please help: 351w crankshaft in the way

[josh markvan]

hey guys,

I'm in the process of rebuilding the 351w engine (built June '75) in my

Ford E350 motorhome. I've have limited auto knowledge, but it's gone great

so far. I just marked and removed the rod bearing caps and old rod

bearings and kept everything in order. I wanted to replace these bearings

but another reason for taking these apart was to possibly remove the

crankshaft and access the cam bearings for replacement (I should add that

I'm changing the camshaft, replacing the stock one with a more suitable RV

cam and I have a cam bearing tool, which hasn't helped). I'm doing all of

this with the engine unmounted and jacked up but still in the van.

So, my question is:

With the connecting rods unattached to the crank as they are now, can I

simply mark the crankshaft's position, remove the main bearing caps and

drop the crank, or do I have to do something with the flywheel assembly,

etc, etc? What are the consequences of dropping the crankshaft? It'd be

nice to be able to change the main bearings too while I'm in there...

Thanks so much guys for any and all perspectives/info,

Take care,

Josh Markvan

PS - it's an automatic, if that matters. If you can please relpy to [email protected]

thanks again...