[masontabasco]

Hello all,
I recently inherited a class A motorhome... 95 fleetwood pace arrow with an efi 460. 40k original miles, but its been sitting in a yard for 12 years without being run. Would like to get it started up, and am looking for some more experienced advice specifically on these engines, about what to do before I try to crank it. Will do obvious stuff... oil and coolant change, check general leaking, etc. Any other suggestions before I try to get it running? Could just be general advice on starting an engine thats been sitting a while but I figured this would be best place to ask.
Thanks

 

[wickettoby1]

Dont even put a battery in it until you clean/replace the fuel tank and flush the lines!!!

 

[Werecow]

I can tell you what I did to my 351M that sat for 10 years to try and help. Some may think it's over kill or not enough, but it worked for me as it fired on the 3rd turn over.. Now as yours is an EFI I can only offer little advise there. First step pull all the spark plugs and give all of em a good Inspection. Leave em out as your not done yet. Spray a lil WD-40 down each plug hole and put a socket on the crank and turn the engine over a couple of turns. If it won't turn, stop. You've got issues. Pop off both valve covers and check the condition under each one. If it's gunked up or popcorn dry you'll need to do a lil clean up there. Clean up under the valve covers and if you are mechanically inclined enough I disassembled all the rockers clean everything thoroughly and put engine assembly lube on all the points that make contact, don't forget both ends of the pushrods and keep everything together as it came apart. IE rocker assembly and pushrod for intake no1 all stays together. If it's nasty under the valve cover, take the time to clean it when you have the rockers and pushrods off. I used kerosene here but mine was pretty nasty and I dropped the oil after all my cleanup was done. Adjustment when you assemble it all isn't that bad really. There are a lot of how to's on this and the torque for them is 18-22 ftlbs, I use a 1/4 in torque wrench and use the inlbs side just convert to ftlbs cause it's easy to over do it on these bolts. The valve train may be overkill, but IMHO after sitting that long it's just like starting one on a new build with all of that assembly popcorn dry. Next check your distributor out. If it's corroded under the cap, toss it and get a new one and a new rotor as well. Look over the plug wires, they may have corrosion at either end, boots may be dry rotted, if in doubt, toss it out. Personally I like using cut to fit wires, they make for a lot neater installation and you don't have all the extra wires flopping everywhere. It may also be cheap insurance while you're at it to toss in a new thermostat while the coolant is drained out. Since the coolant is out, check the condition of the radiator, if it's nasty, give it a good clean or a flush. I did mine w Muratic acid. There's a thread on it here is you wanna look it up.After you've changed the oil and are getting ready to fire it up, w/new plugs, distributor cap, wires, oil, lubed up valve train, fresh coolant, there's one more thing if you have the room to do it. Pull the distributor and prime the engine. Turn it over to now at TDC. The balancer should be marked for this if not pop the cap on the distributor and turn it so the rotor points to the no1 spark plugs wire, then pull the distributor out and with a drill, a loooong extension and a 5/16(?) Socket on the oil pump shaft spin it till you see oil come up and on each rocker arm. Then replace the distributor with the rotor pointing the same place and the vacuum advance in the same place as well. Did I mention you'll still have to have the valve covers off? Then pop the valve covers back on. Are we ready to crank yet?? Nope not done yet youngins!! We've still got the fuel system to contend with, whatever's in the fuel tank is way past anything that would burn with a spark. It needs to be pumped out and checked for rot. The one in my Mustang was completely rotten and has to be replaced along w everything in it. So you'll need to check that out good. Need to check that the fuel pump still works, by this time it may be rusted solid, or filled w varnish. The fuel filter will tell you the shape of the fluid in the tank but not the shape of what's going on in the tank. So fuel system in the "back of the bus" will need to be addressed. Up front one piece that I know of more that likely you'll need to replace will be the fuel pressure regulator. It has a diaphragm in it that's more that likely dry rotted. It may still be good, but I'd be prepared on that just in case. Something else that may need attention is the Idle Air Valve. It's located on the side of the throttle body, it may need to be removed, cleaned and make sure it's not frozen up. As far as the rest of the EFI, I'm not sure on that maybe someone else can jump in on that? Check all vacuum lines for dry rot and broken lines, check all wiring for broken or corroded wires? I can't think of anything else??

