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sludge SOLVED

anyone changed a gasket on these ?  Its a 1990 bronco 351 and i wondered if the oil pan will come off if i jack up the motor or will it just dangle due to not clearing the pump.  If it comes out then ill make my own gasket,, if it wont clear then im gonna go buy the gasket.

sludge SOLVED

Reply #1 –
It's a dozen years since I've done a Ford oil pan (hell, I was in trade school), but I seem to remember unbolting the pickup tube and letting it fall into the pan, then pulling the pan out. Reinstalling it was a bitch, but it got the job done...
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

sludge SOLVED

Reply #2 –
ok,, i need some help here,,,,,, THIS ENGINE WAS SOMEONES EXPERIMENT WITH STOP LEAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
evidently my brother in law did not want to change the valve cover gaskets and decided stop leak was a good idea.  This engine seems to have what appears to be 40 years of sludge atop the heads. 
Any advice as to what to do next cause this stuff looks like cake frosting.:yuck:

My thoughts are to loosen up and shop vac up the most of the "frosting":giggle: then with the residual, soak it down and let the junk run out the bottom.  My oil pan is down but not out and the engine is up a couple inches so i have to do the work on the oil pan like this.

still, i dont feel comfortable with the sludge.  I use to tell people that if there is sludge,, dont bother it,, just leave it be or else your gonna have goop and grit running around in the engine.

WTF to do? 

help.

sludge SOLVED

Reply #3 –
my dad had a 95 dodge and the sludge had actually crystalized in the lifter valley to the point you could see an imprint of the bottom of the intake in it. To make a long story short it kept fowling up the oil pump cause parts of it would fall off as the engine ran. I think they put 4 oil pumps in it before I finally took the whole thing apart to see what the deal was. If it was mine Id do what I could to get every bit of that I could  out of it since you have it tore down some anyway.
If it's hard stuff try chipping it down with something and using the shop vac like you said.  If it's slimey stuff possibly a degreaser or something followed by a good vacuum with the shop vac?
87 T-bird two tone diarrhea color. 5.0 converted with AOD.  GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
 
94 Lincoln Towncar, Dark Metallic Green, 4.6L AOD
SOLD!!!!
 
99 Mercury Cougar. V6 MTX75 Trans. CURRENT PROJECT DAILY DRIVER.

sludge SOLVED

Reply #4 –
i ended up plugging off the oil return holes with a short section of vac line.  Of course i had to unclog them also:mad:
i reduced the end of my shop vac and with the help of simple green, i have one head done.
this engine isnt bad to work on,,, its the vehicle that sits so high that makes it a pita.
all is going well so far:D

my upper intake was saturated so i figure i have something messed up.
i put vac on the egr and it does not hold vac worth a .

sludge SOLVED

Reply #5 –
Quote from: jcassity
this engine isnt bad to work on,,, its the vehicle that sits so high that makes it a pita.
all is going well so far:D

Justdo what I used to do when working on SUV's (I'm 6'3" so height normally wouldn't be an issue, but I had a drive on hoist, which raised the vehicle another 6"): Let the air out of the front tires. It makes a big difference when working under the hood :hick:
2015 Mustang GT Premium - 5.0, 6-speed, Guard Green - too much awesome for one car

1988 5.0 Thunderbird :birdsmily: SOLD SEPT 11 2010: TC front clip/hood ♣ Body & paint completed Oct 2007 ♣ 3.55 TC rear end and front brakes ♣ TC interior ♣ CHE rear control arms (adjustable lowers) ♣ 2001 Bullitt springs ♣ Energy suspension poly busings ♣ Kenne Brown subframe connectors ♣ CWE engine mounts ♣ Thundercat sequential turn signals ♣ Explorer overhead console (temp/compass display) ♣ 2.25" off-road dual exhaust ♣ T-5 transmission swap completed Jan 2009 ♣

sludge SOLVED

Reply #6 –
questions
couldnt i fab up a block off gasket for the egr so the evp still signals the eec? 

delete the coolant path for the upper intake?

sound good?


