1972 f250- flywheel gone bad..i think????????????

[Dragon]

Something eats the starter and that has nothing to do with the bottom end. To check teh bottom end you need to raise the engine off its mounts a couple of inches and block it up. Drain the oil pan. Unbolt the oil pan and let it drop to the crossmember. Go to the front of the engine and remove the two oil pump bolts and let it drop in the pan.

Gently work the oil pan out to the front. Don't hit the radiator. Now you can check the rod bearings. All rods move very little but they do move. If the bearings are shot then the rods move a lot. The rear main cap holds the thrust bearing and seal. You can pull this cap off and then look at the condition of the main bearings. If this one is bad all of the mains are. It is the farthest from the oil pump.

[bsalem77]

is it easy to change rod bearings....and if this is the problem...would it really make my engine all jacked up like this.... cause something deffinately seems to be siezed up

[Dragon]

Put a large breaker and 15/16ths socket on the engine and with the tranny in park turn the engine.. If all the plugs are out is is not very hard to turn an engine. If seized it would be a mess to do.

Rod bearings aren't hard to change. You rotate the engine until one part of the crank(rod journal) is down at the bottom and unbolt them one at a time.

The things that seize in an engine. Rod bearings(usually if they seize the rod gets bent), Main bearings to crank this really makes a mess, Piston to the cylinder wall. All 3 problems could require machining of the crank or block to make it run right.

[fordman]

ok chirping from the belts would mean the engine is spinning. but not very fast you say.
slow turning of the engine could be. low battery dirty connection to the starter battery or starter fender relay. it could also be a bad starter. heat does kill these starters. it could also be bad bearings in the crank but lets leave that until last.

so i am guessing you have retried to start the truck when its cold? and it still does the same thing? slow turning and the chirping?

take a socket and put on the crankshaft bolt. i think it is a 15/16 socket. then using the ratchet or breaker bar try to turn the engine by hand and see how hard or easy it is to turn. if it is easy to turn its possible not the engine locking up. if it is hard to turn then you will want to remove the belts from the engine and try turning the crank again. if you still get it hard to turn then you might want o consider looking at the crank bearings.

what are the levels of coolant in the radiator and the oil?
what color is the oil and what does it smell like?
what kind of coolant does it have in it? antifreeze mix or plain water?

i had a very similar situation happen to my 4wd. i was going down the highway about 55. thats about top speed for that truck and gearing. and i started to hear a knocking. i pulled over and it died. i waited a few minutes and tried to start it. it did finally start. i turned it around on the highway and parked it on the other side of the road so i could come tow it back in the right direction.

when i got it home i figured the engine was done for. but i wanted to check it out before calling it quits. so i checked the oil. it was full. i then pulled the oil pan. and it had a little water in it from the engine sitting out without a hood on the truck. the oil pump screen had little bits of silicone gasket making material in it plus it just looked dirty. i had tired to start the truck before and was getting screeching sounds. so after i cleaned everything and replaced the oil and filter. i kept hearing this small screeching sound. but once the oil got to the engine again the noise went away. and i only had a starter noise. grumbling. i think its the wrong starter. its for a automatic and the transmission is manual. well to make a long story short. if the chirping is coming from the crank and or bearings area. one thing to do is to make sure the oil pump screen is clean and clear. make sure the oil pump shaft is in good condition. make sure the oil pump isn't seized up. then you will want to check the bearings last. even if it means removing the oil pan twice. i know it is a crappy job but it will possibly save you some bull if you don't have to pull it a second time and torque the rods back down. after you have checked the bearings.
maybe yours is too far gone i dont know but that is what to check first.

[bsalem77]

so where exactly is the oil pump and filter located

[Dragon]

Filter on the front driver's side of the engine. The oil pump is directly below the distributor on the bottom of the engine inside the oil pan. That is why you lower the pan then have to reach in and undo the pump. It then lays in to pan so you can get the pan off.

[Alvin in AZ]

whats the best and easiest way to retract the transmission from the engine...
i dont have any proper equipment to do this...just a 3000lb jack...

