This is the follow up to my "Help!!! Rebuilt engine ran for two minutes and stalled" thread.

I forgot to tighten the cam retaining bolt and it caused the camshaft to slide backwards because the roller lifters contacted more than one cam lobe. This destroyed the roller lifters and camshaft. It also punched the freeze plug at the back of the camshaft bore out into the bell housing and caused the cam to seize in its bearings.

Ouch!!!! Two months of work and $1,135.54 on the hook.

Because of ONE bolt.

I had been keeping a log book. But now I will also be using a CHECK LIST!!!!

The second time is definitively going easier. The Haynes manual is very helpful in many ways but it is clear that it was written by people that haven't pulled the engine on a 4.2l V6 very many times (if at all).

The first tip I would give to anyone that is pulling a 4.2l V6 engine is to remove the water pump and harmonic balancer first. If you don't you will have a very difficult time removing, and re-installing, the engine with out contacting (and gouging) the A/C condenser.

Removing those two parts gives you plenty of room to pull the engine out, and put it back in, with MUCH less difficulty. You have to pull those items off later anyway so doing it now is a no brainer. (Thanks Haynes )

Also if you remove the intake manifold you can easily reach the engine to transmission bolts while standing in the engine compartment facing the windshield.

The Haynes manual suggests laying on the ground and using a two foot long extension and universal joint to remove the bolts from below. I did this the first time and it was very frustrating and took about ten times as long as the method I describe above. Not to mention having to buy an absurdly long extension that I will probably never use again.

Also pull the front wheels and remove the plastic inner fender liners. It takes all of about fifteen minutes. This will give you easy access to both sides of the engine.

I just pulled the engine out and I'm taking it to the machine shop to have new cam bearings, and the popped cam bore freeze plug, installed.

I hope I can leave the heads on since the gaskets and torque to yield bolts cost over $100.


Further updates to follow.

 

Good info BossGuy, I helped a friend put a 4.2 back into a truck. For such a small motor it sure was a tight squeeze.

Hope it goes way better and easier for you this time.

Oh yea, Haynes pretty much sucks, unless you are changing head light fluid or rotating the air in the tires! IMHO.

 

My friends ... worth every penny I paid for them.

 

Fairlaner,

You are 100% correct.

I have the factory manuals for my 1987 Toyota MR2 and my 1996 Toyota Camry. Both are going strong after 25 and 16 years respectively. I was given the Haynes manual for the MR2 and it is complete CRAP!

I could kick myself for not going right out and buying the Ford factory manuals for my F-150.

Can I ask, where did you get yours and how much did you pay?

 

I decided to completely disassemble the engine since I had to have the cam bearings put in by the machine shop.

Some of the broken lifters scraped up the bottom of their lifter bores so they had to be honed. Also the pistons had been scraping against the cylinders due to flooding from repeated over fueled starts attempting to "pump up" the lifters that were actually being hit by more than one cam lobe. This required re-honing the cylinders.

Three valves had been bent from hitting the pistons requiring that they be replaced. Two gudgeon pins had tightened up for some reason and had to be cleaned and re-installed.

Cha-Ching! Add another 244 bucks to the total. So far the running total is $1,687.43.

That does include $477.54 for stuff that was replaced "since I'm in there" like the clutch disk, pressure plate, slave/release bearing assembly, water pump, power steering hose, radiator hoses, filters, plugs etc.

So I'm in for a little more than 1200 bucks so far for just the engine. Not too bad if I ever get the damn thing running!

Also I noticed that one of the main cap bolts had "necked" so I had to stop the rebuild until the Ford dealership opens tomorrow. I'm going to replace all of the main cap bolts.

The money is one thing but I've also spent over 100 hours in this so far and the engine is still on a stand!

I keep telling myself "It'll all be worth it once the engine is purring and I have a nice truck with basically a new engine."

As Zeus is my witness, that day WILL come!

 

I paid about $100 total for the three books on ebay. When I first got my truck in '06, I got a Ford Truck repair manual on CD (can't remember what I paid, but it was cheap). The CD is pretty good, but somehow I just like looking at a book.

I've always done my own repairs. I don't ever really know what I'm doing, so a good manual/internet advice is often important for success.

Good Luck on your motor

 

Break out the champagne!

Well, at least a victory beer or two.

The engine started right up and this time didn't grind to a halt two minutes later. The lifters took a minute or two to pump up and then it settled into a nice smooth idle.

All vitals look good; oil pressure, water temp etc

I noticed that the idle was a bit rough and would surge up and down a bit after I revved the engine. Well, when I took her out for her maiden voyage I quickly found out why. The brake pedal felt like a leg press. I had forgotten to connect the vacuum hose from the brake booster to the intake manifold.

After I connected it the idle smoothed even more and the slight surging stopped.

I have idled and driven it for over an hour and everything seems great with one small annoying exception. There is what sounds like one ticking lifter on the passenger side of the engine.

It is not audible from inside the truck or from the driver's side of the truck unless the hood is open.

I did go cheap and install a used cam and lifters and maybe the ticking is the price to pay for that decision.

Oh well. Hopefully it will smooth out in the next few hundred miles.

Either way it's great to be finally enjoying the truck after all of that money, time and effort.

 

i found a digital copy on ebay. the guy charged 5 dollars and emailed me the book in pdf form. well worth it if you cant find the actual book at a good price. i think that all he does is email manuels, ill check my records for the sellers name if you would like

 

Boss Guy, Congratulations on your motor!


I am interested in the name. My digital copy has the same info as the books, but the drawings have real poor resolution and it seems to only run on windows XP.

 

Huh, -I wonder why. (?) I use 3 DVD's frequently, depending upon model year. They run great on Vista and XP Pro. Resolutions really aren't that bad, could be better. I've seen those $300 + hard copies... Yea, those can't be beat.

 

Thanks Fairlaner. I appreciated all your advice and moral support.

I drove the truck to work today and man did it feel good. It has been over a year since I bought the truck with a spun rod bearing and I forgot what a nice truck it is.

I ran it through a car wash and it looked super fine! The 1997-2003 F-150 is the prettiest one to my eye. (I have a 1973 F-100 and like those years also.) Of course it snowed an hour later and the poor thing is covered in slush and road grime now but I had to see it clean at least once.

That lifter is still ticking at idle but hopefully it will calm down. If it doesn't it will give me an excuse to put in a new cam and lifters in the spring.

I can't believe I just said that. Oh well, the pain is fading into the background now that I'm tooling down the road in my "new" truck!

 

Oh, also my truck looks just like the one in your tag but it is Dark Shadow Gray Metallic and has the aluminum wheels with the oblong holes in them.

It's not dirt colored but it is the color of the shavings from turning gun barrels.

 

BossGuy: Awesome job on rebuilding the engine. Congratulations for not giving up and completed the work. I read your in-depth report on the other forum tonight.

You taught me several new things. Factory manual is the way to go. I purchased mine on local Craigslist and paid 75 dollars for two volumes. i have a 1997 4.2XL.

 

I'm old school ... reg cab short bed is what a 1/2 ton truck is supposed to be!

 

Oops, mine is actually a regular cab long bed.

I like the looks of a short bed but since I do construction I like being able to put 4X8 materials in the bed and close it.

I am always surprised by the number of trucks I see that have crew cabs (four full doors) and dinky four foot beds. What's the purpose of these trucks? Why not just buy an SUV or van?

I guess some guys just like trucks but frequently need to transport more than three people and not haul very much stuff? Seems like a lot of vehicle for not much utility.

To each his own.