Yes it is safe now if your crank is in the 9oclock then all the pistons are below deck. during reassembly you make sure its in the same spot, you can do a by hand turning of the crank to make sure everything turns smoothly.

 

yeah i was just wondering if its safe to turn the engine with everything still on by hand, it just felt kind of weird

also when i am reassembling when do i turn it by hand to make sure its smooth?

after i put the timing chains and heads back on along with the engine cover?

also does it matter how far i turn it? or just keep going clockwise?

 

Make sure your cams are in the 10:30-11:00ish positions and not in the 5:00ish positions...........Or atleast they need to be in that position for reassembly anyway.

 

It's a pretty ballsy move to try this job for the first time without a manual by your side to reference as you're doing the job.
Not that it's difficult, but so much can go wrong if not done properly.

 

i have the ford service manual but i like to double check on here

 

I have to always refer back to the manual because I cannot remember all the TQ specs, and for that fact don't want to be working on these motors so much that I do remember them.

 

I'm almost positive 12 o clock is all pistons below deck. I remember when timing my cams, I'd leave the crank key facing up at 12, and I could turn the cams freely to line up all the notches without worrying about PTV contact.

OP make sure you prime your engine properly before first start up.

 

What do you mean prime before first startup?

---------- Post added at 05:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:11 PM ----------



What do you mean prime before first startup?

 

9 is all pistons below deck.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong here. These are pictures of my short block that I built, and I mean the key way faces 12, and all pistons are below. Am I missing something? Is 9 also below then?

 

That looks good as well there is plenty of room for valve clearance. The reason I say 9 is because that is where you start when you set up the cams to factory specs and it also puts all the pistons down low.

 

I got a fitting that threaded into the oil filter adapter and bought a cheap manual transfer pump from a parts store and pumped oil into that oil filter adapter to make sure the engine is completely lubricated and so that hydraulic tensioners have enough pressure in them.