 

[Werecow]

Ooooooohhhhh just thought of something else!! If it's been sitting that long the brakes will need to be addressed before you put it on the road!!! More than likely you've got at least 1 if not more brake lines rusted through! Check all the brake lines, all the brakes and after taking care of all the brake lines, wheel cylinders, calipers master cylinder and such, you'll need to flush ALL the old brake fluid out and replace it w new... Also RE me previous post.... More than likely you're gnna be looking at getting a new fuel tank... Just my guess and opinion...

 

[Aiciak]

Very detailed. Learned a lot from reading that. Much appreciated!

 

[masontabasco]

Werecow, thank you for the depth of your reply. Super appreciate it. I've got my work cut out for sure. Would you recommend dropping the oil pan and cleaning that out? I'm not sure how motor oil stands with time, if it turns into gunk or something. Luckily for this whole project it's in Arizona so rust is basically negligible. Unluckily though is everything is under the RV in the dark...so fun times with headlamps await. You also mentioned spinning the oil pump. Is this accessed below the distributor? Or do you just remove the distributor so you have room to sneak an extension down? And one last thing, where would you recommend getting 460 parts, either online or in auto parts places? Thanks!

 

[Werecow]

Dropping the oil pan really depends on what you find under the valve covers. If it's gunky and looks dried and crusty it might be worth it if you can. I'd do it after a good scrub of the cylinder heads after you take the rocker arms and pushrods out with kerosene that way the cruddage in the oil pan can soak and break loose before you drop the pan. As far as the oil pump you can get to it from the top when you pull the distributor out completely. You'll see the oil pump shaft that is run from the bottom of the distributor all the way to the oil pump. Make sure you use like black tape to secure that socket to your extension, otherwise your gnna need to be good w a magnet or drop the oil pan whether you want to or not!! As far as where to get parts nothing special is really required for any of this that most all local parts houses should have in stock, save the valve cover gaskets which they should be able to get over night. Another thing to watch for, go ahead and start soaking the base of your distributor with some pb blaster, WD-40, and kind of soak in nut buster. Over time these can seize up and it's a good idea to get ahead of that while your working on the rest of it. There's also a thread on that issue itself here. Check out a couple of YouTube videos on when an engine is rebuilt (power nation has a few on building a big block ford that'll be really helpful!) and you'll see what I mean about the engine assembly lube for all the rockers and pushrods. When cleaning all the pushrods make sure you can see thru all of them, the old oil may have coagulated and stopped em up. Mine was gunked up pretty bad, so the first oil change I did on it I just used a cheap oil filter, 10w30 oil less 1 qt and topped it off with the last qt with type F tranny fluid. Mine's not driveable yet, but I'mma let that run thru it for a bit,(while I'm getting it sorted out on other stuff) drop it, cut the filter apart, and depending on what I find either do it again, or put regular 10w40 and a good filter on it. But like I said all the cleanup will definitely depend on what you find under your valve covers. It's been sitting for 12 years, don't get in a rush to crank it up in a week. It'll take a while to undo what time has done to it and get it all ready to run. Especially as dry and hot as it is where you are.. it's as dry as a popcorn fart in the top end of that thing and all the oil galleys, lifters, bearings are absolutely bone dry. As a second thought as far as turning it over with a socket and a breaker bar on the crankshaft, only do it 1x just to be sure it's not locked up yet. And be sure to squirt something in the cylinders, WD-40, marvel mystery oil, anything but the bearings are still dry. One of the big plus's you have in your favor is not that many miles on it, but time, dry air, and heat without the oil circulation will coagulate the oil, and if that's not addressed, it's just like cranking one up without any oil in it and no way circulate it. That's why the importance of cleaning up the top end, lubing it up, pulling the distributor, and priming it before cranking it up. Hope this has been helpful, any other questions just ask, I'm watching this thread an I'll offer any help I can.. Cheers and good luck!!