This is my favorite way to do it but the transmission only weighs ~150 pounds...
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/hoist1.jpg
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/hoist2.jpg

I've done it many times (before I bought the engine hoist) with cement blocks and 2x4's. From above
you can lift it and have a helper remove or add some blocks, up or down it's the same process really.
Remember it only weighs about 150 pounds without the bell housing on it. You can do this! :) Many
have, and without the assistance of guys on the internet too. ;)

http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/guidepins.jpg
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/guidepin.jpg

IMO and IME, don't bother to try putting it back together without guide pins. ;) They are too easy to
make and last forever, I made those in ~Nov '79 and used them last in Nov of '09. Two 7/16" grade-5
bolts and I suggest one 6" and the other 5+1/2" or maybe even 5"? I just made another one, it's 5+1/2"
just to try it out on the next install. :)

I use them to remove the transmission too. With the front resting on the guide pins and the rear resting
on it's un-bolted crossmember the whole works slide in and out like it's on rails! :) Try it, you'll like it. ;)

Pros with their fancy transmission jacks and getting the vehicle high enough to walk under (and them
being in a big hurry too!) do better from underneath, not us, IMO, we do better lifting and lowering it
from above.

Alvin in AZ

[70_F100]

whats the best and easiest way to retract the transmission from the engine...
i dont have any proper equipment to do this...just a 3000lb jack...

This is my favorite way to do it but the transmission only weighs ~150 pounds...
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/hoist1.jpg
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/hoist2.jpg

I've done it many times (before I bought the engine hoist) with cement blocks and 2x4's. From above
you can lift it and have a helper remove or add some blocks, up or down it's the same process really.
Remember it only weighs about 150 pounds without the bell housing on it. You can do this! Many
have, and without the assistance of guys on the internet too.

http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/guidepins.jpg
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/guidepin.jpg

IMO and IME, don't bother to try putting it back together without guide pins. They are too easy to
make and last forever, I made those in ~Nov '79 and used them last in Nov of '09. Two 7/16" grade-5
bolts and I suggest one 6" and the other 5+1/2" or maybe even 5"? I just made another one, it's 5+1/2"
just to try it out on the next install.

I use them to remove the transmission too. With the front resting on the guide pins and the rear resting
on it's un-bolted crossmember the whole works slide in and out like it's on rails! Try it, you'll like it.

Pros with their fancy transmission jacks and getting the vehicle high enough to walk under (and them
being in a big hurry too!) do better from underneath, not us, IMO, we do better lifting and lowering it
from above.

Alvin in AZ

ita a 390 6.4 l automatic

It doesn't quite work that way with an automatic, Alvin...

(Guess you missed that part, huh???)

[Alvin in AZ]

ita a 390 6.4 l automatic

It doesn't quite work that way with an automatic, Alvin...
(Guess you missed that part, huh???)

Yeah. :) I for sure missed that part and then up and ASSumed
it was a manual transmission since it was about a flywheel. ;)

But what parts don't apply tho? :)

Butthead in AZ

[Dragon]

the automatic has to come almost straight up and then in because the bell housing. It need to come right up close to the flex plate. Once you lifted it close the guide pins could be inserted and then it could slide forward. Just no guide pins in first.

[Ranchero50]

Called Ben up earlier, he says he's going to pull the motor out / apart and figure it out. Suspects it spun a bearing. Was running 70mph for a couple hours and it died. Wouldn't crank over, lights went dim etc.

Pulled the belts off and it turns over freely but won't crank completely over.

Pulled the water pump and timing cover off to check the cam timing, looked good so he's going to pull it and check the bottom end plus put another flexplate on.

Jamie

[Dragon]

We had valves get bent and stop an otherwise free spinning motor to stop cranking.

[Ranchero50]

I had a 289 do the same thing years ago but it got hot, had been sitting in a parts car for a decade or two, put it in the daily driver and tried to do a two hour interstate haul... Made it 40 miles before the temp light came on. First time I've ever seen old oil boiling on the intake

Jamie