#1 Top Dead Center HaHaHa.....

[fire truck]

So I decided I would fire up the parts truck this weekend and drive it of the trailer. The PO had tried to fix it and had the plug wires all hosed up. I cranked it to make sure the engine wasn't froze and it spun over nice. I pulled the #1 plug to see when it was at TDC to put it in time (or 180 out LOL). Lucky me, it was at TDC. I set the wires in the cap to match it. Turned it over, no fire. Pulled #1 plug and it was sparking. I noticed the lack of air blowing out of the hole. I cranked the engine and watched the piston as the engine spun. I watched the piston stay at TDC....it's weird, it doesn't knock or anything. I have to file this one in the first time I've seen that file.... I would just chuck this engine since I have a few other FEs, but I'm going to tear it down just to see WTF is going on in there....

[71 Ranger]

Wow bummer, dude. I bet the rod broke really close to the big end, or the cap just fell right off. Makes for a funny story, though.

[Ranchero50]

Been there, mine had broken the cam as well so the only thing turning was the distributor and oil pump...

Jamie

[fire truck]

Wow bummer, dude. I bet the rod broke really close to the big end, or the cap just fell right off. Makes for a funny story, though.

That is my guess. This just caps off my other fun this week. A guy delivered a diesel truck here with and engine on a pallet in the bed for me to swap out. I put the engine in, fired it right up. It runs real nice for having a cracked piston.

[bb429power]

i was thinking it was a broken rod too.

[Dragon]

A broken rod in an FE would be really rare the rods are just soft enough they don't break. I have blown motors, the rods just bent. Most likely since there is no noise the piston broke up above the wrist in at one of the ring lands. I have had that happen with a cast piston in a FE before.

[fire truck]

Thant makes sense. I'll pull the heads sometime this week and find out.

[fuzzier1]

A broken rod in an FE would be really rare the rods are just soft enough they don't break. I have blown motors, the rods just bent. Most likely since there is no noise the piston broke up above the wrist in at one of the ring lands. I have had that happen with a cast piston in a FE before.

Not saying that you are wrong.... (there always has to be a but in things) BUT years ago my cousin had a 69 Mach 1 with a 390 that he had done a TON of work on, it was the fastest car in the county for awhile. Anyways one COLD morning he went out to go to work, when he started it up it loaded up on him so he opened the throttle to clear it out. It revved up to probably 4500 rpm. One of the pistons cold seized in the cylinder and snapped the rod right off. He had to get to work so he drove it anyway and beat the HELL out of the cylinder with the broken rod. My point being FE rods can break.

Fuzz

[Dragon]

Like I said really rare.

I blew an internal balance 428 in my A/G racer at 8000 rpm in 4th with the front wheels about 6 inches in the air. The #3 rod bolt stretched and the nut came off. #7 shattered the piston #3 shattered the piston and the rod cap straightened out but did not crack #3 rod tore holes in the water jacket and was setting at the top of the bore when done and laterally twisted and hammered. #7 was wrapped around the #3-7 rod journal with no breaks with it's rod cap intact. #7 piston was gone to pieces from the wrist pin hole down. I could stick my fist into the engine from the driver's side and wave it around the hole went from main web to main web and partway up into the #7 water jacket. Pieces of #3 piston was in number 2 cylinder and in #4 and #6 intake runners and one piece holding the intake open in #7.

If he broke a FE rod is had a defect or was not stock rods. That 428 had stock heavily worked on factory rods that were shot peened to relieve the stress as a final step. That Mach 1 390 was not stock and turning 6500.