Tony71502

Hi,

Here's the scenario. My 91 LX is burning oil quickly (enough that the oil light comes on less than 500 miles after filling up). I'm trying to avoid spending very much money on the stock 302 because.... its not worth it, we all know that(not to mention I have other projects that deserve the money).

Today im going to do a compression test when I get off of work. Assuming that my compression is fine and the oil leak is from valves( I didnt mention that the 1.7 rocker arms cause valve float and I believe the oil leak is resulting from missing a shift and putting the motor well past the initial floating rpm, thus leading me to believe my oil problem is from a messed up valve guide or valve), I would like to take a set of spare e7 heads with 50-60k miles on them, clean them up, and install new hardware. Also assuming that my piston heads are not damaged from valve float, I would just like to tear off my heads and replace them with ported e7s w/ new hardware(stiffer springs for 1.7 rockers) and also port the intake manifold and put on a larger bore tb and egr.

I want to know if its imperitive that the heads go to a machine shop to be decked or will I be able to chance it. The heads that are going on as well as the block/heads that are in there have never been overheated from a head gasket failure and should remain unwarped.

Any other advice would help alot as I am a newbie when it comes to specs, not the theory. Should I get larger valves? What spring rate is needed?(im sure comp cams will tell me). What are the chances that my rotating assembly is damaged from hitting a valve. My car runs very strong now and my only gripe is the oil leak/blue smoke from passenger side pipe. Would it be possible to use a slightly nicked piston head and just replace the ****ty valvetrain? Seeing as how the pistons that are in there now perform perfectly.

Im planning on using the stock cam and as mentioned a ported set of e7s and stock intake.

Thanks for whatever advice I can get.

jtmustang

kjust take some kind of strait edge and anyting under .03 to .05 is fine

jtmustang

i would replace the bad piston/pistons while your in there i would just look for another good running longblock and then throw your acc's on there and be done with it it thats all your lookin for..

Tony71502

Thanks for the numbers on the feeler check.

I was hoping to avoid removing my engine though, that is why I'm a bit reluctant to replace the pistons.

If the pistons are damaged then the plan is to pull the 302 and have it bored 30 over, throw in some new 306 piston heads, and continue the previous build(although im considering e303 and going back to 1.6 rockers).

Thanks again and can anyone let me know how much a slightly nicked piston would cause driveability issues.

Sidewayz6.0

Your best bet is to look on ebay. (I've done this twice now) There is a place on the east coast that sells Exporer/Mountaineer engines complete for $200. They come with GT40 heads and intakes.

They will ship the motor to you, for whatever the shipping is, and then you'll have a set of GT40's and a GT40 intake.

You'll be surprised at the gains you'll get from that.

mjr46

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you keep assuming things are good and your gonna waste a lot of time doing a rebuild and not solve your problem and a compression test means nothing if an oil control ring is toasted, a leak down test should be performed