Having been through this, thought I would post my experience and some tips picked up along the way for anyone else contemplating an engine rebuild. (JT Hill's post on pulling an Aerostar engine through the front is now a locked thread linked to a separate site.)

The Ford manual calls for dropping the engine/suspension cradle as a unit. This would work great if you had a big garage side lift and dolly to wheel the cradle around on. Getting a van 3 feet in the air on jackstands is not feasible nor safe.

I would love the see a shop do the engine/cradle drop because there is considerable back and forth inside the van to remove vacuum lines, electrical connections and retainer bolts that can only be accessed via the doghouse opening. A tech would either be crawling in and out of a quite elevated van or be running the hoist up and down numerous times. Pulling through the front is the only sensible method for mere mortals.

Be prepared to dismantle the entire front end. Sounds forbidding, but it is really quite simple. The A/C will necessarily be discharged and removed along with the condensor and radiator. I left the tranny and power steering coolers in place.**

A lot of time is needed to disconnect fuel lines, A/C connections, water hoses, electrical wiring loom, etc. All the engine wiring can be pulled back through the doghouse opening. Just be sure to tag everything. A digital camera is also helpful. You will encounter a lot of clips bolted down to the manifolds, engine block, intake, water pump and so on. Making notes to yourself will aid greatly in remembering where these odd bolts and nuts go during reassembly.

The transmission will need to be removed. You will need the van at least 16-18 inches up in the air - as measured from the bottom of the rocker panels - to slide the transmission out/in if using a transmission jack.

For unexplainable reasons, it is easier to get the engine out than putting it back in. I am using a Harbor Freight folding, 2 ton shop crane. You will need to get the hoist arm as close to the top of the engine as possible. I anchored a chain diagonally front to back on the cylinder heads and pulled it out fairly easily. Going back in, with same setup I had a dickens of a time. I had to move the big electricals across the top of the firewall and **almost had to pull the tranny/PS coolers as the engine would just BARELY clear those coolers. Even so, I had to slightly rest the oil pan on the cross member and slide it down by hand to gain enough clearance on top for the hoist arm to get under the firewall. It was almost like the entire engine bay hole had shrunk.

I debated whether to buy the shop crane or rent one. For the sale of price of $179, the crane is the way to go. That iron block, even stripped, was too much for my old back to handle. Having the crane made is easy to load/unload the block into the pickup to take to/from the machine shop. It was also nice to suspend the block while hooking up the engine stand and while painting the block. Having it fold up while not in use saves a lot of space. It compacts to a 2x2 ft square area.

A few tips: Replacing the rear main seal is a must on rebuild. Like most, I did not have the special seal replacement tool. Trying to drive the seal with homemade affairs just ruined two of them. Asking the machine shop if they had such a tool, they laughed and said, "just loosen the rear main cap slightly and you can push the seal on with your hand." Lo and behold it is so. The 4.0L and 3.0L use different seals. There is a write up around here for a homemade installer, but it only works for the 3.0L engine.

If you plan to re-use the flexplate/ring gear, match mark the flexplate and crankshaft. On installation, rotate the marks 90 degrees. This will move the "chewed up" portions away from where the starter usually engages the ring gear. (Engine tends to stop at two points 180 degrees apart from each other.)

The heads and lower intake manifold are reassembled as a unit and torqued down in a specific manner. Once these are in place...cover the manifold and heads with a cloth towel. You cannot believe how every stray nut wants to find its way down those manifold openings....even from 3 feet away! A magnetic retriever is a godsend. Keep the towel in place during the re-install. All kinds of dust and debris from the heat shields and firewall padding rain down when disturbed.

Forget trying to prime the oil pump when replacing the oil pan. You wind up with oil dripping all over the place as you turn the engine on the stand. Instead, wait until the engine is assembled. Use a rubber plug or cork stopper in the large oil filter bolt hole. Where the oil pressure switch mounts, use a 3/8" NPT fitting with a barbed 1/4" connector. Using a hand pump (the kind found on gallon jugs of gear oil-you buy them at parts stores) pump 1 quart of oil into the engine. You should be able to see oil coming out the rocker arm shafts by the time 1 quart is infused.

Finally, buy a big box of shop towels and a can of paint thinner. There will be lots of grease and grime to clean up. Parts that don't appear too dirty when removed become filthy looking when placed next that fresh block and heads. While the engine is in the machine shop, spend the time cleaning the parts that will be going back on.

