Well the good news is the boat made it home...[or Dead Bronco needs a heart]

[Ingersoll444]

Spent a few days this weekend down at Cape cod. It was time to close up the house, and I have had my boat there the last 3 or so years, and it needs work, but never have the time to do it there. Well I headed down thrisday night, and spent all day friday getting the trailer all set. New tires, new bearings, lights all working, every thing went great. Spent all day sat eating and sleeping. REAL nasty day. Cold, pouring rain, and eaven got a covering of snow. :fing20:

Well sunday dawns, and I say good by to my wife and kid who came down in there own car, hooked up the trailer to the old Bronco and drove off. Towed WONDERFULL!! Best the trailer has ever towed. Nice smooth ride. Stable, enough power for the hills, brakeing was nice and streight, the whole deal. Well heading east on the Mass Pike, there is a BIG hill out of the berkseres. Right at the vary top is a rest aera....... Well right before that at the sign that says "reat stop 1mile" you would have seen a dead Bronco, and boat half on, and half off the road. :banghead3 :banghead3

Not sure what happand. it was going good, and maintaning a nice 55-60mph. She just started slowing down, then started spitting a bit, and luckly I founs a tiny aera with no gardrails, and started to pull off. Got ALMOST all the way foo and she just shut off.

Well, about two min later she puked. tryed to start it and no go. So about 1/2 hour later It fired. Talk about the hammers of He11!!!!!!!!!! Got it running enough to get off the road, but thats it. Shes DONE!!!!

Little miss 5.0 popped at least one rod. Not sure what happanded. All the guages were fine, and wile it was running about 4 grand, that is realy nothing for a 5.0L Ford. I am GUESSING probably the load popped the headgasket. Wonce the cyl filled with coolent, she hydrolocked. 4grand+hydrolocked cyl=BANG!!


So now to plan. Thinking of a junkyard 5.0. but if I go through the trubble I might as well swap to a 5.8. Or I have a old 351w out of my old Mustang, thats just sitting there in peices. Might convert that to FI and pop her in. The 5.0 was OK, but a little more cubes will do her well. Dont realy know what I am doing now. Probably comes down to cost. :fing20: :fing20:

[simple_john]

sounds like a worst case scenario... pulling a boat and breaking down.....
hope you have AAA, did you have to have both towed home

[Argee]

How'd you end up getting the boat home??? Was your wife far behind you in leaving??

[farmallmaniac]

Wow that does suck too bad you weren't closer to me cause I have a 5.0 engine I could sell ya for the block haha or just like you I have a 351W waiting

[Dachshund]

I knows the feeling! Was driving my wife's 1999 Eddie Bauer Expedition a couple of weeks ago. Got about 1/2 mile from the house, pulled up to a stopsign, and it just died. 120,000 miles on it. Locked up like a big dog. So I call my wife and she brings the 1997 F-150 (with 340,000 miles) and we tow her home. $3000 later, we have a crated motor setting in the back of the Expy, waiting for the mechanic to find time to install it (for $700). Can't figure it out - had only about 200 miles on an oil change, looked like it had 10,000 - oil was black as coal :omg: . Wife is antsy to have her car back.

[Ingersoll444]

well I do have aaa so that was good, but did have to pay to get the boat towed. The guy cut me a break becouse he was going there anyway, but still cost me $200 to tow it.

My wife was about 3 hours behind me, so I still beat her home anyway.

[USN_ED]

Bummer - It's a real pain in the ole patootie when ya break down on the side of the road.

If you've got a 5.0 on-hand as a doner from the Mustang, I'd go with that. At least ya know the history on it. Heck, ya might even go through it and freshen it up.

Keep us up to date on this.

[bobodu]

Had to look up Eddie Bauer....been wondering why the heck they named a TRUCK after a golfer!!!
Learn something new every day.... :fing20:
Suppose we'll see a Christopher Lowell stud finder?? ROF ROF

[Ingersoll444]

Bummer - It's a real pain in the ole patootie when ya break down on the side of the road.

If you've got a 5.0 on-hand as a doner from the Mustang, I'd go with that. At least ya know the history on it. Heck, ya might even go through it and freshen it up.

Keep us up to date on this.

Nope no 5.0 on hand. its a 351. It from my old 70 Mustang. I have about 90% of the parts to put it back together. freshened rods, new .030 over pistons, main studs, new ARP head bolts, ported, and milled, big valve heads. I have the cam also, but I think its going to be a little to hot for a FI truck though. I will have to find something else for it. So some michane work, a handfull of parts,like the 5.8L FI manafold, computer dist, some exoust work, and I should be set. Still checking to see if the 5.0 computer will work wiht the bigger cubes. Some say yes, some say no. So who knows.... still running it through the old head.

[USN_ED]

Paul -

Sorry I mis-read your thread.

The junkyard 5.0 doesn't seem to be a bad plan. See if the guy will let ya pull the plugs and do a compression check on it right there in the yard. If not, make sure he'll give you your money back if it doesn't check out ok at home.

The computer for the 5.0 should work ok with the 351 provided the 351 isn't too far out of spec. If it isn't compatible it will be a pain (but doable) to find a compatible computer.

Here's something you may want to try. Pull the heads while the engine is still in the Bronco and strip it right down to the short block and do an in-frame rebuild. Hone the cylinders and use over-size rings. Take the heads to a machine shop to redeck them and rebuild them and get a gasket kit for the rebuild. They sell rebuild kits with everything you need - pistons, wrist pins, rods, bearings, etc.

Of course there's always the easiest but most expensive way. Order a 5.0 crate engine from Ford or an outside source and do a swap. Not as much fun but much faster and easier than the other options.

