just got towed back home by a chevy:( went mudding and the bronco(83 inline 300) was running real well ran some pretty deep mud(its been raining here for a week) drove from one spot to another maybe 10 min away I got out to lock the hubs and noticed it was knocking deep in the bottom end (wasnt knocking while driving)and the oil pressure dropped to about a quarter on the gauge, then it just died no bang, rattle or anything and wouldnt start no strange noise turning over just wouldnt start checked and the oil was full and there is spark dumped the oil when I got back and there are no metal bits in it that I can see???? is it dead? I have a spare that I was going to build up this winter any suggestions bearings ect??? my cousin blew the bearing in his jeep and it sounded like golf ball bouncing around the oil pan this was just a Knock and then nothing:( any ideas as to what I did to it?)or what i should look for when I drop the oil pan tomorrow) I am a shade tree mechanic at best but I'm learning so any help would be great
thanks

well, look for discoloration of parts. does the oil smell burnt? did it get hot? my 88 did that, oil pump went out while someone else was driving, got hot and died. im sure it did some damage, but its fine now.

Take a wrench on the harmonic balancer bolt and see if you can spin the engine over. Are you sure it was knocking? Could it have been spark knock?

I'd first verify that you've got spark and fuel before you go through the hassle of pulling the pan (and dont you have to pull the motor to do that any how?) Make the damn thing run and go till it's thrown through the side of the block if you dont plan on rebuilding the thing once you swap your spare engine in

I had the same thing happen to me.

oil pressure droped to near nothing. motor started knocking bad. I pulled over shut it down. about 2 minutes later fired it back up and the oil pressure came back up but it was knocking. I swapped in a 302.

if I turn the engine the distributer doesnt move??? timing gears gone????? or did something else go that blew the timing????

well, it should crank over if you stripped your distro drive gear. i stripped the gear on my ranger, it would crank fine, just wouldnt fire..... have a buddy crank the engine over while you lift the cover off, make sure it turns, if it doesnt, then you folded your distro drive gear. since the drive gear isnt spinning, your not creating oil pressure, b/c the distro drives your oil pump.... so dont crank it too long, kuz your not moving oil.... let us know what you find..... if you stripped your drive gear, i would buy an aftermarket one, and install it, but watch out, if you pop another one you have cam alignment problems..... it is also possible that you lost your timing chain, and your cam wasnt turning, which in turn causes the distro not ot turn. pull the distro and check the drive gear, if thats ok, then its time ot pull the timing cover, and totally re timing your engine

how much play should be in the rotor? any? It doesnt turn with the engine or by hand(maybe wiggles 1/8"each way) so Looks like the timing gear unless Im missing something(could oil pump be seized?)

PULL your distro first, then if oyur gear is good check your timing assembly..... you can also pull your vavle cover, make sure that when your cranking, that your rocker arms are moving, if they arent, then guess what, your timing assembly is done for, and you cam isnt spinning

A common ford issue is the roll pin that holds the dizzy gear in place on the dizzy shaft shears. When this happens, the dizzy won't turn with the engine, and likewise, neither will the oil pump.

so, pull your dizzy and check it out. Then get a longish 1/4" extention and proper sized socket, throw it in a drill, and get on the oil pump shaft and make sure the pressure comes up.
(btw, this is from v8 knowledge.. never touched a 300, so I could be totally incorrect as to all of this.. regardless you need to pull the dizzy and see whats going on.)

Also the odds of losing a timing set on a 300 is damn near zero. The cam is a direct gear drive. If you blew them up, you'd REALLY know it.

But I'll agree that it's probably something to do with the distributor drive gear, shaft, or oil pump. I had a pump seize on a 300 that in turn destroyed the drive gear, so things aren't always obvious as to what caused the issue. (i thought the gear just let out, then went to prime the motor and the pump wouldn't spin) Best I can figure is the gear got chipped, the chip hit the pan, got pulled up into the pump, seized the pump, which killed the rest of the gear.

Justin

pulled the valve cover and there is no movement at all as I turn over the engine. so I guess I need to change the gears. I think I read that if i get the ones for a 78 they are steel instead of fiber??? is this true also is this better??? dont feel like making a habit of pulling thease gears. does the puller for the harmonic fit with the rad in place,( i have a 3-4" bodylift) looks like it will, just like to know before I rent the pullers,also any body have any pointers looks easy teeth mesh so sprokets should line up easy(looking easy tends to scare me in both women and mechanical stuff)
thanks

Also the odds of losing a timing set on a 300 is damn near zero. The cam is a direct gear drive. If you blew them up, you'd REALLY know it.
:nuke: Wrong Answer!!
I lunched a timing set on a 300 I-6. You are correct that they are gear to gear, but from the factory, the cam gear was made out of some Morphodite particle board type of substance. It never made a sound when it went, either. It just stopped running, and coasted to the shoulder.
The fun part is that the cam gear is pressed on, so you have to pull the cam out of the engine to change it properly.
I've heard fish tales about sweating the new gear on, but have never seen it happen.
BTW, Ford used the cardboard gear, because it's quieter than metal.