dukedkt442

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Ecobuilder

What mileage is showing?

At the very least, remove the cam caps, cams, phasers, and oil pan to inspect. See how much scoring there is on the caps and if any debris in oil pan.
This will also let you inspect the crankshaft and bearings from below.

It would probably be worth it to remove the heads so as to do a close inspection of the valves and pistons. If they look OK, pour a little MMO in each cylinder and let soak before trying to turn crank.

I couldn't turn mine by hand even though it would crank in the beginning. After a thorough cleaning, I could turn by hand no problem.

If things look not too bad, you could attempt to clean the sludge and replace timing parts etc.

L19MUD

its showing 180k miles

Did you manage to save your engine this way? and if so how long has it been running?

I am guessing as a minimum I am going to need 2 cams, all cam followers, possibly valves on one side if timing jumped, timing chains, guides, tensioners, gaskets, phasers. What sort of money do you think that would be be? Do people use Rockauto for parts? They seem to be the easiest place to buy from directly in the UK

bobofthenorth

I certainly use them in Canada. They (usually) do an excellent job on the shipping. I've done core returns which went completely without incident. On one occasion when I stupidly ordered a CCW water pump when I needed a CW pump their return process went flawlessly. I wouldn't hesitate to use them. Generally they have a range of parts/prices including Motorcraft options.

L19MUD

Has anyone got a link to the thread where an engine was rebuilt unsuccessfully? Hoping to learn from others mistakes if possible if I do jump into it

SilverSport

this...

Bill

dukedkt442

Tip: if you try and take shortcuts, the engine will die. The ONLY way it will be successful is if you take your time and spend the money on quality (Ford) parts... and even then is hit or miss with the state of that engine.

L19MUD

From what I can see he hasn't exactly rebuilt his, just cleaned out the gunk he can without taking off the cams/cam followers/heads, changed the timing gear and hoped for the best.

I'm in a position where a remanufactured engine is out of reach for me in the UK so I need to be able to see if this engine is worth the time and money invested in it to rebuild. I am happy to invest a bit of time to do that assessment.

This is my plan - happy for suggestions

Remove other rocker cover and check cam followers for damage - assuming no damage (as with the other bank) I can assume that the engine has seized due to oil starvation from the oil pickup being blocked from some of that gunk. I then need to free the engine off. I have two options from here.....

Option 1, Get plugs out (will need to buy the tool from the US first) , put ATF down the bores and leave to soak, then try and get her turning over. Give an initial clean up without removing heads. Check main and big end bearings and check I don't have a spun bearing. Borescope down the bores and look up from sump to make sure the bores are not scored. Bolt all back together with some fresh oil and see if she will start. I would then have to strip back down and take heads off to clean the oilways.

Option 2, Remove heads and thus avoid the plug issue as can take them out easily when the head is off. Put some AFT in the bores and try to unseize without damaging the bores (can also see if I already have bore damage and thus a scrap engine). Check mains and big end bearings and check I don't have a spun bearing. I can then clean heads in the parts washer and thoroughly flush the bores Using this approach I can't then see if she will start without spending some money

If I have got to either Option 1 or option 2 and not found irreversible damage I will then replace the timing parts, phasers, cam followers if required, main and big end bearings if starting to wear (assuming the crank is in spec) etc, replace heads time up and hope for the best

Option 1 has some extra labour time but gives me the option of seeing if I have other problems before I throw a load of money at her, option 2 removes the spark plug issue but means I really need to buy all the parts and fit before I see if she will start

What do people think?

Has anyone done this sort of rebuild before themselves? I can do all the work myself and am quite comfortable with this type of work having done it on a few engines before (mainly Land Rover 4cyl diesels)

dukedkt442

I would suggest pulling all timing parts off, pulling the cams out, removing the oil pump and dropping the pan before trying to see if it'll run, as you'll probably just cause further damage (as he did). Check for wear now to see if it's even worth the labor, and save yourself the labor.

Ecobuilder

Check out my experience HERE

It was pretty bad. When I unbolted the phasers, they fell apart.

A year later and it runs like new; quiet, good power, and better than expected fuel economy.