I just got my 1997 F150 w/ ORP and 4.6L 5spd back from the ford garage. The motor was making a loud rap after warm up while accelarating. They said it was a bad bearing some where in the lower end of the motor. The fix, a new (or Remanufactured) ford motor. Price you ask... $3900 installed with a 2yr / 24,000 mile warranty. I thought that was a little steep considering my motor runs and idles fine...no loss of power or check engine lights. The noise is just annoying. I also got a quote for a remove and rebuilt. The price was $1900 with a, get this, 4yr / 40K mile warranty!! Half the money, twice the warranty and still my original motor! Now my question is, what should I do? Can I run the truck until the motor gets worse and definately needs a rebuild or will this do more harm? Also, if I choose to rebuild, can I add some after market parts (crane cam, etc.) to get some more horsepower for a couple hundred bucks? Any help is appreciated. I plan on a Gibson sport truck exhaust and K&N filtercharger either way.

 

Rebuild!! I would do it before it leaves you stranded and something broken.

 

Rebuild your original and with the money you saved slap a supercharger on that puppy!

 

GOOD anwser Frank S. That sounds good to me!!!!

 

lol, i9m with Frank! seriously though, id go for the rebuild. its cheaper and if anything goes wrong again you have that 4 year warranty! good luck!

 

I'd say that 3,900 for a stock 4.6 truck motor is quite steap,and add to it only 2 year/24,000 warranty.that's a complete rip off.you can get a 351 crate from ford racing for like 4,500 with a 36/36,000 warranty if my memory is correct.
nice truck frank.are the plugs on lightnings on the intake side of the engine like regular 5.4's or on the exhaust side?i'm thinkin about gettin some lightning heads when i get a supercharger for mine.

'00 supercab 4x4 lariat 5.4,3.55 open,classIII towing package,premium audio(6 disc changer),leather captains chairs.

Mods:K&N F.I.P.K. gen 2,t/b spacer,glass pack with y and dual exit,3'' tips

 

Thanks guys, i've decided to just drive my F150 and try to ignore the noise for a couple of months. Then around December or January I will have the engine rebuilt (then I won't have to worry about the motor for 4 years!). Will driving it cause the rebuild to cost more? Any cheap mods recommended? I am not rebuilding it this month because I am buying a 1998 Skidoo Mach !! Thanks guys!

 

t/b spacer and fipk worked great on my truck,the fipk made it lose some milleage,the t/b spacer has only been on 22 hours so i can't tell too much about it yet.i'd get an airaid intake if i were you,i think itd be better than a K&N

 

3,900 is about right for a new motor installed with warranty. i recently purchased a 302 shortblock from ford and that was $1,500... the hours it takes to install and other parts will easily hit another 2,000.

and remember, 90% of the time when somone quotes a rebuild, they are referring to how much it costs to rebuild the engine... you have to pull it, bring it to the machine shop, and put it back in yourself (at least this is what i ran into). and again, if you have somone pull and install a shortblock, you will hit $2,000 easy in labor.

-sal

 

if your engine noise is caused by bad bearings... running it will make them worse, but they will be replaced anywya in a rebuild. as of now you may or may not need to have the crank turned (remachined due to damage from bad bearings). if you keep running it you will definately increase the likelyhood of this being needed. but then again, turning the crank is usually (my experience) included in the "estimate" of a rebuild.

-sal

 

I would avoid driving it anymore than I had to. If it *is* a bad bearing, eventually that motor is going to lock up. Continuing to drive it may cause some internals to be damaged beyond use. If it's a rod bearing you might trash the crank and the rods on that journal. If it's a main, you *could* trash the block. Either way, a lower end knock is not a limp until repair situation - IMHO.

-Stephen

 

3,900 isn't bad installed,i wasn't payin attention when i first read that and i thought it was 3,900 just for the engine.