I was going down the highway today at about 65 mph and I heard a significant clunk under the hood. My first thought was a flat tire so I started to pull over. As I slowed down i began to hear a fast ticking sound coming from under the hood. Right before I shut the engine off my dash beeped and read "check gauges". My oil pressure went to zero. i immediately shut the engine off to check for any obvious signs of damage and found nothing. A guy stopped to check on me and went under the truck and told me to turn it over for one second so i did and he heard what he thought sounded like internal parts flopping around inside the engine. Truck didnt sound like it wanted to start so I quit right there.

A little background info on the truck... 108k miles, recent spark plug change at 103k, oil changed religiously every 5k with 5w20 synthetic, no other problems with the truck ever except for the common tick which Ive learned to accept as normal.

I would like to hear some of the guru's thoughts on this subject. Ive done a search and found similar topics but it seems like when most timing tensioners and guides go out the truck will still run. I know its bad, but how bad??

THANK YOU!

 

Do you use Fram oil filters?

Also helpful to know the engine type: 4.2, 4.6, or 5.4?

 

sorry, engine is 5.4 liter. truck is also 4wd. As far as oil filters go I always use mobil or motorcraft filters and mobil one 5w20 synthetic oil.

 

Hmm... Any other details?

 

long shot here... have you checked your FPDM?

Maybe if the FPDM died your engine was starved for fuel and made some odd noises as you slowed down? I'm not sure if this is likely or not?

I would think if you were at highway speeds when the FPDM died then your engine would quit firing but the transmission would keep the engine moving. This could be the first "clunk" you heard as the transmission went from pushing to being pushed. When your engine dies the oil pressure goes to zero and it beeps. You thought you shut the engine off but really you just shut the key off.

This is just a theory... I don't know how likely it is...

 

First of all, I apologize for the late response. I was having trouble with my account. Secondly thanks for the replies so far. Updated news.... Local mechanic who has excellent reputation looked at the truck. He found no compression on no. 2 cylinder. looking further, he found spark plug for that cylinder chewed up. THEN saw a hole in piston with bore scope!!! he stopped investigating there to avoid running up unnecessary labor costs. So now I am looking at engine options and having trouble deciding to fix and keep, fix and sell, or just sell. I want to avoid any more problems that these trucks are known for. Engine options discovered so far are reman from ford, reman from other supplier, or used engine. Costs look like they will range from $4800 to $5800 depending on engine. If I sell after fixing, I am worried the value of the truck will go down significantly. suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

Well, it's for sure that it's value at 108xxx with a dead engine is "mot high". A chewed plug and hole sound like it could be a valve dropped or snapped a head off maybe.

A mechanic who owned a truck like that would maybe pull that head, look at the cylinder wall, drop the pan if possible and look at pieces, and maybe pull that piston / rod and see if the cylinder wall was useable. He might be able to put humpty dumpty back together and ghet another 50 -75 K out of it.

Most people are looking at a motor, used or reman or Ford or Jasper.

Look at what the truck is worth now versus with a fixed or reman motor if you want to deternmine based on value.

If it were mine, I'ld look at checking her out further as I described first and / or a used engine from a salvage yard. Some guys see 250,xxx plus on these engines. It's rare a valve does that but it happens occasionally.

 

I wish I knew the value of the truck as is versus the value of the truck with a reman or used motor, but I guess only the market can determine that. Another question i have is how much difference would a warranty from Jasper or other reman engine builder actually be worth. I know your lucky to get Ford to honor warranties so I can only imagine dealing with a warranty through the engine supplier. Im not attached to the truck, actually very disappointed in it and get more and more discouraged after every horror story i read about timing chain tensioners, fuel injectors, cam phasers, spark plugs, ect. Im thinking hard about getting a 95-96 f-150 to do away with all the over-engineering in these trucks because they seem so much more dependable. By the way, how difficult is the task of swapping engines for your average backyard mechanic?

