and mic it and replace bearings (I am now doing both rod and main bearings, might as well.)
Ran into a little snag though... the dipstick tube for the oil pan sheared off about 2" away from the pan in the process of raising and removing the oil pan.
It is the screw in style dipstick, and measures about 35 inch or so in length. I cannot seem to find this anywhere online. Looked on RockAuto, Advanced Auto, Amazon, Etc.
There is some flexible screw in style dipsticks that are only 18 in in length for nearly $50, but I am not sure how I would even make those work for this purpose.
Anyone happen to know where I can find a replacement dipstick tube?

[T18skyguy]

The forum you want is Ford-trucks.com It has an engine section devoted to all the different types. There's a lot of people in there that know their engines. You want to click on forums, then to performance engine troubleshooting, then click on 460.

[ajriding]

I had a 1995 460. It is a big engine!!!

You should check on Ford Econoline forums instead of a camper forum. They are the same as a van. The engine is the same wether on a passenger van or a camper or a moving van.
Yours would be considered a "cutaway van" since it would have come from Ford with the back 75% of the body "cut away" or cut off.

The Ford forums will have almost exclusively readers who are working on their van. RV.net is an RV site and full of people who can tell you how you need to take it to a mechanic because you do not already know the answers you are looking for (funny). You will get answers that you need here, but there will be 100 times more answers on a van repair forum.

I would just post here for things more related to there being a camper on that van chassis.

There probably are a few modifications Ford made for the cutaway vans like more heavy-duty this or that which most passenger vans will not have, so in that case RV sites can be useful too. My cutaway had a bigger oil pan if I remember correctly, and dually axle in the rear, but the rest was just a van.

[TheWanderer]

Oh wow what a complete answer. 😄
Thank you very much! I thought it might have been something along those lines. Will definitely be replacing tbe connecting hose. 🙂