So, I've managed to get my rebuilt '98 4.6L v8 back into my F-250 with fluids refilled. When I started putting coolant in, my oil filter adapter started leaking like crazy. Despite the service manual instructions saying one ought to remove the front drive axle assembly to get at the oil filter adapter, I managed to remove it through the driver-side wheel well and from underneath. I think the gasket I attempted to reuse was a Victor-Reinz. The Felpro that I replaced it with seemed a better design ... $12 vs $5, but completely worth the extra $7.

The NEW battery I put in is an AutoCraft Gold Battery, Group Size 65, 850 CCA.

I started by removing the fuel pump relay and turning the ignition. The starter kicked in just fine and turned the engine over. I did this for a total of about a minute. I then put the fuel pump relay back in and tried the ignition again. It had the same response. The engine was turning over but no combustion. I tried it for another couple mins. I decided to see if there was any fuel pressure, so I depressed the center pin on the shrader valve on the fuel rail, but it didn't respond with any escaping pressure. I then let it sit for a couple hours. I then remembered that there was a connector under the bed, behind the spare tire, that I had not reconnected since lifting the bed to siphon the 2+ year old gas. I reconnected that and tried again. This time, as soon as I tried to engage the starter, everything went dead. I tried again, and the dash wouldn't even light up. I went to dinner for about an hour and a half. When I came back, I checked the continuity on the mega fuses. It was fine. On a side note, my bottom one is broken and I'm looking for a replacement ... I cheated it for now (pictured). I pulled all the fuses under the hood for visual inspection ... they all seemed fine. I put a cheesy analog multimeter to the battery and it said 10 volts. I thought, perhaps, the battery was on the low side. I pulled out my charger and plugged it in. The test on the charger claimed the battery at 12.6 volts, but was slowly charging. 30 mins later, when the battery was at 12.9 volts, I came out to try again. This time, the dash lit up just fine and when I tried to engage the starter, I heard it grind a bit, like it was trying, but didn't quite have enough power.

Also, I was a bit unsure about a connector coming from the alternator. It was yellow, not green, but I just assumed it was a ground and connected it to the firewall where the intake manifold ground connects ... not sure if maybe I did something stupid or not.

As it stands, I will let the battery charge overnight and give it a try in the morning.

Any thoughts you guys have on this are very welcome. Once this thing is running and everything is in place, I'll post a bunch of pictures and try to describe everything I had to do to rebuild this engine from a '99 Grand Marquis for use with my '98 F-250. A lot of lessons learned being my very first engine rebuild.

... and yes, it has 5 gallons of new gas in it.

Cheers,
Steve Maring
Kissimmee, FL



alternator ground?




mega fuses





crappy oil filter adapter gasket

 

I'm pretty sure the alt grounds through it's mount. The alt needs 12v. power to it to make juice. There should be a 5A fuse (I think). That may not be a ground.......but I could be wrong on that one.

As for the fuel system, cycle the key to "ON" and listen for the pump to run. Then turn it off for about a 10 count then back on, do this about 5 or 6 times to prime the fuel system. Then check it at the Schrader valve. If you got fuel then it should start. You have to remember that the lines, filter, and fuel rail are completely empty and the pump only runs briefly before start up. Plus DON'T floor the pedal because that will shut off the injectors, they also shut off with long cranking.

Good luck

 

So, I came out this morning and checked the battery. It charged to 15.1 volts.

I grabbed my BFW (big *******ing wrench) and gave the crackshaft a bit of a turn just to make sure things weren't locked up or anything.

I then had my wife listen for the whir of the fuel pump when I turned the ignition to "on". I tried it a few times and she heard nothing at all. When I went to try to crank the starter the starter didn't fully engage, like it didn't have enough power.

My 1st theory is that the connector under the bed that I hooked up introduced a short to the system that gets activated when power is applied to the starter. I'll have to research what that connector is actually hooking up. I'm going to disconnect it when I get home from work and see if I can't at least get back to square one where the starter would crank the engine.

My 2nd theory, possibly on top of the first theory, is either a bad fuel pump relay or a bad fuel pump. I'm also going to check the relay against a 12v source when I get home.

