Caserace33

Hello all, I am hoping someone with some experience with a 2004-2008 F150 with the 5.4 knows what my issue is here. Some background.

2005 F150 , 145,000 5.4 engine. Old engine bent a rod, root cause unknown. My guess was a bad injector. R&R engine with a reman from a Ford dealer in Texas. Engine install went fine. During initial cranking to prime oil system the engine would spin around a few times then clunk and come to a stop. Initial assumption was a cheap replacement starter causing the issue. Replaced starter, same thing. Next assumption was a misalignment between the flex plate and converter. Removed engine again. Replaced converter and flex plate. Old flex plate did not have any noticeable signs of damage, nor did either bell housing show signs of being in a bind. Installed new torque converter, 3 clunks on, it free spins on the input shaft. Run out on new flex plate seemed fine < 0.014". Reinstall, and same issue starter will go a few revs then clunk. Removed all spark plugs, put a 4 foot bar on the crank bolt and the engine will be locked up if turned clockwise from the fan end. Removed starter to ensure it was not causing the binding. All plugs are removed, engine will rotate around then clunk and come to a stop. I marked the damper in this location. You can roll the engine backwards about 30-40 degrees then come back to the stopping point, and 3 out of 4 times it will stop there again, but the 1 time it will go on past the point. Make two revs of the crank pulley, then clunk. Engine out seems to roll fine - never had the starter installed while the engine was out to try and crank the engine at a faster speed. I know for a fact the TC is installed correctly, it still free spins. I can not get the torque converter and flex plate disengaged all of the way now to isolate them. The nuts are removed and it is free off the flex plate, but the studs still protrude a about 1/8 inch to keep them engaged.

Questions:

There are multiple holes for the flexplate to align with the TC. They all seem to be there for ease of installation?

Is there anything in the transmission that could cause this issue?

I am assuming a rod cap is loose and a piston is hitting the bottom of the bore, but I can not take the pan off for warranty reasons. I can try a bore scope.

Any help is appreciated, I am doing this for my brother in law, who is currently deployed in Iraq.

Also, fyi for those who need to know my mechanical expertise. I am a United States Department of Labor Journeymen Mechanical Engineering Technician, I also worked in a heavy duty truck shop for a few years. I know my way around the end of a wrench.

Martian

Moved to 2004-2008 for increased visibility.

JCR 56

Acts like it's out of time and a piston is hitting a valve. Any way there is definitely something wrong, send it back.

dom07

First step is separate the trans and motor. You need to verify the rotating assy without the trans or starter.

Did you spin the motor by hand before install?

At first glance, JCR has it -- sounds like it's badly timed and you have interference. If you didn't open up the valve covers on it, then its not your fault. Send it back.

If it does rotate by hand, you have an issue with your trans installation.

Caserace33

I can rotate it backwards all I want. I also rotated it around multiple times to torque all of the flex plate to TC nuts. The issue arises when you have the starter on it and spin it. I now have the cranked marked and as I said in the post. It always stops in the exact same spot. You can then roll the engine backwards counter clock wise from the fan end, then back to the trouble spot and sometimes it will glide past and others it will lock there again. Once you make it past the spot, the front damper will make two revs then lock in the same spot again. I just don't understand what could be causing this issue from my installation.
I seated the torque converter, three clunks until the pump was lined up. I can not fit my hand between the bottom of the converter and the bell housing. The studs are 3/16 to 1/8 inch recessed behind the face of the bell housing. I installed the engine and was able to align the dowels and slid the engine to transmission without using bolts to help pull it up. I then was able to rotate the TC by hand to get the studs to align with the flex plate. All was done by the book! So if there is an error there I will claim fault, but I want to know what in the heck it can be hitting to be in the same exact spot each time within the transmission. Even if the transmission was damaged during the initial rod bending. That still would not cause my issue because the engine should start, it just wouldn't move. If the engine was out of time, then why when I roll it backwards the issue goes away intermittently?

Caserace33

I am going to borescope the engine tonight. I am guessing I am going to find valve to piston contact. The warranty guys want me to pull the damper, something about Ford made a thick tone wheel and a thin tone wheel for the 5.4 and that can be causing the lock up. I don't think that is the case because of the two revolutions of the crank. If it was the flexplate to torque converter, it would happen every rev, along with a piston, or a tone wheel. Every other rev means something in the cam is causing this issue. Will keep anyone posted. I was hoping for some more replies to see if anyone else has ever had this issue.

Martian

I, too, think you'll find valve-to-piston contact. Curious if you can record what you see with the camera.

Moremoney

My bet is something internal like you suggested possibly like a rod cap or some kind of clearance issues...I read your posts several times and it makes no sense that its doing that out of the truck as well.

Caserace33

Well as expected I did everything correctly on the install. Check this video out. You can hear me barring the engine after about 1 minute. But no piston movement. I'm guessing a cap is off and the piston has pushed out of the combustion chamber enough for a ring to hold it in place.


Let me know your thoughts

Caserace33

No one has watched the video!? Come on guys, this is epic video from a 20 dollar borescope from Amazon. Great quality for 20 bucks, everyone needs one of these in their toolbox!