 

Like any journey of any length, one step at a time starting with the first. Not "hard", just time consuming. Go slow, don't rush, go easy on connectors, label stuff, take pics, have a solid floor if possible like concrete, shed or garage is nice, rent a "Cherry Picker".

I'm sure there are threads, maybe even step by steps .... in the how too sections already. I'ld want a shop manual or Haynes book and a Ford CD handy before I started just "in case".

I've heard good things on Jasper engines, there's even an outlet in the small burg I live near, and you can see edge of town to edge of town.

 

A dealer could probably figure this out for you... might have to ask real nice, but I bet they would do it.

I would approach them and explain what happened. Say you are thinking of trading it in for a new one (even if its not true) and ask what they will give you for it as-is. Then also ask them to work it up as if you put a new engine in it.

That would be the best way to get very good estimates of value.

 

95-96 technology will not be more dependable. You do realize that in that era, you were lucky to get anything to even last 100K miles, right?

As for all of the over-engineering, I don't think that is responsible for the problems with your truck. It just broke, no amount of under or over engineering will fix every single thing that can go wrong.

As for a backyard mechanic engine swap, you can kiss any sort of warranty goodbye. Typically on reman/new engines, if they're not done by a legit shop or dealership, its at your own risk with no warranty whatsoever.

 

That is a good suggestion mkosu, I think I will talk to my local dealer this weekend about that.

I spoke with several reman engine suppliers including Jasper and no one so far require a certified mechanic to perform the installation in order for the warranty to be valid, anyone can perform the install. And no, I dont think youd be lucky to see 100k miles on a 95-96, it happens all the time.

Does anyone have any suggestions on low mileage used motors or remanufactured? Ive been comparing places and Jasper seems to be the most professional and reputable but they are $1500 more expensive than some others. Are they really that much better? If I decide to go with a used engine, would it be a good idea to find a 2008 to avoid most of the problems that the earlier models are known for? Will the 2008 interchange with a 2004?

 

If I were looking for engines, one thing I'ld definately do is look at my local salvage and get them to run a querry in the area for low miles late engines, just to know my options.

 

Well Ive pretty much set my heart on doing the swap myself with a used motor, hopefully one that I can find locally and verify the mileage via carfax. Originally i was dead set against a used engine from a yard but now after looking at all ooptions it seems like the most logical. Now its just a matter of finding one and figuring out if I can use a 2008 for certain. Ive seen some talking about doing it but never actually read anyone confirming that they interchange and run correctly.


I already have a chiltons manual and I would love to get my hands on a factory service manual but they are around 100 bucks used! I will try my luck and see how it goes. One things for sure I will be going very slowly and taking lots of pictures, labeling plugs, wires, bolts, ect. If anyone has any leads on available engines in the southeast preferrably in Louisiana please let me know.

Now i just need to find an engine.

 

ok so I found a few low mileage 2008 motors (29k and 42k) for around $3300. Seems like a pretty good deal to me. Only thing I am waiting for is to be certain that the long block will work. From what Ive found so far the things I will need to keep from my 04 are intake, fuel rail, oil pan, and maybe a few other miscellaneous items.

Ive been thinking about what could have gone wrong to cause the catastrophic failure. Ever since the plug change (by the way went very smooth considering NO spark plugs broke with 106k miles on original plugs) the truck has had an unusually low idle at around 600 rpm. could this possibly be linked to the failure of the engine? I went back with the same motorcraft 2 piece plugs. Also, I see a lot of talk about using high quality oil filters like motorcraft or equivalent. All ive ever used was mobil 1 oil and filters. Originally I didnt think this would be a problem because i always thought mobil 1 was premium quality. What is so special about motorcraft filters? more oil flow, better filtration? Im just trying to give as much information to help diagnose my original problem that I do not know. Id sure hate to spend all this time and money on a new engine and have the same thing happen because I was doing something wrong.

One more thing, could someone please verify whether or not a 2008 5.4 will be compatible with my 2004 computer and harness? Ive researched for a solid week now and suprisingly I cannot find much.