FINALLY! A "Bad" Ford 4.9L 300 Straight 6 To Teardown! Most Reliable Engine, Ever?

Great video. I have some ideas on how to improve the channel: 1: A cool theme song. 2. Have a couple of assistants who generally like each other but fight a lot. That would give it some drama. 3. Find a way to manufacture deadlines so give the teardown urgency, like Jesse James did. Maybe an important client breathing down your neck or something. 4. Maybe speed through some of the more mundane parts of the teardown, for more time to develop the interpersonal relationships of the new staff. 5. Add sponsors. Viewers like that because it shows businesses want to be a part of your channel. 6. Have a rivalry with a local shop. 7. Lots of cool graphics. 8. Have a score for the damage, like the Doug score. /s Just kidding! Don't change anything.

One of the most reliable engines ever built, I’m not even a Ford guy, and I have a ton of respect for this engine.

That is a typical 300. What happened is the truck fell apart around the engine and then the owner neglected the engine and then finally it over heated. I'm pretty sure it was running when pulled.. I've seen bearings in a 300 that were worn way more than that and they were still working all day. Great engine never to be seen again. The Ford 300 engine never dies, they are killed!

I am the original owner of a 1979 Econoline with the 300 I6. Hated it when people said 4.9 When was the last time you saw an original four on the floor van. First vehicle I ever bought new. Almost 300,000 miles and never removed the valve cover. She’s my baby now with vintage car plates !!! We’ve grown old together. 🤓👍

It's amazing how Ford invested in all the updated manifolds and bracketry to keep this workhorse going through the late 90s.

We run I think at the moment about 15 of those here in the Texas oilfield. They run on natural gas from the oilwell casing. They run 24 hours a day seven days a week about 350 days a year on average except the days when the well is down So if you convert that into a vehicle time, just imagine averaging 45 miles an hour 24 hours a day that would run you about 370,000 miles a year equivalent. And those motors run at least two years before something ever happens, and generally it’s just consuming motor oil. Very seldom is a catastrophic event like throwing a rod through the block, or some sort of failure. The key to those things are never shut them down. The only time they are turned off generally speaking is for an oil change. We run them with cap and rotor instead of electronic ignition. It’s just less trouble because they sit out in the weather all the time and the least amount of electronics you can have on something the better. Never have any problems with the valves or carburetion because they are running on clean natural gas. And with no carbon in the engine, you can run those motors for a month before you change the oil, and believe it or not the old still has color to it due to no carbon. Great motors. I pick them up every time I can find them.

Most of the big auto makers had a similar engine that was simple and reliable. Ford’s 300, Chevy had their “Stovebolt” 6, Dodge had the slant 6, and AMC had their 4 liter jeep engine. They were all workhorses and super reliable with minimal maintenance.

I bought a 1996 F150 with a 4.9L. I drove it 360k miles, the only engine related issue I ever had was I had to replace an A/C compressor. I sold it to a neighbor in 2018. The engine ran perfect, didn't leak or burn oil, and still had plenty of torque. The truck frame was in pretty rough shape however from 22 years of winter road salt and me not undercoating like I should have. He bought the truck just for the 4.9L. He had a really old Ford tractor he restored and put that 4.9L in it and it's still running strong today.

The Ford 300 straight 6 is an awesome motor. One of the previous Ford CEOs for the truck division wanted to revive it, but there were concerns over emissions. The other concern was that trucks had become a fad and a money maker so they wanted to put an engine in the trucks that was refined and that would appeal to those people who drive "mall queen pickups" (You know. The ones lifted, with lights all over, over sized tires and a bed that has never been dirty).

Finally an engine a blacksmith can work on.

I never expected we’d ever get a Ford 300 tear down. I am so incredibly stoked on this.

I'm a hardcore GM guy but I do admit that the Ford 300 six is a heck of an engine!! So simple and bulletproof.

I loved this video. I wish you'd rebuild this 300 as a YouTube series of videos. I bought a 1967 Bell Telephone Econoline van back around 1982. The original Bell Telephone color was forest green. When I found it, it had been painted yellow and white and looked terrible. It was used as a work truck and not treated with love and care. The good news is that this van was heavy duty, rust free and came with a 240 CID straight 6 in it. It also had a three on the tree transmission. It was equipped with a heavy duty suspension and nine inch rear end. When found, it was sitting in the owner's back yard on one brake drum and two flat tires. The back doors were open and a big dog was living in the back. The owner said it overheated so he parked it. So after some haggling, I got it for $340.00. The distributor cap had carbon tracking, which was easy enough to fix. After a couple of months of driving, I found that the cylinder head was warped (probably from the earlier overheating) so I took the head off and had a local machine shop make it nice and flat. In early 1985, I drove it from Atlanta, GA to Southern California. I pulled a small moving trailer and my 240 didn't miss a beat. At one time in the early 90's I had a burned exhaust valve so I pulled the head and fixed that. The machine shop guy working on my head told me how wonderful this engine is. I've still got this van. I took a body shop class and learned how to knock out dents. At the time, my van had plenty of dents. Looks a lot better now. I've got all kinds of spare parts and body panels. One day, it'll be a dark green Bell Telephone van once again.

Eric.....you just brought us Christmas in February.

A 300 with a granny gear 4 speed was a towing machine. I was sad when they stopped making the engine. This engine is the definition of they don't make them like they used to.

I had a 76 f 100. Rebuilt that engine 3 times. The last one was the only time it needed any machine work. Bored it 30 over, shaved the head and deck 10 each. Went back with flat top pistons, an RV cam which didnt give much ore lift, but longer duration on the intake side. New valves and springs, ported the head to match an Offenhauser 4bbl dual plane intake from Summit. And a 390 Holley carb. It made 378 hp. And almost 400 ft lb tongue on the engine dyno. Best motor I've ever owned. Sold the truck last year. Still on the road now in houston, sporting a new paint job. Really wish I had her back

Eric, love this video. I've got a 89 f150 with the 300 that my dad bought new. It has 240k miles and still kicking strong. Had to replace radiator, alternator, valve cover gasket and even transmission but the engine is still going. I change the oil every 4k miles. Your not going to win races with it but I love the old girl. Thanks again for the content. Old Hickory, Tn. 🇺🇸

16:29 and that's why you NEVER have valve timing problems with these engines. What I love to see! That timing set is immortal. They're said to live through two engine rebuilds before they even get any appreciable wear on them and I don't think anyone's ever put so many miles on one of these engines that they truly wore a timing set out. Uhh, word of advice, don't try to get the gear off the cam. IT's a press fit. They're married for life. Death do them part type deal.

Back in the day, I bought a 1979 F-100 with a 300 in it. Former owner put cold water in it when it overheated. The head cracked between each valve on each cylinder. First engine I ever rebuilt using an old Chilton manual as a guide.

Iron water pump!!! Designed to last forever, just fit a kit when it goes bad. (From my book, My Teen Years.) A Fordson Tractor Waterpump. I was 18, 1963 and I fortunately found employment in the Queensland, Australia, Main Roads Department. It was possibly a year or two later when the below incident occurred. The bitumen gang had a tractor dragging a broom. The boss and I went out to repair the waterpump, it was usual in those days to press the pump apart and replace the worn kit, bearing and seal not like today where you dump the old one in the bin, pull a new one out of a box. We were on the side of the road with the pump setup on some ripper tines and a hydraulic jack under the tractors front axle! Ted from down under.