Just acquired a 1999 Expedition Eddie Bauer, 5.4 Triton with 16x,xxx miles. Removed the engine and a small amount of metal shavings are in the oil pan, so a bearing has spun? It wasn't running and was partially dismantled when i got it.

Bearing in mind i'm on a limited budget, any thoughts on the following?

1) remove the rod caps and then the crankshaft, inspect for any grooves etc, and if none to speak of just replace bearings and throw the engine back in?

2) just find a used engine and take a bit of a risk and just throw it in?

 

Well since you're on a budget I'd go with the least expensive route. Labor is free, it's the parts you have to figure for.

 

Once you find metal shavings in the oil pan that means they are everywhere in your engine. That means you must remove and clean everything. The lash adjusters have small oil holes in them and if oil doesn't get inside the lash adjuster the roller follower wont follow the cam profile correctly and can result in a dead valve.

Depending on weather a rod or crank bearing spun will be the big part in cost. Usually the crank can be saved if it was a rod bearing and if it was caught early. If it was a crank bearing then you might as well throw it in the trash and get a new crank. A new crank is typically cheaper then all the labor to repair your existing crank.

Where do you live OP?

 

That could be true but it's not a given. With a bearing the metal is pushed out and into the pan. From there the metal has to be able to get passed both the oil tube pickup screen and the oil filter before it can get to any other part of the engine. The one exception is the oil pump since the oil passes through it before the oil filter. He could very well get away with replacing the bearing and oil pump, cleaning the pickup screen, and installing a new oil filter. But like you've pointed out, the metal could've reached other parts of the engine and I'm not there to see for myself.

It couldn't hurt to pull a valve cover and inspect the oil puddles for signs of metal particles. I've used a bright light to look for flashy particles.