The cats are gutted at the moment:D

On an interesting side note,,,,,,, Is the middle left upper intake bolt on the 5.0 a torx bolt?  I was buzzing right along removing the uppper bolts and was like ,,,,,WTF!!!!!!!!.  I had to hop down and find the torx bit that fit and fab up an flexable extention so i could get it out.  Is there a reason for this and does the 5.0 have the same bolt?  BTW,, the darn thing was loose also so i must be finding little things that will improve matters in the long run.

sludge SOLVED

Reply #7 –
Quote
Is the middle left upper intake bolt on the 5.0 a torx bolt?
  Not on any 5.0 I've seen.  Aftermarket bolt more than likely.
-- 05 Mustang GT-Whipplecharged !!
--87 5.0 Trick Flow Heads & Intake - Custom Cam - Many other goodies...3100Lbs...Low12's!

sludge SOLVED

Reply #8 –
On your egr valve I was thinking actually that they made an EGR Valve eliminator.  It might not be a total waste of time to look and see if you can run across one.

On the coolant lines for the upper Id leave them open. If nothing else it's going to keep the temp of the intake cooler which is supposed to make more HP or something like that according to all the aftermarket cooling items.

On your bolt I'm with paul I've never seen a torx bolt in the intake either. Just a suggestion which you probably already thought of is replacing it with a normal bolt so theyre all the same socket if you have to take it back apart.
If you don't have one to use try your local hardware store. Autozone was going to charge me over a buck a bolt for the ones in the center of my intake.
Hardware store had them for like 56 cents a bolt. I saved  near a buck a bolt just by using the hardware store items. Since its not a high pressure area at the moment I don't think it should make that big of a difference that they're not auto bolts. Just ideas to try and help out after all the help you've gave me with my wiring.
87 T-bird two tone diarrhea color. 5.0 converted with AOD.  GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
 
94 Lincoln Towncar, Dark Metallic Green, 4.6L AOD
SOLD!!!!
 
99 Mercury Cougar. V6 MTX75 Trans. CURRENT PROJECT DAILY DRIVER.

sludge SOLVED

Reply #9 –
this is a 5.8L and i noticed that it must have been factory set in because when i tried to install a hex bolt, i was not able to get a socket on it due to congestion of the upper intake.  this engine is pretty much virgin under the hood so i suspect its oem.

sludge SOLVED

Reply #10 –
ok
update on the sludge and what situation i am in.  1990 Ford Bronco 351W

I ended up using a shop vac to remove the frosting like sludge from the heads and touched things up with simple green, and small scrub brush and the shop vac again.

The oil return holes were clogged up real bad as well and i did my best to do what i could in removing the debris.  I finally ended up running a section of 12ga ac wire down in both oil return holes in the head and worked it down as far as i could back and forth.

all said and done, i replaced the oil pan gasket and both valve covers.  I should have left the sludge alone becaue now i seem to loose oiil presure after i drive for about 1 mile.  When i let off the gas, the presure comes back.  If i let it sit for a while, the presure is more stable and takes longer before it gives me trouble. 

I did not have any issues other than leaks prior to this task so i ask anyone for advice cause i think im screwed just by doing some basic stuff on a perfectly good bronco.


Seafoam????

sludge SOLVED

Reply #11 –
when you knocked all the sludge down into the oil pan it might have clogged up the oil pump screen, which would explain the loss in pressure because the pump would be starved for oil, but technicly the oil pressure should have went down anyways because its free'er flowing now that there isnt so much restricting flow...

how low does it get?

sludge SOLVED

Reply #12 –
if im not careful,, and i mean real careful,, it will null out to nothing.
I dont hear mains or rods,, i hear rockers and valves tapping when the light finally comes on.  the guage drops slowly but speeds up in its decent the longer it is driven.

Im confussed on what is clogged where but i know one thing,, the oil sender sees no presure at a certain point so thats probably where ill focus.

perhaps i need to take the valve covers off again and investigate,,,:mad: how fun,,,:mad:

sludge SOLVED

Reply #13 –
i think the screen is getting clogged up.
when it warms up , eventually i start to loose oil presure.  If i stop and restart after just a couple minutes or longer, i have oil presure again but it soon starts to fall.

If i were to use air presure to blow out the screen from where the oil filter screws on,, which port would that be?  would it be the threaded tube or the other opening?  I wanna see if it is fact the screen or not.  I can flush out the pan easily by either the drain plug or pouring solvent in the valve cover and let it run out the pan.

anyone know the flow of the oil filter housing?
 

sludge SOLVED

Reply #14 –
well,, its done and oil presure is back.
I dropped the oil pan and cleaned out the oil sump by removing it ,, used gas to flush out the pan.  I never thought i would ever own a car with that much  in the screen.  This is the best lubrication this engine has probably seen in years.

now i can get back on the coug,,, sheshhhhhh the distractions:D