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Messages - jayb

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1
FE Technical Forum / Re: Torrington Timing Chain Set
« on: January 08, 2026, 08:09:37 PM »
I have seen cases where the timing gear starts digging into the cam retaining plate, and in a case like that the thrust bearing would probably be a good idea.  Usually that's not an issue, though.  I've used those thrust bearings myself with no problems, but if something bad were to happen and the bearing is damaged all those hardened steel shards will go into the engine, potentially causing a ton of damage.  Those needle bearings are small enough to sneak through the oil pump screen, jam the pump, break the cam gear and/or the distributor gear, etc.

Unless you are building a really high HP engine, I don't think the thrust bearing setup is worth it

2
FE Technical Forum / Re: 0.016 cylinder wall thickness - Will sleeving save it?
« on: January 01, 2026, 01:37:31 PM »
Sorry if this has been covered and I missed it, but if he used a sleeve to calibrate his sonic checker, that will not be accurate to check the bores.  A sleeve is a much different material than a cast iron block.  My sonic checker requires that you select the proper material for an accurate measurement; mine says to use the grey iron setting for cast iron blocks.  Check calibration on the rear block rail, as Ross suggests.  If the transducer is curved it won't matter, as long as the transducer is held at a 90 degree angle to the flat surface.

3
FE Technical Forum / Re: 0.016 cylinder wall thickness - Will sleeving save it?
« on: December 30, 2025, 08:09:22 AM »
I also would not trust those sonic check numbers.  I have never seen any FE block with numbers that thin.  Perhaps buy a cheap sonic tester and do it yourself?  Here's one on ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/201134359545?_skw=ultrasonic+thickness+tester&itmmeta=01KDQNPZXE863S954HWJBQN4PQ&hash=item2ed48ac3f9:g:32gAAOSwGvhT0Lxc&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA0FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1e1me7yinCBRyR3Jx0%2B0EKduEuterQjTPpp6glalR3K%2FqnlV1Oi6xvE%2Fvs7GhIAX7VzriH7YwbrjDdDkOIhLRMzRuWqY5%2BToR6KBBgDJZh351fhdtoMY43lAHeuk%2BGR6ijjjibAhmYiSMLcj4E0A9L2zB%2BJbRLcg5A8rTYZRiB3qx5U9PDCdirwxvayxEwrviZlsstkMdVRSbDjjGjiBkhIZAmbyPeIeC04bgNenIiwXRKpA%2FU2BDRg1zpQsmf3rnk%3D%7Ctkp%3ABlBMUPT-2_XtZg

If you do this, you will have to carefully round the transducer so that it conforms to the shape of the cylinder bore.  A few minutes with a file will do it.

Regarding sleeving 8 cylinders, this is a VERY bad idea.  The shop who told you that probably doesn't have experience doing that with FEs.  Sleeving adjacent cylinders will result in cracks at the deck between the bores after a few thousand miles, and the resultant coolant leaks.  Sleeves are fine as long as they are confined to an individual cylinder, not two cylinders next to each other.

4
Non-FE Discussion Forum / Re: Merry Christmas
« on: December 25, 2025, 03:54:21 PM »
Merry Christmas to all my pals on the FE Power forums!  Looking forward to lots of good information next year.

5
FE Technical Forum / Re: using a gear drive on a sohc
« on: December 18, 2025, 05:45:48 PM »
I think that was Jim Green.  But in order to make it work you had to hack off the front of the SOHC valve covers, weld on a plate with a hole and a seal for a shaft to go through, and then bolt on the belt drive parts.  Same issue with the front cover.  Cool idea, but hard to make it work in practice, and again, with proper attention to the chain drive, wouldn't really be necessary.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/685830148507815/posts/1346609822429841/

6
FE Technical Forum / Re: using a gear drive on a sohc
« on: December 18, 2025, 01:57:33 PM »
Arched guides per se are not really the issue; as I understand it they are used on modern engines because the guides have tensioners attached to them to keep the tension on the chain constant.  A straight guide can't be used if the guide is going to be moving around from a tensioner pressure.  So really the main issue with the SOHC secondary chain drive is the fact that chain tension can vary with temperature, RPM, load, etc.

