So what turned into to simple"lets pull the motor out and replace the ticking lifter" and put it all back in, turned in to a HUGE mess. The list of resusable parts was quickly going from some to none. Got the motor out of the engine bay and started to pull the bellhouseing off only to find that the pressure plate had 2 of the bolts helicoiled,And marked "BAD" with a red paint pen. on the housing the pressure plate was so bad you could count all 15 grooves in it, it also looked a freshly turned brake rotor. The fly wheel looked like it had been turned twice to many and had heat cracks all over, so that explained my clutch chatter.On to the motor pulled the intake off at first glance didnt look to bad until we started to take the push rods out, the bad lifter we almost could'nt get out of the block it mushroomed so bad and was taken 2 other lifters out around it. Cam lobe was almost completly round,and cam bearing looked like somebody tryed to bang the cam into the motor with a hammer. Took the heads off which was easy none of the bolts were tight at all ,only to find that the previous owner of the motor siloconed both sides of the head gaskets and one was on backwards, so there was my overheatin problem there was so much rtv thet some of the flow jackets were completly pluged with rtv!Valves were sunk in and they put little spacers under the springs to stiffen them up i think? Next was the bottom end come to find out the the block was boerd 60 over not the 30 over i was told. Crank might be turnable if i'm lucky every main bearing was trashed all the races were down to the copper ,metal shavings everywhere, the oil pump is trashed. No wonder my bronco's been mad at me eversince that "NEW" motor was put in. It's been a tickin time bomb waitin to go off. glad i found out now and not on the side of the road or the middle of a trail!!


So here's my little problem.
What do i do now? Rebuild what i can of the motor and put back in? to get it driving again?? note that Tcase -tranny adapter leaking is what started all of this. Or do i take my time a do things the way i wanted frm the begining as in fuel injected 5.0 or 5.8 with an auto and a atlas or a stack?
Tell me what you guy's think. Any susgestiuons/ideas would help
Thanks Matt.

Motor is trash so you might as well plan on the new one. If you got the funds do it the way you planned. The previous owner of that motor might have also put a little bit of oats in the radiator to seal any water leaks. Looks like you should look him up and ask him who does his engine work so you know to never take anything there.

Good luck.

Sorry to hear about the motor surprises.

I guess to answer your question of what to do, it all depends on two factors: time and budget.

How soon do you need to have it back on the road?

Or how long do you want to take with getting it back together?

Does your budget allow for the acquisition, professional rebuild, and eventual installation of the new power plant?

Or are you working with a more restrictive budget?

With the current block already being .60 over, it might be time to retire it to the great smelting pot in the sky. And based on all of the issues with the previous assembly, I'd say you just might be wasting money on trying to rebuild on that platform.

our deal still stands ,

I had the radiator hot tanked right after i bought the bronco. it's not the motor that came with my bronco it was one of those"deals" that turned out to good to be true. I can deal with it not being on the road for a while longer if that means not worrying about whats going to go bad next.

And to MOLLEY my response is the same, as always

I agree with the other folks here who have already voiced their opinions. If you have the time, space and funds, I would go ahead and build it the way you want. Why spend good money on just to replace it all in a year or two?

So i've got the ok from the big boss lady too let the bronco sit until it's done the right way. Question is now what should i keep and what should i repalce? here area few of my options tell me what you guy's think.
Rebuild the 302 i have now and make it a 347, i have a set of 351w heads off of a 69 cougar that i could use,and make it fuel injected. OR
buy a 5.0 mustang motor thats already fuel injected and call it done.
Tranny;
keep the NP435 that i have in the bronco right now since it's damn nere impossiable to break it and i have a good crawl ratio. OR
A automatic such as a c4 or something with an overdrive??
Transfer case;
have viperwolf rebuild my dana 20 twin stick, cold duck kit,output shafts 32spline. OR
Atlas4.3 or a stack B box???

