Changed the spark plugs. Had 1 break out of the 8. They had 90k miles on them and I was getting a code for misfiring. When it broke, it shattered...everywhere. Apparently, unbenounced to me at the time, a chunk of metal went into the cylinder. Unaware of this at the time, I installed the new spark plugs and started it up. A loud hard banging came from the engine and I shut it off immediately, but it was to late...the damage was done. It appears to be part of the positive electrode that would normally be inside the spark plug. That piece is currently stabbed through the top of my piston in cylinder #2...the same cylinder that the spark plug broke on.

I looks as though it punched through the top of the piston inline with the location of the wrist pin, causing it to stop. When it did this, it could no longer push through and proceeded to bash the crap out of the head and a valve.

So...with this huge pile of crap in bad luck, I have came to terms with the fact that the engine either needs to be replaced, rebuilt or repaired.

So, this is what I see as options right now...

1. With the engine in the truck, drop the oil pan, pull the cap bolts off the rod for cylinder #2, pull the head and remove the destroyed piston, replace the 1 piston with new rings and replace the 1 cylinder head, put it back together and then sell the truck to Car Max.

2. Pull the entire engine and swap it for a used or rebuilt engine and keep the truck.

3. Pull the engine and pay someone to rebuild it and then put it back in and keep the truck.

4. Pull the engine and try to rebuild it myself...which I've never done before, and keep the truck.

The truck is paid off. It has 113k miles on it. It's a 2007 F-150 XLT SuperCrew 4x4 with the 5.4L 3v gas only (not flex fuel) engine.

Any Advice? Has anyone else had to replace the engine? How much do you think it will cost me?

 

Option 1 and keep it.

 

I agree with Roadie. If you know this engine and it has been properly maintained with regular oil changes etc. you should have no problem going to 250,000 miles. Fix it, Keep it & Drive it.
Paul, Ohio, USA

 

I agree with Roadie. It's less work, time and money than rebuilding and a total rebuild is unnecessary if the engine is ok otherwise. If your repairs are done correctly then this truck should give you a lot more service. And I've had very poor luck with used engines from a junk yard. They were always "junk'!

PS I just looked at your list of mods. If you sold this truck, you'd have to spend a lot of money just to bring another up to your level of expectation.

PS #2. Are you SURE that the head needs to be replaced? I once bought a NICE freshly build full race 340 Dodge engine CHEAP because a machine shop told the PO that the head (and all of the race work would have to be redone) had to be replaced after he dropped a valve. I looked at the inside of the head and it had a few small dings in it but no cracks or other serious damage. I took the peen on a ball-peen hammer and peened the metal back in place and replaced the one valve and then used the head and engine with nothing else but new head, intake and valve cover gaskets and it ran perfectly. Add note: in my case, the PO had already replaced the damaged piston and rings before he decided to sell the complete engine. So all I had to do was to deal with fixing the head.

If I were you, I'd pull the head and see what the head, cylinder wall and piston look like before making a final decision. If the cylinder is damaged, then you may have to have it bored over size or replace the block. Either will mean that you'll have to pull the engine and take it completely apart so a lot more labor as well as costs for gaskets and the like. If the head is repairable, that that's a very GOOD sign and will save you a TON of money.

 

Fix it.... New piston, new or rebuilt cyl head. Make sure the rod is straight if you decide to reuse it but a new rod may be the best choice. You can do a deck height measurement on the damaged piston to cyl deck and compare that measurement with the other three cyls for a possible bent rod on #2. Clean debris from oil pickup tube screen. Check cyl bore for any damage from possible distorted piston. Piston bore grade is pin stamped on the front of the block passenger side upper, 8 numbers starting with cyl #1-8 should look like this. 22222232. A grade 3 or 1 is possible usually all number 2 grades as its most common but could be several 3's and 1's So in this case (above) all cyls are a grade #2 except cyl #7 which is a 3 grade.

 

Piston + rod
Check heads

Replace timing tensioner and maybe phasers while you have it torn down

 

You've gave me a lot of hope! I will pull the head and see just how bad it is. If I just have to replace a valve then that's a big money saver! I will replace the piston, rings, and rod bearing for the #2 cylinder.

If the cylinder wall isn't very damaged, should I run a hone through the cylinder anyways? By looking with the camera, I can't see any damage to it, but I won't know for sure until I pull the head. If I do hone it, I would still use a STD size piston, correct? And as for the rod bearings, since the crank is not going to be ground, they would also be STD size as well, correct? Also, I use the truck to pull my 30' bumper pull RV. Do you think the truck still be reliable in pulling it across country? It weighs around 7800lbs loaded.

