Dipstick

Hey Everyone,

So my wife and I just moved into a new house with a two-car garage . . . nay, Man Cave. I'm about to have a bit of time off from work and finally have the time and location to start giving my tired mustang some much needed TLC.

Next week I'm going to start to pull the engine to do just a stock overhaul. This is my first time doing this, so I want to make sure I have everything I need.

What kind of special tools should i have on hand? Already on the list: Torque Wrench, Piston Ring Pliers, piston ring compressor, feeler guage, plastiguage, engine hoist, engine stand . . . anything else?

And what are some "best practice" tips that might not show up in a book or a video?

Thanks for all the help!

mattdel

The very first thing you need to do: buy a box of 100 sandwich bags, and a sharpie.
Keeping track of your bolts and knowing where they go will save you hours and hours of time at the end of this project. Don't underestimate the power of forgetfulness.

Everything else, you pretty much got handled. If you're planning on keeping your current(old) valvetrain, you might want to invest in one of those holders they make for pushrod/rocker arm combo's. They need to go back in the same spot they came from.

I recommend an air compressor, for obvious reasons, but also a 90 degree cut-off tool with a cookie wheel (for cleaning old gaskets). A straight razor works, but you can't beat a cookie wheel in terms of speed.

Dipstick

Thanks for the tips with the sandwich bags. I guess alot of pictures should help a bit too. Also forgot to mention I bought a metal stamping kit for this project too (can't be too careful).

I've been shopping around for air compressors alot lately, and it has me in a bit of a bind. I intend to paint the car myself down the road, so I want a compressor that reaches the recommended CFM and PSI for an HVLP paint gun . . . unfortunately it seems like all these compressors are upwards of fifteen hundred dollars!

mattdel

Yeah, unfortunately big air costs big money. Shop around on craigslist for used ones, or keep an eye out for small-time shops around you that possibly close down. Sometimes they have an estate sale or similar. My little 30 gallon Husky compressor came with a spray gun, and claims it can handle it, but I doubt it's a quality gun, and I've never used it. Its sufficient for my other tools though. Runs my 750ft lb Snapon gun with relative ease, and my air wratchets and cutoff tools work flawlessly.

Another note about the bolts: parts that have more than a few bolts tend to use different length bolts in different spots. Come up with a way to mark them for the holes that they come out of in that case. Off the top of my head, the cylinder heads and the water pump both have different length bolts securing them.

Dipstick

I guess I might go with a smaller compressor for now, maybe pick one up on a nice holiday sale!

And as far as the bolts go, I'll see what I can do with some masking tape and a sharpie.

What are some items that are a "must replace" when doing this? I've heard and read that the oil pump is a must, but what about Cam bearings? How long are they supposed to last?

mattdel

As a general rule I like to follow for internal engine work, if I took it's component out, I'm replacing the bearing. I follow the same rule for gaskets, whether or not they "maybe" could be reused. Sometimes its not necessary, but if you're planning an overhaul, cam/crank bearings and such will come with it. Anything else is pretty much as-needed. You'll be taking the water pump off so hopefully you'll replace that. Clean out your EGR system with some high pressure air, and a small pick + carb cleaner for the valve itself. Ya know.. stuff like that.

Dipstick

Sounds like a good plan to me.

I'm really curious to open this thing up, the guy I bought it from said "Yeah it just got rebuilt 15k miles ago". I didn't believe him then and DEFFINITELY don't believe him now - the rear main seal is leaking and I've got low compression on two cylinders. On top of that, he claimed it was all stock but the cam deffinitely doesn't sound like it. I guess we'll see!

projectresto83

When you tear it down to be rebuilt have the machine shop install the cam bearings to save you the hassle.

Ignorant people change out just the cam so they can have the lopey sound.....changing out the cam really doesn't do anything for performance (depends on cam BUT the most common ones)...some have even had a power loss on the dyno after just a cam swap.

Also, if the mods in your sig are your only ones you DO NOT need the 24lb injectors....

also.....
https://mustangforums.com/forum/5-0l...bers-read.html

tinman

I'd use a new, high quality (ARP) oil pump driveshaft.
I think I'd use new fastners on all the stress parts of the engine....

Five0hFox

My HVLP only requires 9CFM which can be achieved with a cheaper compressor. The 60 gal Kobalt at lowes is only $500 and puts out 13.4CFM @ 40 psi, which is enough for a Devilbiss Finishline III gun (requires 13CFM @ 23 psi)