My aunt has a 1998 F150 with the 4.6 V8. with only 40,000 miles.
Two years ago when she tried to leave work the truck would not start, it would crank over, but it would not start. She had the truck towed home and we figured out it was her fuel pump went bad.
She did not have the money at the time to fix it, so she let it set and drover her nissan around.

I know after sitting for a few years the piston rings will stake (rust) to the cylinder walls. Usually take the plugs out, and pour in some oil, PB blaster,etc....and let it sit for a day or so, then turn the motor by hand to free it up.

Well She decided to get it fixed finally, and had it towed to the local ford dealer after sitting in her driveway for two years. Ford calls her later in the day and tells her the battery is dead and wont hold a charge, and the engine is siezed/locked up. They tell her it needs a brand new engine and could cost $5000. + after all is said and done.

She calls me asking what she should do. I told her BS! it only has 40,000 miles, and it does not need a new engine. It just needs to be broke free from sitting. I told her to have it towed to my house and I will fix it.


So today she had the tow truck bring it out to me.
Tow truck driver tells me that ford said it has a bad fuel pump ( we knew) and that the motor has a spun main bearing in the motor..and asks me if I was going to rebuild the engine.<O</O
I tell him the story on the truck…and he shook his head..and said yea..Ford is Full of it!<O</O
<OI call my aunt and tell her what the tow truck driver told me, so </O
she calls Ford…..and asks what they did to the truck?
<O</O
<O</O
Ford said…the truck has a dead battery…bad fuel pump…and a spun bearing.<O</O
She asked them how do they know it was a bearing?

Ford said they got the truck to run but the engine made a horrible noise like a bad /spun bearing inside.<O</O
<O</O

I asked her…how did they get the truck to run with no gas/no fuel pressure if the fuel pump is out?<O</O
The only way they could is with spraying Starting fluid ( ETHER) into the motor…and fuel injection motors HATE that..they will run like total crap...
Bang …etc…. because none of the sensors are working correctly..and makes the computer go OH CRAP…It’s the end of the world!<O</O
<O</O

If they (ford service) broke the motor free..I wonder how bad they did it….did they FORCE it and break something internal ( bent a rod, wrist pin..)?<O</O
I Can’t prove it…if they did. <O</O
<O</O

So the truck is at my house….and I am going to check it out.<O</O
I am still going to pull the plugs and put oil inside, turn the motor by hand to make sure it is not locked up or messed up internally from them "working" on it.

I have never heard of a bearing going bad by just sitting.
I have never worked on a 4.6 mod motor..and I know nothing about how good or bad they are... but I am soon to find out!

If you have read this far...thanks for your time, and feel free to comment.

 

Are planning to rebuild the engine?

 

If I have to I will....but I hope I can avoid it. If I do, with only 40,000 miles I would probably only have to do the bottom end ( bearings and rings). That is if nothing is broken or tore up.

I have a 96 Dodge ram ( Indy pace truck) that sat in storage for awhile and it staked the rings to the cylinder walls. I did as posted above and broke it free and the truck still runs great...no damage done.

 

A lot of equipment sits for years with little use. Some diesel fuel can help if the motor is stuck and then drain it out and change motor oil and filter. Enough Diesel and you can rock free the wrist pins and possibly a stuck piston if needed to get lubricant penetrant that far up. Getting good fuel is another problem. You may need to pull the pumps and replace thefilter along with a fuel injector or 2? But it can run again. Don't suck the bad fuel up out of the tank and into the system. Don't start it with the Diesel in the motor, just free it up manually if needed. I would expect a water leak has caused this, but luck maybe not.

 

I know I will have to drain the gas tank to replace the fuel pump and filters anyway. on top of that the gas is 2 years old and probably sour. (good for lawnmowers!)
I am just a little irritated at the moment at the Ford service Dept....I may be wrong..but currently i am thinking they was trying to rake my aunt for 5K or more.
I know the economy is bad and buisness is hurting, but you dont have to be shady like that.
we are hurting too!

 

I agree and they want a warranty job with lots of profit. DIYS usually is best if possible in these cases. Good luck with your project. A few weeks and some weekend time and whirrrrrrrr/zoom/varoooooooom. LOL

 

If it were my truck I would at least take a look inside the engine.

The only other gain would be selling the truck as a part truck.

Thank goodness it is not a primary vehicle, so you have time

on your side.

Keep us posted, sounds like a good project.

 

UPDATE:

Ok over this weekend I got to tinker with the truck a little.

I pulled the plugs ( Oh man.. what a PITA!!) and sprayed some oil in the cylinders. Let it sit over night, then I turned the engine over by hand with a socket and ratchet on the main pulley bolt.

Engine turned nice...free and easy! No noises made. Then I hit the starter and let it spin the motor a few times to blow the oil out.
Still turned over great with no noises.

I put the plugs in and turned it by hand again. Everything seems ok so far... good compression on all 8 cylinders. I turned the motor by hand 8 full revolutions to make sure. No binding, or noise.

So I dropped the gas tank, drained out the old gas,and replaced the fuel pump and fuel screen. I also replaced the in-line fuel filter.
Put fresh gas in the tank and started the truck, it fired up and ran great but....

There is a rattle in the engine. It is not a rod or main bearing from what I can tell. It sounds like it is in the valve train up top on the passenger side. So I am thinking it is maybe a broke or collapsed valve spring. or something of that nature. The truck sitting for 2 years might have collapsed the valve spring if it was pushed open the whole time.

I have not had time to pull the valve cover yet to see exactly what is going on.

My question to you fine people here is... Can I replace a valve spring or what ever might be broke without taking the cam off/out?

Any suggestions ?
Thanks for your time!

 

If it ticking perty loud, pull the valve cover to see if one is stuck. Was gonna say run it and let it relearn, but damage from a valve is an option not wanted.

 

Another update:

I had some time today and was able to pull the valve cover off ( passenger side).
I checked it out and everything looked good. I was hoping it was a hydraulic lash adjuster was bad, but everything looks good.
I even hooked back up the plugwires and injectors and started the truck.
again everything looks good...all the valves are working, springs..etc...(sigh*) so I guess I will have to dig deeper.
Looks like I will be pulling the oil pan and see if I can find something.

The sound is coming from number 1 cylinder. So it might be a bad wrist pin rattling in the piston..... guess I will find out when I have the time get in there.

 

A broken piston should show up with a compression test. Does the rattle go away when you unhook the coil for that cyl. If it does the rod brg is suspect. Water turning to steam creats a knock in a cylinder with the right circumstances. Water from the intake or head gasket probably. Maybe some white sweet smell out the exhaust?

 

I did as posted above and broke it free and the truck still runs great

 

Good to hear Laura, change your oil & filter regularly.

 

Thanks Papa Tiger... I forgot about the unplug the spark plug trick.

I had a few minutes today, and unhooked the plug wires whlie the truck was running, the knock did not go away. Still has the rattle.
There is also nothing coming out of the exhaust, nice and clean ...no smoke...nada.

Laura: Glad to hear that your engine is alive and well.

 

OK, looking for heat/wear on the cam area where the sound is isolated. It has hydraulic lash adjusters, one or more are probably not pumping up. Stuck compresseddue to valve spring tension. You may need to pull cam, and replace them? Using Seafoam in the motor oil caries certain risks if you rev it up?