Gentlemen (and Ladies)...

I was doing a spark plug change on my 2004 Ford F150 Supercrew 5.4 3v engine. Broke 4 out of the 8 spark plugs, had the lisle tool and was able to remove the remaining parts of the spark plugs with ease.

When I finished and started up my truck, i heard a loud knocking almost immediately. I checked everything, and found the problem to be the back cylinder on the passenger side. I pulled the spark plug and found dents on the metal electrode shield. Yes, I ***** myself. I put a camera down in the cylinder and saw scarring, and a screw embedded into the piston, thread side up toward the head. The screw is SO embedded a magnet will not even budge it. The hole is so small, there is nothing to fit it in there to get the screw. Talk about devastation.

What I found was an IMPACT Swivel tool I was using lost it's screw at the joint. I had no clue it went into the engine. So, I have to pull the head. Needless to say I am not necessarily qualified to do the job. I plan on researching the crap out of it and doing it myself.

So from my F150 fans out there, if you have any recommendations, parts you had a good/bad experience with, anything at all, send it my way. The good thing about all of this was I am prepared to do the timing components (chains/sprockets/guides/tensioners, etc.). I guess it will be just a little more of a job..

Thanks in advance for all your assistance.

 

Damn... the bad luck...sorry buddy.

 

Ouch.....
Best of luck, wish I could help.

 

That sux indeed.

Good chance to learn something new though if you're try to find a positive spin

 

Go to your local hardware store, get the smallest diameter /longest flat blade screwdriver you can find. Get that piston to the point where you can get in there and try to knock it loose. Then try the magnet again. It's worth a shot. Good luck

 

That is some bad luck. Sorry to hear.

 

Mr.Topaz06-did that. tried a vacuum, magnet, camera, everything. Went and spoke with Ford Service manager, he says it would need a new engine, they do not recommend replacing one side of the head or one piston because it would cause the engine to be out of balance.

So, I am looking to tear the engine out, buy a new one...

Gx2Lariat-you are correct, and I am dreading this. That and having a new engine is the silver lining, but man-what a day.

 

The service manager was either not be truthful or doesn't know a cylinder from his *****hole.

There is absolutely no truth to what he said. We replace single pistons in race engines all the time and they are under far more strain and far higher RPMs then what that engine could even image seeing. As for the head, seriously? No balance issue whatsoever changing one side. Completely full of ****!


Truth be told most OEM engines are not fully balanced from the factory and the likelihood that a single piston is so far off weight from the others that it would toss out balance is ludicrous. By a factory piston and change it out, assuming you do not see significant damage to the cylinder wall.

Yes this is likely out of your league but it can be done by a novice. I would not leave that piston in there and attempt to repair the head. That piston is damaged and has a high likelihood of coming apart and causing much worse damage than you already have. The piston will not be a lot of money on its own and having a machine shop swap the rod will not be much either.

Pull the head and have a good look at what the damage actually is. You can pull a single piston with the engine still in the truck.
Drop the oil pan
pull the piston rod cap off
cover the rod bolts and be careful with the bearings
gently tap the piston down from above (need two people here,one to tap and one to catch the assembly.
Take it to a machine shop and have them instal a new piston
Reassemble in reverse order making sure the cap goes back on the same way (mark it when you take it off) and the rod bolts are torqued correctly.
Make any repairs needed to the head

As for the cylinder, if there are any scratches you can feel with a finger nail, call in a pro to have a look and give you some advice.

 

You have my sympathy

 

and stay far away from the dealership with this repair. No dealer mechanics do or have done rebuilds before. You need to find a trusted mechanic with experience in engine rebuilds. Look for a guy involved in some form of auto racing, they repair and rebuild engines all the time and will know exactly what to do.