Method 1 of Use the number of valve cover bolts to narrow down the type of engine you have in front of you. Valve cover bolts are the big bolts on the top of the engine, holding down the plate usually marked "Ford" on top of the valves. The number of bolts corresponds to your engine type, which will help you locate the more useful ID tag. Locate the ID tag under coil attaching bolts for six-cylinder and some eight-cylinder engines.
The tag is a series of numbers and letters etched in and used to decipher the year, make, and model of you engine. It is found underneath the bolts on the left or right side of the engine, near the front of the car. You can find the tag here on all six-cylinder engines made after , and on some V8 engines. If you are unsure what kind of engine you have, think back to the valve cover bolts as you work through the following steps.
Interior Codes -(Continued)
This will help you narrow down your options. Check under the dipstick attaching bolts on eight-cylinder, Model engine. Check under the dipstick, which is the small, plastic-handled piece that lets you check your oil. Look under the heat indicator bulb, carburetor attaching stud, and ignition coil bolt if you still can't find the tag.
These are the last few places the tag might be. If it is not there, it may have been removed, fallen off, or only be visible when the engine is not in the car. Depending on where you find the tag, you can learn something about the engine: [2] Indicator Bulb: , , engines. Dipstick Tube: engines.
Carburetor Stud: , engines. Learn to read the ID tag appropriately. Once you've found the identification tag, you need to know how to read it to get the right information. Luckily, the tags are simple to breakdown. From upper left to bottom right: [4] Cubic Inch Displacement CID : The first three numbers, found in the upper left corner, tell you the size of the engine. Year: The next two numbers are for the year the engine was built. Month Built: This hyphenated number and letter correspond to the month.
GET A DEAL ON THIS BOOK!
There is no "i" so people don't confuse it the number 1. You can look up this code online to see the specs of your current engine. Method 2 of Looks for nine-digit casting tags to learn more about your engine's make and model. The casting tag is etched into your motor when it is created, and is used to help find the right parts if you need a replacement.
This code also packs a large amount of information in it that will help you get to know your engine better. You may need to clean the engine with a rag and some degreaser if it is too dirty to see the letters. This code is usually on the side of the engine, but you might not be able to see it when the engine is in a car with older models.
Use a light to scan both sides of the engine to find it. C5AEB [7]. Read the first two digits in the identification tag to find the year the engine was made. This will be a letter. If the letter is a "B," it means that the engine was built in the s.
Engine Block Parts Interchange for Small-Block Ford
Each decade after that has its own succeeding letter; "C" designates the s, "D" designates the s, and so on. The digit after the letter is the actual year. So C9 would be , E4 would be , etc. Read the third digit in the casting number to determine the engine design. This will be a letter, and it signifies the basic design of the vehicle as shown below. Of course, this code should match up with the car that it is in i. Make sure that the fourth digit is always an "E.
E stands for "Engine," so this should always be the fourth digit you see when identifying Ford motors. Read the next 4 digits, which are the last digits in the motor number. These four numbers will always be between and , which describes the part numbering of the generic engine assembly. Different parts of the motor will correspond to different four-digit numbers. Check the last digit, usually a letter, to determine the version of your part.
If your engine is modeled after the original design, this letter will be A. If it is the third manufactured version of the engine, it will be a C, and so on. This digit can be up to three digits long. That is a part number, not the motor number which is stamped on the block. You may get a clue by googling the part number. The letters indicate a part from the cooling system. The easy way to identify the motor, if it's the original, is by the VIN vehicle identification number.
Using that, you can get all the information including manuals from Ford.
Ford Cylinder Heads and Valvetrain Interchange: Small-Block
Yes No. Not Helpful 5 Helpful Ultimately all heads were carryovers of the head, making them all interchangeable. Cylinder-head castings have a casting number and a casting date. Where the Hi-Po head differs is valvespring pockets and screw-in rocker-arm studs for better stability at high RPM. Two types of rocker arms used on smallblock Fords in the s.
On the left is the original small-block rocker arm used from until May 2, , for cylinder heads with pushrod guides machined into the head. Beginning May 2, , Ford went to a rail style rocker arm right to cut costs, which called for a longer valve-stem and a new pentroof- style valve cover.
When it comes to interchanging cylinder heads, the most important issue is chamber size and its effect on compression. Most heads in the s had cc chambers along with the same port size and 1. When Ford went to roller tappets and a new 5. This is the head Ford used on the 5.
It can be identified by the three vertical ribs cast into each end of the cylinder head. These plentiful heads are all over the swap meets. When the 5. Intake valve size is the same as a GT at 1. However, exhaust valve size is smaller at 1. If ever there was an odd engine in Ford history, it was the ci smallblock in — Ford de-bored the and kept the same 3. It is not a suggested cylinder head for performance use. All of these castings employ the same Beginning in , the W chamber grew to 69 cc, resulting in lower compression. Ford went to smaller valves for improved emissions and better low-end torque.
A cylinder head casting designed for rail-style rocker arms. This cylinder head has been machined for screw-in rocker-arm studs and pushrod guide plates. Small-block Ford combustion chambers grew in size beginning in with V heads. PowerHeads worked this chamber, removing high spots that cause hot spots and spark knock. What makes it different is larger 1. This is a W casting with mm tapered-seat spark plugs.
Engine Block Parts Interchange for Small-Block Ford
Prior to , W head castings had mm tapered-seat spark plugs. The — Boss cylinder head is little more than a modified C head casting revised for use on a block. The primary difference is cooling passages, because the C has a dryintake manifold and the Boss has a wet one.
Ford went to a smaller 2.