It's going to be a pricey build no matter which way i do it but i want the bronco to be dependable since i'm going to be driving it from trail to trail [don't have a truck or trailer]. i just want to it right this time since a have a garage to do it in, and it does'nt have to get done in one weekend because i have to drive to work on monday.Any advice on what works and what DOES'NT would be greatfull.
Thanks again Matt

honestly I wouldnt run it up to 347ci. I would limit it to 331 if you go that route. The 347 has oil control issue with the oil ring into the wrist pins. your best bet is to find an explorer and get the motor and trans out of the. keep your 435 and d20.

Yeah, if you want more displacement go 351. Airbur posted this originally, but it says a lot about why a 351 is a better choice than a stroked 302:
http://www.badasscars.com/index.cfm/pag ... prd104.htm

I'd be inclined to just swap in an Explorer motor with EFI and call it a day. Anything with more power seems like a great way to break parts without huge benefits on the trail and a stock Ford motor with all factory Ford parts is more likely to be reliable than a wilder creation. The NP435 is a great transmission if you don't mind manuals (I'm biased, I love mine) and the D20 will go right in with no fitment issues. If you've got the scratch, an Atlas would be sweet, but I'm not sure I'd spend the money unless you're doing trails that are hard core enough to risk snapping off the rear output shaft. I haven't found that many sections that need a crawl ratio lower than my NP435, D20 and 4.11s, but I'm not doing hardcore trails, either. I'd go Atlas over a doubler. The tail shaft of the D20 isn't likely to hold up well under the additional torque and, by the time you invest in a doubler, the output, a rebuild kit and Viper's labor you're getting close to the cost of an Atlas or Stak.

Have'nt heard much bout the explorer motor, what are they? 5.0 5.8?
I think thats the motor that viperwolf has but not sure. Whats the years i should be looking for??
am i going to have to swap motor mounts? radaitor? adapter to mount it to the NP435?
I know that it being a fuel injected motor i wil have to do a fuel pump and computer, but what else am i looking into gettin this motor in my bronco?
last winter i did re-do the wiring harness to a centech, iknow that they offer there fuel injection harness will that be something i should be looking into as well?
And i do like the crawl ratio of my current set up NP435 with the stock t shift and 4.11"s. The only gripe that i have is on certain trail's 1st an 4lo is not low enough and other trails 1st and low isnt high enough. I talked dto a guy in moab last time i was there and he had my current set up but with the stack B box 3sp and said that with the 3sp it filled the gap between 1st and 2nd gear in low range. Thats the main reason i was thinkin bout going to the stack over the dana 20 and even the atlas.
As always thatnks for any input. MAtt

Viper has a 5.0 mustang EFI motor with explorer serpentine. I think his is HO version and of course he has those awesome ARF heads.

The Explorer is a 5.0 EFI motor with a different cam. 1996 is the most desirable year to get as it won't have the GT40P heads and it will have some other misc goodies like a low profile throttle body / throttle position sensor.

You will need;

- an EFI harness from old mustang or RJM if you want a really high quality aftermarket set up.
- a TFI type distributor with a steel gear
- a MAF computer such as A9L
- electric fuel pump set up

I am not sure about the adaptability of your manual transmission but I am certain you could use it if you really want to. I would opt for a ViperBuilt C4 or go crazy and do a 4R70W like I did (you will probably need to re-gear if you do)

Hope that helps at least a little.

At this point any bit of info help's, so 1996 is the way to go huh.?
Whats RJM?
I'm guessin that you like the automatic with the overdrive. Did those come in the explorer's as well??

The Explorer 5.0 motor is the best choice for a direct swap into the Bronco. Its better than the Mustang 5.0s because it has a cam for more low end torque, GT40 heads & intake manifolds. Also the serpentine belt/fan/accessories on the Explorer are shorter and fit behind the radiator more easily.