 

[karlar]

Goo

I can tell you what I did to my 351M that sat for 10 years to try and help. Some may think it's over kill or not enough, but it worked for me as it fired on the 3rd turn over.. Now as yours is an EFI I can only offer little advise there. First step pull all the spark plugs and give all of em a good Inspection. Leave em out as your not done yet. Spray a lil WD-40 down each plug hole and put a socket on the crank and turn the engine over a couple of turns. If it won't turn, stop. You've got issues. Pop off both valve covers and check the condition under each one. If it's gunked up or popcorn dry you'll need to do a lil clean up there. Clean up under the valve covers and if you are mechanically inclined enough I disassembled all the rockers clean everything thoroughly and put engine assembly lube on all the points that make contact, don't forget both ends of the pushrods and keep everything together as it came apart. IE rocker assembly and pushrod for intake no1 all stays together. If it's nasty under the valve cover, take the time to clean it when you have the rockers and pushrods off. I used kerosene here but mine was pretty nasty and I dropped the oil after all my cleanup was done. Adjustment when you assemble it all isn't that bad really. There are a lot of how to's on this and the torque for them is 18-22 ftlbs, I use a 1/4 in torque wrench and use the inlbs side just convert to ftlbs cause it's easy to over do it on these bolts. The valve train may be overkill, but IMHO after sitting that long it's just like starting one on a new build with all of that assembly popcorn dry. Next check your distributor out. If it's corroded under the cap, toss it and get a new one and a new rotor as well. Look over the plug wires, they may have corrosion at either end, boots may be dry rotted, if in doubt, toss it out. Personally I like using cut to fit wires, they make for a lot neater installation and you don't have all the extra wires flopping everywhere. It may also be cheap insurance while you're at it to toss in a new thermostat while the coolant is drained out. Since the coolant is out, check the condition of the radiator, if it's nasty, give it a good clean or a flush. I did mine w Muratic acid. There's a thread on it here is you wanna look it up.After you've changed the oil and are getting ready to fire it up, w/new plugs, distributor cap, wires, oil, lubed up valve train, fresh coolant, there's one more thing if you have the room to do it. Pull the distributor and prime the engine. Turn it over to now at TDC. The balancer should be marked for this if not pop the cap on the distributor and turn it so the rotor points to the no1 spark plugs wire, then pull the distributor out and with a drill, a loooong extension and a 5/16(?) Socket on the oil pump shaft spin it till you see oil come up and on each rocker arm. Then replace the distributor with the rotor pointing the same place and the vacuum advance in the same place as well. Did I mention you'll still have to have the valve covers off? Then pop the valve covers back on. Are we ready to crank yet?? Nope not done yet youngins!! We've still got the fuel system to contend with, whatever's in the fuel tank is way past anything that would burn with a spark. It needs to be pumped out and checked for rot. The one in my Mustang was completely rotten and has to be replaced along w everything in it. So you'll need to check that out good. Need to check that the fuel pump still works, by this time it may be rusted solid, or filled w varnish. The fuel filter will tell you the shape of the fluid in the tank but not the shape of what's going on in the tank. So fuel system in the "back of the bus" will need to be addressed. Up front one piece that I know of more that likely you'll need to replace will be the fuel pressure regulator. It has a diaphragm in it that's more that likely dry rotted. It may still be good, but I'd be prepared on that just in case. Something else that may need attention is the Idle Air Valve. It's located on the side of the throttle body, it may need to be removed, cleaned and make sure it's not frozen up. As far as the rest of the EFI, I'm not sure on that maybe someone else can jump in on that? Check all vacuum lines for dry rot and broken lines, check all wiring for broken or corroded wires? I can't think of anything else??

Good job!

 

[masontabasco]

Cheers and thank you!