Having said that, as a guy who has been running these engines for 20+ years, the chain drive as-is is not really a problem, as long as you tension the chain correctly, go easy on the engine until it is warmed up, check the chain tension periodically, etc.  But it sure would be nice to have an automatic chain tensioning system on the SOHC.  I know someone who is working on that...

7
Non-FE Discussion Forum / Re: Starter tab to header clearance
« on: December 18, 2025, 08:58:25 AM »
The starter only gets battery voltage so there is not enough voltage to jump any significant gap.  At 1/32"  I'd be concerned about vibration, but if it's a normal Ford setup vibration while driving won't affect anything because there is no voltage going to the starter.  If it's a newer version with the solenoid on the starter though, that could be an issue.  I think 1/8" of clearance is more than enough in any case.

8
FE Technical Forum / MOVED: Selling out
« on: December 13, 2025, 09:07:29 AM »
This topic has been moved to Private Classifieds.

http://fepower.net/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=13014.0

9
Non-FE Discussion Forum / Re: Anyone using an A/F gauge in their car?
« on: December 09, 2025, 08:41:43 PM »
Quote from: cjshaker on December 09, 2025, 02:21:38 PM
Why is it that a Bosch O2 sensor will last 100k-200k miles, and probably 15+ years, in a new vehicle, but seems to fail fairly quickly in any aftermarket setup? And these cars are typically not being driven in snow and rain. It seems odd to me.

I think its because almost all new cars use a narrow band O2 sensor, not a wideband.  The narrow band sensors are probably more reliable.

10
FE Technical Forum / Re: 428 oil system
« on: December 09, 2025, 06:15:26 AM »
The original 428 SCJ engines were designed to be used in winter conditions, as well as summer conditions.  So I think that the oil being too cold because of the oil cooler is not possible.  Of course, it is always a good idea to warm up the engine on a very cold day, before driving.

11
Non-FE Discussion Forum / Re: Anyone using an A/F gauge in their car?
« on: December 07, 2025, 05:12:18 PM »
Wherever its convenient in the downpipe is fine, as long as it's not subject to getting soaked by water.  Make sure the header to pipe gasket is good.

12
FE Technical Forum / Re: Oil pan and windage tray gaskets.
« on: December 07, 2025, 09:47:42 AM »
I personally prefer the Milodon oil pan gaskets.

13
Non-FE Discussion Forum / Re: Anyone using an A/F gauge in their car?
« on: December 06, 2025, 11:39:24 AM »
I used to get the Powerdex A/F gauges, then they sold out to an outfit called Ballenger Motorsports.  They were/are still good setups (I have two in cars and two on my dyno), but for some reason the price has recently gone out of sight, over $450 I think.  My son wants one for Christmas so I just purchased the one from Innovate Motorsports, their MTX-L Plus.  Seems like a much better deal at $200, and I've used Innovate's products before with success, so I assume it is a good unit.

14
FE Engine Dyno Results / Re: 464 fe
« on: December 04, 2025, 09:01:06 PM »
Based on my intake testing the Streetmaster intake does begin to be a bottleneck around 550 HP.  But I've tested a couple of similar engines, both with out of the box Trick Flow heads and better intakes, and they didn't do any better, both around 595 HP.  To me the combination looks pretty well matched, and probably more than just headers would be required to take it up much higher.

15
FE Engine Dyno Results / Re: 464 fe
« on: December 04, 2025, 11:09:14 AM »
Dyno headers on the first sheet, Hooker 6114 on the second.  Couldn't get these files to rotate properly, but you can still read them.  Looks like the engine prefers a smaller tube header for torque, and also for average power and average torque.  Not a big difference though - Jay







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