I need to keep this repair inexpensive, but still want the truck to last. Needless to say, the wife is not happy with me. She told me to take it to a shop to replace the spark plugs...then this happened.

 

I have not had any problems with the cam phasers, they don't make any ticking noises and seem to operate correctly. Do you think I should still replace them?

 

Is grade 1 or grade 3 the best? What exactly does the grade mean?

 

"If the cylinder wall isn't very damaged, should I run a hone through the cylinder anyways? By looking with the camera, I can't see any damage to it, but I won't know for sure until I pull the head. If I do hone it, I would still use a STD size piston, correct? And as for the rod bearings, since the crank is not going to be ground, they would also be STD size as well, correct? Also, I use the truck to pull my 30' bumper pull RV. Do you think the truck still be reliable in pulling it across country? It weighs around 7800lbs loaded."

IMO you should hone it. The new rings need the slightly roughened surface in order to help wear in and to form a good seal. Honing should not increase the bore size significantly so oversize piston shouldn't be necessary but that really depends on how much the cylinder is worn. If it has a lot of wear (or scoring) then it might be necessary to have it bored to the next larger oversize piston size and over sized pistons and rings installed. But I wouldn't expect that to be the case.

Standard size bearings should be ok but again it depends on wear. You can use Plastigage to measure their clearance. If it's too large then you'll have to get over size bearings and that may require that the bearing bores be enlarged and/or the crank journals be turned under sized on a lathe. Again, I wouldn't expect either to be the case.

If everything is done correctly, then your truck should be GTG. But you should follow the break in procedure the same as you would on a new vehicle.

Disclaimer: I have never repaired a late model 150 engine so there may be other pitfalls that I'm not aware of but if so, I expect somebody here will point them out.

 

I bought this truck new. The truck has always been over maintained! Lol. Sometimes I will change the oil just because I'm bored. I have always used Royal Purple for ALL of the fluids, except engine oil, but sometimes when O'Reilly has Royal Purple 5w-20 on sale I will get it. For engine oil I usually use Mobil 1, because of cost and past experience. I have never gone over 5k miles on an oil change, so Royal Purple would be expensive. As for filters, I use either Motorcraft or Royal Purple. I like them both a lot. But, I flushed the transmission with Royal Purple at 30k miles. Also have Royal Purple in both the front and rear differentials and in the transfer case.
Once I changed everything to Royal Purple, I did see a good increase in MPG, especially while towing.

 

" Needless to say, the wife is not happy with me. She told me to take it to a shop to replace the spark plugs...then this happened."

I wouldn't sweat it, I expect that you took at least as much care as Goober in the local stealership would have. That fact is that this is a known problem in these engines and stuff happens. A stealership would have just charged you a LOT more money to change the plugs and would probably have consigned your truck the scrap heap when this happened and then forced you to buy a new one from THEM.

 

I'm compiling a shopping list to find the best prices...

So far I have this...am I missing anything?

Oil Pan gasket
exhaust manifold gasket
intake manifold gasket
timing cover gasket
cylinder head gasket
piston
rod
rod bearing
rings
cylinder head bolts
serpentine belt (about time to replace anyhow)
radiator hoses (about time to replace anyhow)
valve cover gasket (this was leaking anyhow)

 

You may need to replace the rod. It could be bent.

I don't know about these engines either, but in the past some manufacturers have used .001" or .002" thicker rod bearings to get the best fit on the crank. I have no idea if that is the case with these engines. Always a good idea to check the bearing clearance with a mic or plastigage.

I also remember reading some time ago that the new plasma moly coated ductile iron rings do not need a rough surface to seat, that they will seat almost immediately with a smooth surface. Need to talk to a shop that rebuilds engines or expert in that area.

 

To answer your question on piston grades.
If a bore is slightly under standard (grade #2)size then a grade #1 piston is used. If the bore is slightly oversized then a grade #3 piston is used. It all depends on bore size the pistons are all same quality just slightly larger or smaller. Just follow the pin stamp on the front of the engine and that will tell you what the bore/piston grade will be. The pistons would also have a different color paint spot on the underside that was a code for piston bore grade but after a few thousand miles the oil discolors or removes the paint.
As long as the bore has crosshatch visible and no burns or deep scratches or scuffs then the bore should be ok. The rings are designed to rotate so they will breakin to the bore evenly no need to remachine bore unless there is damage of course. I would hesitate hammering out any damage in the aluminum cyl heads however as the valve seats are pressed in and any damage to the integrity of the cyl head can allow a valve seat to loosen and fall out, crack, or tilt and cause a major problem. Even if the seat looks good and secure upon inspection. Hot spots can also be a problem with damaged surfaces to pistons or cyl head combustion areas. Take care.