I don't think Explorer's came with manual trans, so you'll have to get a flywheel & ring gear, and use your current starter. You can't use your old flywheel because the balancing on the new vs old motors is different. You can use a flywheel from a late 80's 302 Bronco with a manual trans. But otherwise your NP435 will bolt right up, so to speak.

I'm flip/flopping on the auto/manual trans thing. I hate the thought of loosing my 6.69:1 1st gear, but I love the idea of not working the clutch. Even with a 4R70W, 1st is only 2.84, but with an Atlas or Stak you could easily make up for it. I'd swap the motor, leave the trans.

Other items to add to the list:
55mm MAF
Intertia fuel cut off switch
TFI coil
BP sensor

All the extra stuff, MAF sensors, ECUs, dizzys, cut off switch, TFI coil can be found on lots of 90's Ford/Lincoln/Merc cars & trucks. You'll also need 2 O2 sensors, but buy those new.

There are a bunch of guys on this site who could spend a day in the junk yard with you can you'd come out with a full EFI set up, and spare parts to boot.

You don't need a low 1st gear in an auto because the torque converter can provide up to 2x torque multiplication. You just need to keep it cool.

Just remembered,

You'll need one of these to use a manual:
http://www.tomsbroncoparts.com/product/ ... er-bracket

The later blocks were cast for hydraulic clutches, not manual so they didn't have the place to bolt the linkage.

Just the 165's.

The auto sure does make it a lot eaiser to wheel and drive around town. But the manual does'nt get hot and i don't have to worry about driving thru the brakes with the stack's 5.44 low range. but if i go with the auto i would get an overdrive to make it more highway friendly{since i don't have a truck and trailer} Arrggghh why does this have to be so hard?? We will have to see what i do for the motor, i think that wil be the deciding factor. If i go with the explorer motor i will try an go with the overdrive. If i keep my 302 i most likely keep my np435. Would it be a smater move to surch the junkyards for the explorer? or just try and buy a whole running driving unit with the least amount of miles on it?

Oh and to Rox why are you going to such a deep gear?? you planin to jump to 37's soon?? i thought for ur set up you would be lookin at 4.56 or maybe a 4.88?

5.13s with a .7 overdrive @ highway speeds are around 2400 rpm.

I'm running 3.50 gears & 33's and pulling 2300 rpm, you wouldn't have any power with any lower rpm. When I had 4.11s highway speeds were around 2600 rpm, and I could really pass & pull hills easier.

If you don't want to regear, you can turn the overdrive off, and not use it. Then 3rd gear is 1:1, just like your NP, or a C4. Then regear later & turn the o/d back on.

I think you'd pay much more for a whole vehicle. And the best (not only) motor is the 96, and the best trannys came from 98+ trucks.

Finding a 96 low mileage explorer v8 will be tough in the junk yard. Up my way the v8's are stripped down in a few days once they appear.

I would think you could find one whole and pull almost everything you need for less. Then sell off the other parts or scrap it to get some of your money back.

All of the v8 explorers I have seen in the yards had upwards of 180000 or more miles. One had 265000.

I'm in the same boat as you. I'm trying to put together an engine and going explorer Efi with the serp setup.

I have pretty much decided to refresh my 78 block and run that I think. But I haven't ruled out finding a decent low mileage explorer either.

Whatever the case is you will have to be quick on the draw and z bit lucky. I would love to find a low mileage short block that doesn't need any work.

car-part.com

Good luck, they are out there, I found one with 88,000 miles last year. One Plumbdoctor has it now.

Are there major differences in the block between the older 302s and the Explorers? I'm wondering now if the sweet (but high priced) route would be a refurbished block with AFR heads, headers, Explorer EFI and Explorer serpentine.

Car-part.com lists a 96 explorer V8 with 88K miles for $550 in Pueblo.

No kidding, I wish I had the money and the means to go pick it up, I'd be all over it!

Not sure it's a v8 but here's one with 80k on the engine.

http://denver.craigslist.org/pts/3009670241.html