sel

i was woundering how do i change the rod and main bearings through the oil pan...i dont have the means to pull the engine and i dont plan on grinding the crank...i just want another 5yrs out of the engine and then i can afford to poke and stroke it...so if anyone could help id appreciate it

Fast Hampster

Rod bearings are "easy" to change, comparing to main ones. THe upper half of main bearings will be almost inaccessable, you'll have to remove front and rear engine covers to get any space for that operation, and it will still be a real pain. I think that taking off the hood and using any possible place to mount a winch to pull out the engine will make things a lot easier for you. By the way - what's so wrong with your oil pressure?

sel

it starts out normal and then it goes down as i drive...i was just reading in another thread that it might be a cloged screen in my oil pickup...how do i take the pickup off do u know...when i drained the oil a minute ago i seen how black and thick the oil is so now im thinkin it might be that..they just told me that one rod bearing was gone when i bought it..said they took it into a service station and thats what they told them....but really now that i think about it the oil pressure should always be low if the bearing was bad...what u think?

Fast Hampster

Well if it is a rod bearing, oil pressure will probably show it, because if one is out it meand all others must be worn out, and usually you can hear rod bearing knocking on idles and (or) under load - it sounds like a pretty bad diesel engine, loud and clear. I'm not sure if it is a clogged oil pickup, but anyway it can be accessed only with removed oil pan. Rod bearings are not very hard to change if you can remove the oil pan without pulling an engine. Do a search at the forum - i'me seen some info about it here. If you'll remove ignition plugs that will give you the ability to move rods and rotate crankshaft so your tools could fit. You will not have a lot of space in there. You'll have to watch for pistons not to come out of cylinders, ans also to be careful not to scratch inner cylinder surface with rods. You'll need a torque wrench for this, and be careful to install bearing covers exactly like they were. Some more about oil pressure - if it gets lower as the engine is warming up - it's ok, because as the temp rises, the oil viscosity lowers. I think you should start with a pressure test at idle and at about 2000 rpm with warm engine. Do you have any info about when was the oiil changed last time before you did it today ? If it was changed more than 10.000 miles ago you can have any miracles in your oil system, like blocked oil channel inside of a block.

sel

when i changed the oil there wasnt much oil in the filter if that tells a tail....i realized i cant take the pan off without a air gun....not enough room with the cross member there for a ratchet

Fast Hampster

measure oil pressure - it will provide some more info about oil system condition. Engine mounts must be loosened and engine must be lifted as high as possible for pan removal.

Good old Bill

The whole job can be done with hand tools, in fact i would recommend it. All the pan bolts on a 302 are 5/16 or 1/2 socket. There are 4 bolts that are 3/8 or 9/16 socket. Buy yourself a flexsocket, 1/2 and you should be be good to go. The four bolts nest to the crankshaft should be accessable with an extension. Basic rules to adhere to. change rod bearings one rod at a time and be observant of the cap direction. Mains, have to be all loosened but still need to be changed one at a time. Again watch position of all main caps and rod caps. Do not interchange or reverse direction. Reason for all mains to be loosened is so crankshaft pressure up is lessened to allow easier rolling out and in of bearings. One last word of caution is the rod with the bad bearing. If it had spun, the rod needs to be replaced. Talk more later if you decide to go ahead. PS, hope you like to eat oil, it will drip in your mouth, nose and eyes. Pulling the engine is much cleaner.

sel

lol brother im a industrial mechanic(millwright union local 2262)...i know what oil tastes like lol, which really isnt a good thing walkin out of a mill with a black face with clean lips(ate it off)...i install and fit all different types of bearings all the time....just wanted to get some tips on what ill be getting into so i dont have to do the dreaded ****!! i should have done this first...haha...thanks for all the help guys...u sure i cant just drop the pain and slide in out towards the rear of the truck other then lifting the engine

Fast Hampster

To remove a pan without lifting an engine seems possible to me only if you're very good tetris player. Just kidding. As far as i know you'll have to lift it for that, and may be you'll even have to disconnect it from gearbox.

Good old Bill

Do believe it will be necessary to lift the engine, don't forget to loosed fan shroud from radiator or its crunch time. Had one truck older than yours, pan went to the front to get it out. Also removing oil pump from its mounting will give more room.