 

[mike rad]

I can tell you what I did to my 351M that sat for 10 years to try and help. Some may think it's over kill or not enough, but it worked for me as it fired on the 3rd turn over.. Now as yours is an EFI I can only offer little advise there. First step pull all the spark plugs and give all of em a good Inspection. Leave em out as your not done yet. Spray a lil WD-40 down each plug hole and put a socket on the crank and turn the engine over a couple of turns. If it won't turn, stop. You've got issues. Pop off both valve covers and check the condition under each one. If it's gunked up or popcorn dry you'll need to do a lil clean up there. Clean up under the valve covers and if you are mechanically inclined enough I disassembled all the rockers clean everything thoroughly and put engine assembly lube on all the points that make contact, don't forget both ends of the pushrods and keep everything together as it came apart. IE rocker assembly and pushrod for intake no1 all stays together. If it's nasty under the valve cover, take the time to clean it when you have the rockers and pushrods off. I used kerosene here but mine was pretty nasty and I dropped the oil after all my cleanup was done. Adjustment when you assemble it all isn't that bad really. There are a lot of how to's on this and the torque for them is 18-22 ftlbs, I use a 1/4 in torque wrench and use the inlbs side just convert to ftlbs cause it's easy to over do it on these bolts. The valve train may be overkill, but IMHO after sitting that long it's just like starting one on a new build with all of that assembly popcorn dry. Next check your distributor out. If it's corroded under the cap, toss it and get a new one and a new rotor as well. Look over the plug wires, they may have corrosion at either end, boots may be dry rotted, if in doubt, toss it out. Personally I like using cut to fit wires, they make for a lot neater installation and you don't have all the extra wires flopping everywhere. It may also be cheap insurance while you're at it to toss in a new thermostat while the coolant is drained out. Since the coolant is out, check the condition of the radiator, if it's nasty, give it a good clean or a flush. I did mine w Muratic acid. There's a thread on it here is you wanna look it up.After you've changed the oil and are getting ready to fire it up, w/new plugs, distributor cap, wires, oil, lubed up valve train, fresh coolant, there's one more thing if you have the room to do it. Pull the distributor and prime the engine. Turn it over to now at TDC. The balancer should be marked for this if not pop the cap on the distributor and turn it so the rotor points to the no1 spark plugs wire, then pull the distributor out and with a drill, a loooong extension and a 5/16(?) Socket on the oil pump shaft spin it till you see oil come up and on each rocker arm. Then replace the distributor with the rotor pointing the same place and the vacuum advance in the same place as well. Did I mention you'll still have to have the valve covers off? Then pop the valve covers back on. Are we ready to crank yet?? Nope not done yet youngins!! We've still got the fuel system to contend with, whatever's in the fuel tank is way past anything that would burn with a spark. It needs to be pumped out and checked for rot. The one in my Mustang was completely rotten and has to be replaced along w everything in it. So you'll need to check that out good. Need to check that the fuel pump still works, by this time it may be rusted solid, or filled w varnish. The fuel filter will tell you the shape of the fluid in the tank but not the shape of what's going on in the tank. So fuel system in the "back of the bus" will need to be addressed. Up front one piece that I know of more that likely you'll need to replace will be the fuel pressure regulator. It has a diaphragm in it that's more that likely dry rotted. It may still be good, but I'd be prepared on that just in case. Something else that may need attention is the Idle Air Valve. It's located on the side of the throttle body, it may need to be removed, cleaned and make sure it's not frozen up. As far as the rest of the EFI, I'm not sure on that maybe someone else can jump in on that? Check all vacuum lines for dry rot and broken lines, check all wiring for broken or corroded wires? I can't think of anything else??

 

[mike rad]

Have a 351 CLEV sitting for over 30 years,(outside--covered) won't turn over with wrench on crank

 

[Werecow]

If it won't turn over with a wrench in the crank, if you're wanting to get it running again and your serious about it. I'd start by popping the heads off. Check what kind of damage there is to the cylinders from sitting that long. Pour some oil on each cylinder and let it soak down, use a piece of wood, like a 2x4 and a 3?5? Lb hammer and smack each piston with it every so often and see if you can get it broke free.. If you can I'd say a trip to the machine shop to see if they can save the block? Rods? Crank? Even the heads? It's really gnna be dependent on what kind of shape all of its in when you get it apart if it can be saved and how much $$ you wanna spend to try and save it.. On the other hand it may not take much to save it... Ya know the whole box of chocolates deal..