Confirming Engine Size

[BinaryData]

Hey Guys,

I've got some free time now that I've caught on my classes. So, I've decided to put my grease monkey boots on and start mucking around with my truck. I'm going to attempt to replace my Oil Pan Gasket. I'll post pictures when I get home. I know this isn't directly related to Rat Rods, but the other forums I've looked at, come across as if they'd troll the living hell out of me for being a greenhorn.

The Problem!
It has a major oil leak. It burns/leaks oil like no other, I have to put 5 Quarts in ever week. That's $100 / month on just oil.

The Vehicle
1979 Ford F-150 9' Bed Automatic

The Engine
According to the Ford Label on the door; I have a 400 v8 6.6L Engine. Is there anywhere on the Engine I can confirm this? I want to say it's stock, but my brother says he thinks it's a crate engine. I'm clueless, so to the Experts (you guys).

Once I know this, how difficult is it to replace the Oil Pan Gasket? I'm assuming you have to drain all the oil.

[Old Iron]

I'm not a Ford guy so I can't help on the engine id.
As far as the oil consumption, if 5 qts a week is true then you need an overhaul or another engine.

[Sam_Fear]

Post a picture of the motor - somebody will identify it. Post one from underneath. Odds are, you'll have to lift the motor to get the pan off no matter what it is. Take a couple pics of where you think it's leaking too.

I have to agree with Old Iron, if you're loosing that much oil, odds are the motor is near gone and replacing the pan gasket probably won't do much.

How many miles are you driving per quart?

[Bamamav]

79 pickups came with the 400, so it's possible that's what yours is. Sam is right, you'll probably have to pull the engine to get the pan off, the crossmember is going to be in the way. Doubtful the pan gasket is leaking that much, if it's not burning it through the engine, I'd be more inclined to think it was the front and/ or rear main crank seals leaking. The pan gasket is above the oil level in the pan, so not much leakage there. Valve covers are more likely to leak than the oil pan, running down on the exhaust manifolds and burning off, but it would be smoking under the hood and you'd smell the oil burning. Have also seen the end gaskets on the intake leak, but it would almost have to not have a gasket to leak that amount in a short period of time.

I'd get some degreaser, spray the heck out of everything under the hood, then pressure wash it off real good so you can see where the actual leak, if there is one, is at. If it doesn't have a stream of oil running out somewhere, I'd have to say the guys are right, you need a rebuild or a new engine....

[donsrods]

See if any of this helps you ID your motor:

http://www.fordification.com/tech/engineID-V8.htm


Don

[Torch]

Only way to tell the difference between a 351m And a 400 is to measure the stroke.

[BinaryData]

Ok. Here's is the above part. The more I drive the truck, the more oil it leaks. If I drive it to work and back, which is 70 miles, I generally have to replace the oil by the second or third day of driving it. If it sits, it holds oil or leaks minimally.

I've attached a few photos below, I haven't been able to get under the truck yet. I'm really hoping that I won't need to pull the engine. That's a lot more work than I'm capable of. I don't even have an engine hoist.

I can crawl under the truck tomorrow and get a picture or two of underneath. I know we need to get some degreaser, and wash it out. It's a pretty hefty truck, hauled a fully loaded bed of dirt like it was nothing.

[endicott_jb]

Judging by your pictures, I would have to say that your valve covers are leaking. There's a nice black strip about 1" going around the entire bottom of your valve covers so they've been over torqued a time or 2 and are cracked around the bolt holes is my guess. But, covers won't usually lose that much oil so I'd be leaning more towards the rear main seal. The rear mains weren't known for holding up too well on those modifieds.

[05snopro440]

If it was burning that much it would be smoking like mad. Can you smell it burning off the outside of the engine? Sounds more like it needs seals everywhere. Does it smoke?

[MercuryMac]

Is your tailgate all speckled with oil or oilmud? This tells you there's a leaky crankshaft seal [front or rear] or a pan gasket, like you thought. If you're burning that much oil your tailgate will be clean but your wake will be blue.
Good luck with the detective work.