Hello.

I bought a 1997 Ford F150 4.2L V6 from the company that I work for. I got the truck for $200.00 before I found out that it was hydrolocked from a gasket leak. The truck has 144,000 miles, but other wise it is in great shape.

I am preparing to rebuild the engine. It is winter and I do not have anything else to do, so what the heck!!

My plan is to tear it apart and see what is messed up. It starts (after draining the coolant out of the cylinders) and runs. It is a little ruff and knocks pretty loud, but does not shake too bad. I am hoping that it will just be a couple of bent rods as the worst. a couple of new parts, new bearings all around and of course new gaskets for the whole engine.

If anybody out there has done this before and has any advise, it will be greatly appreciated.

 

Yeah, I hope you have $4,000 laying around

Rods WILL be bent, expect to replace those. My block was cracked, so mine required a brand-new zero-mile engine from Ford.

For the price, I'd go to a junkyard and find a decent 4.6L and do the swap

 

you'd be better off buying a new low end and just swapping the uppers over.

 

No matter what it cost you for the new engine, you only paid $200. Now you'll have a truck with a new engine. It should be good for another 100,000 miles. What could go wrong? Considering it's a '97 w/ 144,000 miles; you'll just have to be ready to fix whatever else breaks on it next. Radiator, fan, electrical, emissions control, exhaust, transmission, brake system, and whatever else. That, and do all the deferred maintenance. What could go wrong?

 

You can rebuild it for less than 4k.. you can get a 4.2 v6 at a junkyard for cheap. Or might find a rebuilt/new one online for a decent price.. if all the wiring is in good shape and everything, you could swap it in in no time, and replace anything else while u have it out.

 

check out www.v6f150.com. they have a whole section of hydrolock info there for our trucks

 

Well guess what???? We got the motor out of the truck and tore down. All that we found was a bent piston connecting rod and some piston damage. The machine shop
said that all was good with the crank and block. We do not even have any bent pushrods. I am thinking that we got very lucky!! So I am looking at around $700.00 for a total rebuild cost. That includes all new gaskets and bearings throughout the motor.

 

Congrats! That sounds like about the best possible outcome.

 

Nice, just remember to change the timing cover gasket, that was the major cause of H-lock on these motors. Get the gaskets right from Ford, not the Felpro ones. In the future if you notice the coolant level in the overflow bottle going down but there is no visible leak, you are looking at a possible h-lock again.

 

Sounds like you faired well in this bad time. When the dealership tore down mine, one cylinder was all *******ed up. Prolly cause the guy started it off the tow truck and drove it into the bay

 

My 4.2L hydrolocked at 140K. #2 piston pushrod broke in two. Rebuilt myself, but this seems to be a common problem with 4.2L up until 2000. Looking to motor swap with a 4.6L or 5.4L. I have a 5 speed manual, and I believe they will bolt to a 4.6, but i'm not sure. Any help?

 

the problem was solved in late 1998, so all 99's and up do not have this issue. the 4.6L's bellhouse will mate with the M5OD, so your good there. The 5.4L is too powerful for the ligt-weight M5OD so your either stuck with a 4.2L or 4.6L. if you can find a good deal on one, i'd go with the V8, but generally people spend more for an extra 2 pistons and 30 rwhp than just rebuilding the good 'ol V6. but best of luck.

-alex

 

A 302 will fit very nice in there too.

 

we're having a very detailed discussion over on v6f150 about someone who is trying to fit a 302 in an OBS

 

What about the motor mounts. I've considered a 5.0 because I know the tranny will mate, but I am curious about the motor mounts for a 5.0 or 4.6, versus the 4.2 that is in my truck now.