What year is the Bronco? I've driven Fords for years and I don't think you'd notice that much difference between a 5.0 (302) or a 5.1 (351). You'd really notice the difference between your 5.0 (302) and a 460 (7.5) though.

[Greg]

bobodu...Eddie Baur, a local icon here...http://www.eddiebauer.com/about/company_info/main_page.asp

Paul, I'm glad you made it. I was going salmon fishing with a group of customers..their boat, and they hit every tavern from Seattle to the coast. We were just about there, when the station wagon started "fish tailing".... We looked back, and the boat was sliding back and forth all over the road, and the trailer was off the side. Seems the wheel bearing froze up and swung the back end so bad it broke the tie-downs. We got the boat off the road, and the guy driving went the last few miles, "borrowed" a trailer, and we hauled it to the marina.

I never went fishing with those guys again!

I hope you can solve the engine situation and get it back up and running. It should be like a new truck, with all the suspension work you did when you got it...

Uncle Greg

[dirtybernie]

paul. i have a 1988 5.0 out of a 4wd f150. it ran great when pulled but its been sitting for awhile so prob new gaskets\seals are in order. its going cheap but getting it to you is another story? as far as the 5.8 swap i know you will need an oil pan and im sure the intake isnt cheap but one other concern i have is the balance (i was told a 5.8vs 5.0 is balanced different ) so you might be flywheel searching to.

[Keweenaw4310]

I've driven Fords for years and I don't think you'd notice that much difference between a 5.0 (302) or a 5.1 (351). You'd really notice the difference between your 5.0 (302) and a 460 (7.5) though.

Isn't a 350 a 5.7?

[Greg]

Yep!

Uncle Greg

[Ingersoll444]

yes and a Ford 351 is called a 5.8L

[farmallmaniac]

well if you are gonna go with a 351 the Windsor is the best for your situation as its an easier swap then putting in a 351M in place of the 302 but you being a ford man obviously knew that lol. If you do this make a thread for sure as I'll be doing a 302 to 351W swap sometime in the future in my 1970 ford...

[USN_ED]

Guys, Guys, Guys,

Gimmie a slight break will ya??? I had a slight "Brain Fart" and it came out 5.1 instead of 5.8 . :fing20: See, I got my first Social Security check last week and I'm already on the slippery slope. ROF

The 350 (5.7) is a Chevy (GM) engine.

[drbailey]

I should sell this 5.0 HO , I dont think I will ever get the car done . :fing20:
its from a wrecked mustang donor car. 85,000 mile , a little over .
To make this engine work in a 50 Ford , I will order a wire harness that will except this engine and components. Ingersoll 444 you can do the same , to except the other engine. the proper computer come with the wire application.

[Ingersoll444]

Thats a sharp car you got there, and glad to see a Henry in it, then the normaly SBC swap.


From what I have found my computer, and harness will work fine with the 351.[yes a W, bo M's, or C's for me. Im a diehard W fan.] Luckly I have the latest setup compleat with a Mass air flow senser, and it will adjust its self. So looks like this is the rute I am taking. Finding 5.8 FI intakes going for around $100, and dist's about the same. Figure for the price of a drop in used doner engine, I can have my built up, fresh HP 351W in there. Truck always needed a little more punch anyway. I guess 100+HP increse and an eaven bigger tourke rise will do that for me. :D

[farmallmaniac]

paul do you know quite a bit about the W's? cause im gonna need alot of help with mine as I start my swap... before that though I wanna rebuild it and put more performance parts on it to freshen it up and was wondering if you would like to help me with guiding me towards the right parts and steps in doing all this...

[Ingersoll444]

Done a lot with W's. From stock, to miled, to a bit wild. Just ask away.

[Ingersoll444]

OK, well the Bronco is still sitting there. Still have not figured out what to do. Money is pretty tight, so I might have to go with the cheaper 5.0 used motor drop in. You still have the motor DB? might make a nice day trip if the price is right. :D

[Ingersoll444]

Well mowing time is coming. You sick of mowing around it yet?? I know I would be.


Oh wait this is mine isnt it? DOGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!


:D :D

[Splicer]

Hate it when that happens...

[farmallmaniac]

PAUL what are you doing with that bronco? give it to me!! please?

[Ingersoll444]

Well

I found a motor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A buddy picked up a 90 bronco for the body only. He has a new motor, and a rebuilt chassie so he is just taking the shell. Well it has a running 5.8L motor in it!! :D :D A few hundred bucks and its mine. Intake to oilpan. SWEEEETTTTTT!!!!!!!!!

[farmallmaniac]

yes!! I can't wait till you start that now! sweet!

[aeropaw]

Ingersoll I would check the trans / block bolt pattern before I spent any money on that 351. even the 351m is different than the 351w or the 351c. If you have a 5.0 your trans is probably a c4 the 351 bolts to a c6.

[Ingersoll444]

The 351W, and C share the same bolt pattern as the 5.o. Does need a diferent flywheel though. The balance is diferent. In the lat model trucks, the 5.0, and 5.8 used the same tranny.


Welcome to MTF.

[aeropaw]

glad to see you know your fords. I typically deal in chevy and am not ashamed to admit that I don't know my fords very well but, I was on the sidelines watching two of my buddies in a deal with an(m) and a(c) and they won't change and it got ugly and they still won't speak to this day. So every time I hear 351 I get nervous!!! congrats on scoring the 5.8

[Ingersoll444]

LOL ya the 351's were a little fun with Fords. 3 diferent ones, and there all diferent. Add to that the 427,428, and a 429 big block and things get confusing.

[Ingersoll444]

OK, well the Trucks moving from the back 40 up to the garage tonight. Well as long as the rain holds out. I got that line on the 5.8, but eaven if that falls through I still need to get started on it.


New thred to fallow!!

[farmallmaniac]

yes!! I've been waiting for this!! Can't wait