Long story short, my occasional cylinder 4 misfire after digging into the engine looks to be (at a minimum) a blown head gasket. Filling the head with air and both valves closed you can see air bubbling into the coolant system. Outside of the misfire, the truck has run just as great as it always has but dealer says they have to pull the engine and will cost 6 to 7 more hours just to pull that head off and see what the damage is. Sure would hate to spend hundreds to find out a cylinder is fouled. They're recommending a reman engine since it has 178k miles on it... at a price of $6,300.

I don't drive the truck every day and I was planning on keeping it more as a toy/off-road vehicle as it's been lifted, has 35" tires, etc. The truck is in really good shape otherwise (it's a SuperCrew Lariat). Considering looking for a decent used engine but also considering finding someone who would do the work on the side to pull the engine/head and see if it could be as "simple" as a head gasket replacement. The truck was not using a lot of oil (maybe a quart in 3 to 4k miles) and was otherwise running with the same power but I'm wondering if I'm being unrealistically optimistic on a repair...

Would appreciate anyone's opinions as I'm struggling to invest thousands in a vehicle that's worth about $8k to $9k (running!).

 

seems like the dealer quote of $6300 is out of line.

Reman engines should be under $2k, used under $1k. Would definitely be worth calling around to some non-dealer mechanics and see what they would charge for an engine swap.

 

The Triton Engines go for over 2k and used are usually around 1250 or more dependent upon mileage.

Try calling Jasper Engines for a quote and also look up a place called LKQ. Then check with a local Auto Repair shop to see what the labor would be to R&R it. Total cost should be about 5200 to the 6300 you got quoted from ford.

Labor for a long block is 18-20 Hours at what ever the labor rate is in your area.

Then most Reman Engine Manufactures require a new radiator for the warranty, Add into that all the extras such as water pump hoses plugs coolant oil it adds up fast. I am in the middle of a Reman engine swap doing it myself and I have about 3500.00 into it already.

 

There is a guy here in Denver selling remanufactured 4.6 and 5.4's for $1900 (with trade in). Used 4.6's are going for about $600 (no core) around here. I know labor would be a lot but I didn't think it would be over $2000 (40 hrs X $50/hr). I didn't factor in all the misc parts like radiator and whatnot that could easily add $1000.

I still think $6300 is way high, you could buy a whole truck in really good condition from a Craigslist seller for that price here in CO.

When my truck was (almost) totaled in Feb, I found a local one-owner 2003 black SuperCrew 5.4L FX4 130k miles in cherry condition for $7400. I still regret not buying that one.

 

What kind of warranty on those Remans? And who is remanufacturing them?

 

craigslist ad for a local machine shop:

http://denver.craigslist.org/pts/3073068557.html

http://denver.craigslist.org/pts/3074929515.html

I haven't called them as I don't need an engine (yet). Just saw the ad when I was looking for F150 parts on CraigsList.

Edit: a BBB search says the company might be a little sketch. as usual, buyer beware.

 

I'd just start looking for low mileage ones at salvage yards.....

 

Low miles 2v modulars are getting a bit scarce although the 2v 4.6 was made well into the late 2000's and even the 2v 5.4 was put in the e-series vans fact is I think they still are going in the Vans as far as I know and they can be made to work..
They havent put a 2v 5.4 in a truck since 03 though so good direct swaps are getting rare..

 

And when you do find one they usually want way to much for them making the Reman the best option. The two companies I listed have 3/100k warranties on their Remans.
Wholesale pricing on the Remans is around 2300

Looks like Craigslist removed that ad for some reason. Sometimes when thing seem to good to be true they sually are.

 

6300 from a Ford dealer is about right. Our company truck (04) had a phaser failure and the local delaer quoted us right at 7000 OTD. Check out Jasper's website, they list local shops that do their installs. I believe they were signicantly lower than Ford.

 

Yep. I'd do that vs a head gasket now a days. Easy, quick, cheapest route and they're out there. I'd find one thru this free service. Worked for me every time for used stuff.

http://www.car-part.com/

 

Thanks for that website Jbrew. I found a couple 5.4L engines locally for around $1,300 with around 90k on them. Jasper wants $3,385 for reman; probably not any cheaper, if not more expensive than what the dealer quoted me. going to look into the used engines, the intake manifold from Rock Auto (Motorcraft replacement is like 3x the cost) and a reman radiator and see if I can get this done for around $4k... maybe a little more after all those hoses that need replacing.

Thanks for the advice guys.

 

Wow, Jasper is way more than I expected. Call LKQ and see what they want for a Reman.

Also do not waste your time on a reman radiator, new radiators are so inexpensive now.

 

To follow up on this (since a happy ending is always good news)... I found an engine out of another '03 SCrew with 80k miles; 160psi across the cylinders and had it swapped out. Also replaced the radiator and all the hoses. All together was right around $5,600 (engine was $1,300). I ended up having the dealer do the work as they were the easiest to work with (believe it or not) and were very fair. Didn't nickel and dime me for anything. Could talk with the technician and everything. He was actually considering buying it before I decided on whether to repair or sell as-is.

Truck is once again running great and very happy to have her back. Wasn't ready to move on yet!

 

Glad to hear you got it fixed.