Mercruiser 888 Cracked Block or Head

[jjohanson]

Hi all, Sadly today I found milky oil in my mercruiser 888 ford 302. So my question is, if the block is cracked is there an automotive ford 302 shortblock I could swap into it? What year to year if possible? Just want to get a little info before I start tearing into this thing if its even worth it. Thank you

 

[Bondo]

Re: Mercruiser 888 Cracked Block or Head

Ayuh,.... I donno the vintage mixin', 'n matchin' Gotcha's on Fords,...

But a Ford 302 pickup motor of the right vintage will No doubt get ya goin'.....

'n I'd go for a Long block, as you don't know whether yer heads are any good, or Not...

Just pop in some brass core plugs, 'n bolt on yer accessories...

 

[jjohanson]

Re: Mercruiser 888 Cracked Block or Head

Thanks for the response, I have decided to fix instead of letting it go. Anyone else know the year range the replacement block needs to be? The boat is a 77 on the title

 

[jjohanson]

Re: Mercruiser 888 Cracked Block or Head

Also, if the heads are in bad shape, since it has 351w heads do i have to replace them with the same 351w or will everything bolt up to the standard 302 heads?

 

[Piratehooker]

Re: Mercruiser 888 Cracked Block or Head

Maybe a ford guy can chime in, but the bolt pattern on the back of a 302 should be the same no matter what year. I would think any of your worries would pertain more to being able to bolt up your accessories. You would prob want a carb'd engine, but even one of the newer 5.0 blocks could work. The 302 has really been the same for a long time bare bones wise.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Mercruiser 888 Cracked Block or Head

Any year 302 will work, but you will have to get a different harmonic balancer/flywheel to match if you go with a later engine. I can't remember what year they changed the imbalance, but it was late 80's I think. The heads are pretty much interchangeable, but the bolt size is different for 351w.