My 3rd theory is that that connection from the alternator that I assumed was a ground, isn't, and that may be what is introducing a short.

I won't be crying a river if I have to swap out the fuel pump. I can pick a new one for $90 and with the crane handy and brand new bed bolts with copper anti-freeze on them, I can probably get the bed lifted in under 30 mins.

Please keep the suggestions rolling in. I rely on you guys' great advice on this stuff. ... its gotten me this far!

Thanks,
Steve Maring
Kissimmee, FL

 

I'm learning a bit more about alternator wiring. The large red wire connecting to the mega fuse is referred to as the B+ terminal. The small yellow wire appears to be the A terminal (voltage sense) connection, which is supposed to also be hot, and connect to the same stud as the large red one. When I put it to ground I introduced a short, which would explain some things.

https://bzerob2.wordpress.com/2012/1...es-alternator/

 

I hooked up the alternator properly as noted above and the engine would crank again, but the fuel pump wasn't kicking in. I checked all the relays and they were good. So, I lifted the bed again and replaced the fuel pump.

The good news is, the engine actually started! ... and after a couple minutes it ran pretty steady ... never a "check engine" light. The bad news is that after so many months of work, I'm almost right back where I started. I have all the signs of a head gasket leak. I ran the engine for 10 minutes and the smoke never let up a bit. Eventually, I noticed a puddle of moca latte gathering beneath a bend in the exhaust. When I dumped the oil, it wasn't nearly as clean looking as when I dumped it to fix the oil filter adapter gasket.

I'm moving this coming week, so I suppose I'm gonna have to trailer it and plan on another tear down in the coming months. I"ll start another thread hoping to figure out where I screwed this up.

 

Dang dude, I feel for ya. It could be at the intake manifold also, check that out before you go ripping the heads off.

Good luck, I hope it's something simple for you. Keep us posted either way.

 

I have two possible culprits I think. I had THOUGHT that my knock sensor had fallen into the valley and I couldn't retrieve it, so I ended up taking the intake manifold off again to retrieve it and hook it up to the harness. Once I pulled it off though, I found the connector happily hanging down the back about an inch passed where I was reaching. I thought the intake manifold gasket looked just fine, despite my neighbors dire warnings about reusing one, and I torqued it back down. After seeing all the smoke rolling, he had his "I told you so" moment and suggested I head over to Harbor Freight and grab a radiator pressure tester for $90 (http://www.harborfreight.com/radiato...kit-69258.html). Apparently, you can sometimes hear/see exactly where your leak is. The only place that I know water/coolant goes through the intake manifold though, is in the one front passage, going from one side to the other, where the temp sensor and sender are, right behind the alternator. In my mind, I could imagine how water might find its way to cylinders 1 and/or 5 via the fuel injection ports, but how would it mix with the oil in that case? It would either need to get passed the piston rings or the valve seals I would think ... but idk.

Now, when it comes to the heads ... well ... I didn't have them machined. They came off of a Grand Marquis that was supposedly running quite well. I checked the flatness tolerances with feeler gauges and they were within the allowances I was looking at. I hand sanded the surfaces a bit with 200 grit to get the junk off the head and block surfaces from the previous gasket before slapping on the new ones ... Victor Reinz Multi-Layered Steel Head Gaskets (54233 & 54232) and torquing them down with DNJ ENGINE COMPONENTS Head Bolts (HBK4150) ... gladly not TTY, so reusable. I'm thinking maybe I picked a stupid gasket, screwed up by not having them machined or hand sanding. I would think a leak in the head gasket would explain how coolant is getting into the oil and both are getting burned in the cylinders. I do have a cheesy HF leak down tester (http://www.harborfreight.com/cylinde...ter-94190.html), but I seem to recall when I first tried using it, I had issues with it not being able to thread a socket hole or something, I may need to pick up a better quality one and see if that can tell me anything interesting.

 

From what I understand, the 5.4's are real touchy about the placement and torq on the intake manifold. So that still could be the issue.

Another possible culprit is if you have the heated PCV, it is heated with coolant. If you have something wrong or a crapo PCV that leaks, then it could be there.

Check ALL the easy stuff before you go taking a crow bar to the motor and start removing stuff.

Good luck!