Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums  

Innes:

I just went through the a rebuild on my 1984 3.8.  If I know what I know now, I'd have got a new vehicle.

Problem with the 3.8L is it  is a flat tappet cam.  This requires ZDDP additive to the oil, which is going to be harder to get in the future.
Given this, and the fact you can pick up a car getting around the same gas mileage -- cheap -- I'd go new.

at 100,000 or close to it miles, you genrally do not need all that machine work unless there is a very serious problem.
  ok his is a  1983  3.8 right?
in my shop, i have seen  engines with  25,000 to 50,000 miles  come in for there first oil change.  there have been some engines that didn't make the 100,000 mark  because  back in the 70's and 80's  the factory made them that way like plastic timing gears/burning exhaust valves and seats/soft cams/ a little spring  to hold the cam from walking out and 1983 3.8 was one of them?.) , heck even during that time i remember doing valve cover gasket on engnie  that would be so much sludge in there you couldn't see the rocker arms or pull the intake and the sludge would be all the way up to the intake valley pan>.


At the time, the plasti gauge and mic's both said std mains would work, The only thng i would have done different back then was have the crank turned.  New std rings yielded about .020 end gap which i wanted less but they worked.

so a std ring/bearing/gasket kit ,,, plus the cost of paint and a little bit here and there brought me back up to speed. 

Like i said, the crank should have been turned and 10 over bearings.

 well what you did was not a rebuild .its called overhaul. he ask about rebuild didn't he?  overhauling  is a cheap short term way to get a engine back together and it not for long term. i have done those cheap OVERHAULS too  but no way would i do my or his mother car that way.




If you cant assemble motors, hone your own block, lap your own valves, belt sand the head lengh ways full surface area, or own tools to measure / do the job,
Basing your numbers around someone else doing all the work kind of defeats the purpose of this forum dont you think?

no, because there are alot of people that belong to these web sites  that have never had  ENGINE APART much less work on one,  any way ,they come to these sites and ask all those funny Questions not everybody has instance notion. well all started life a dum as box of rocks. some one had to teach us. that why these sites are so importand to some of us. even myself as questions on this and other sites, don't you?? !plus some one has to do the work. lot of people pay  some one else to have there long block rebuilt. most of them are called crate motor now days. some don't have the shop or tool to do the hole job or have the time to deal with a engine replacement.

there have been some engines that didn't make the 100,000 mark because back in the 70's and 80's the factory made them that way like plastic timing gears/burning exhaust valves and seats/soft cams/ a little spring to hold the cam from walking out and 1983 3.8 was one of them?.).

NO,, that is incorrect.

No 83-88 fox had a platic timing gear

theres a lot of misleading information you have presented but I wont argue with your thoughts, you seem like a nice enough person.

pull and abe lincoln and do a little reading.........http://www.babpen 15s.com/editorial/ar/ar90134.htm


Lots of goodies in there for someone 4.2 project.