Cost of a rebuild? Machine shop: $1400. Block bored, heads checked reconditioned, valve job, sleeves on both crank ends, rods trued and conditioned. Price also included a master rebuild kit with pistons, rings, rod/cam bearings, gasket set, oil pump, push rods, lifters, etc. Additional parts, etc, @350.

 

Thanks for posting this thread and info. I have been contemplating pulling the engine and trans out of my `88 due to severe oil leaks (rusty oil pan & both main seals), moderate trans leaks, worn rod bearings, and a possible slight head gasket leak. I spent a lot of time looking at options for pulling and figured out the front was very possible. The only thing I am still curious about is can the engine and transmission come through the front together? The reason I need to know this is my resources are limited and might not be able to disconnect/remove the transmission out the bottom.....

 

Car Guy - It may be possible on a 2WD van as the transmission is smaller than the engine bay opening. (4WD versions would be too wide-unless the transfer case were disconnected beforehand.) Even with the van on jackstands, you need to point the engine upwards to clear the crossmember and front frame member. You may run into a problem where the length of the transmission will not permit the tilt necessary to clear these items.

 

That was a concerned thought of mine, thanks again for the info.....

 

A couple of months ago, I replaced the complete engine in my daughter's Mustang. Putting it back in is harder than taking it out. I had all three of my kids (14, 16, & 18) and myself watching each corner as the engine slowly dropped back in. I gave them specific instructions on watching for pinched electrical or hoses.
It worked out okay and the engine runs fine.
Those Aero engine replacements are somewhat of a challenge.

 

Thanks for the detailed description Aero, and way to go! My engine has a light tick to it, but otherwise seems to be OK. But the thought is always in the back of my mind that some day, I will have to do the same thing. This post will definitely come in handy.

My experience with pulling/installing engines is that when you're trying to put it back in, you don't remember the tilt it had when you pulled it. Also, you have to change the tilt at various times during the drop-in, and the Aerostar's engine compartment doesn't have the room for a tilting bar.

A few years ago, I replaced all the seals in my engine, and for a couple of years, my engine was gloriously dry. But shortly after that, it started leaking again (grrr!). So a couple weeks ago, I started to take it apart to see what's going on. (I was delayed last week due to having to fix wind damages on my house.) It looks like at least the oil pan gasket is leaking on the front, don't know about the back yet, and both valve cover gaskets are leaking in the back. I had those replaced by Ford back in 1994, and they held until I had to take them apart to replace the intake manifold gaskets a few years ago. So I must have done something wrong when I replaced them with the Fel-Pro perma-dry gaskets.

When I replaced the seals and gaskets, I sleeved the rear crank snout with the Ford rear seal service kit. It was about twice the price of Fel-Pro's seal/sleeve kit. I had two vans at the time, so I used two different methods of installing the rear seal. One was using a gear puller in reverse, with a short segment of 3.5" PVC pipe as a press, and the other was to loosen the rear main bearing. I've since sold one of the vans, but it was dry then, and again, the one I kept was dry for a couple of years. I will remove the transmission tomorrow to see where it's leaking from this time. Last time, it was the oil pan gasket. This time, for sure the oil pan gasket is leaking again, and I'm trying to figure out how to make it not leak again.

Installing the oil pan is kind of a trick, since it has to be bolted to the engine and transmission at the same time. The 4wd van has a huge front cross member that makes it difficult to get to a lot of the front oil pan bolts. This is where it would be nice to assemble them together outside of the van. Once the oil pan has been properly assembled to the engine and transmission, you can try to install them back into the van together, or take the transmission off again and install the engine, then attach the transmission.

 

great write up Aero.

you must have a heated garage or had some hot winter weather there in the Rocky's.... been polar bear cold here, low 40s max in the daytime, hard white ice every night.

how did your rocker arm push rod holes look for wear? think mine may be suffering the 4.0L wearout, getting noisy up top.

what kind/brand of bearing/cam/lifter assembly lube did you use? EPA as run many of the quality ones off the market

did you have to go overbore on the cyl's? About 1/2 of these OHV 4Ls never show more than slight ridge at top of cyl and no overbore required, just clean up hone even after 200k+.

got mine running well again
removed combination proportioning valve and removed/cleaned the delta P switch and valve mechanism

engine was carboned up from all the low speed driving, urban suburban, less than 50 mph most of the time, stop and go. No codes, why?

used my mix of kerosene/acetone/MEK. 1 pint down the TB, cleaned the TB plate inside and out, down the brake booster hose at 2000 rpm. let soak and out to the freeway. blew out tons of carbon, lots left on driveway and street. CAT must have been carboned up and plugged also. lots of P0300 cyl miss codes. took several miles to clear up.

runs like new again. can't get rid of the old gal now , Aero that is

how about some pics of the engine pull and reinstall?

rig is well worth the $2000 approx for parts/machine shop and the sweat equity.

long living good riding good running beasts, just few want to work on them.... Ford mechanics used to refuse doing warranty work on them...pushed them off on the junior guys in the shop....

 

xlt4wdr90 - Your point about tilt changes is well taken. I also messed with the transmission and needed more room to roll the tranny+lift jack under the van, so I raised it higher in the front and rear. This could have caused the difficulty in finding that 'sweet spot' for re-installation.

96_4wdr - Yeah, I do have a nice heated garage, man cave set up. I've paid my dues fixing cars on gravel, dirt, icy days and blistering hot summers. I've read the same rebuilding articles about those rocker arm/pushrod weak points. I even asked the engine guru about putting in the repair inserts mentioned in the article. He said mine had some wear but not as bad as some other brands. Also the cost of the inserts plus shop time was more than buying new ones. Comparing old to new rockers, I think Doug Anderson is wrong about how much wear goes on. After 298,167 miles the old ones were obviously worn but not horrendously so. They would have easily gone another 100K. The pushrods were more 'mushroomed' on the top than the new ones, but again, still serviceable. I too, had what I thought was top end rattle at higher rpm's but it was rod knock, not valve train noise. I even questioned the engine shop's decision to keep the old valve guides but he said they were fine and did not need replaced.

Lube - I used white lithium assembly lube. can't remember the name. I've had it forever. Comes in a big white tube with a blue cap, big enough to stand on its head.

Oversize bore - I had almost no ridge but EG said it needed 0.020 on the block and 0.010 on the crank. I think he said one bore had significantly more wear than the others which may be why the 0.020 was used.

Pictures - I have some but most were reference shots, close ups of grimey engine parts. If that sort of thing turns you on, I can surely post them. I do have one or two before/after shots I can dig up.

Thanks all for the comments and interest. Feel free to post other engine rebuild experiences for future readers.

On edit: Here is a partial after picture. Others were on camera internal memory and I cannot find the cable to link them to the computer.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ictureid=87193

 

good pic.
gives everyone details and extent of what needs to be removed for engine pull. totally agree with you on pulling out the front.

 

Sorry haven't been on for awhile Life goes on and Priorties Change Daily.
So does this mean the You can't access the rebuild link anymore?

 

JT, Reunion time around here! Welcome back! Yea, you can still access your rebuild link but it seems truncated, a lot fewer text and pictures than I remember from your original article-or am I just having senior moments?

 

I followed the link in my Signature and it looks like they are all there. I did split it into two links one for taking out the engine & the other for rebuilding the engine & putting it back in.

I was on another forum(Motorcycle) and became good friends with the Forum Guru, He went to bed and didn't wake up. Way too young die. After that Forum trolling just had no fun left.........

 

I will have to keep these links in mind, i plan on owning another 4wd aero again some day, there is yet to be a van out there that peaks my interest like the 'stars do. would it not be too hard to attatch the crane to the bumper support and use that to lift the front of the vehicle up high enough to roll the engine out? just a thought. just did a tune up on my dad's 4.0 rwd and was reminded of how little space there is under the hood

 

That's sort of how the Haynes manual shows them removing the engine; lifting the whole van up and dropping the engine (with cross member) and transmission onto a cart made for it.

I'm having a hard enough time trying to seal up my oil pan gasket that I'm seriously considering that, but I don't have a vehicle lift I can borrow.

 

You would need a commercial repair bay with a big lift to gain sufficient height to drop the entire assembly this way, plus a really big hoist/trolley of some sort to drop and move the powertrain about. I measured from the engine top to suspension bottom point (with wheels removed) and there was just no way to do this in a home garage.