Good info... thanks again.

The machine shop says no way to fix the head so I am shopping for a reman. I will take your advice and replace the piston.

One of the rollers was badly worn down. I can see how it failed. The pivot pin in side the roller was worn about 1/16 inch so it was no longer round. I need to check all of them on the other side for this condition. I found a video how to remove them but I think I need to rotate the cam as I'm taking them out to release spring tension. So I will wait until the head is installed to get on that.

 

Just take out the cam by loosening the cam cap bolts a few turns at a time and you can leave the followers in place. There will be a couple of open valves but that won't matter. The tool for removing the followers with the cam in place is a PITA to use. When you inspect the rollers try to move it up and down on its axle. Any movement means the bearing is worn and that rocker should be replaced. Before you reinstall the cam put the crankshaft keyway at 11 o'clock. That will make sure none of the pistons are at TDC. Then put all the rockers in place and sit the cam on them. Rotate the cam and there will be one spot where it will almost touch all of the journals. Install all of the cam caps finger tight and make sure the cam does not bind in the first cap where the thrust surface is. Then tighten each cap a few turns at a time until they are all tight. The spec on the bolts is 89 in-lbs so be careful not to overtighten them. Then make sure the cam will rotate smoothly and set up the timing chains. I have done hundreds of engines like this and have not had any problems. I use gear oil on the cam journals and rollers.

 

Is removing the piston a straightforward task? Anything I need to be very careful to do during reassembly? I can remove it without much trouble, but I worry about the bearing after I replace it. Wondering if it is worth the risk of using it as is. I would like to have less risk the job is done right the first time, so I'm looking for any tips on this aspect. I have replaced a piston before on an antique engine, but that's a pretty forgiving situation compared to this.

 

Well, it has to come out of the bottom end so you'll have to remove the pan, take off the bottom bearing, put rubber tubes on the bolts, maneuver the rod/crank so you can have a helper tap the piston down with a piece of wood while you guide the assembly out. What I don't know is whether you will get just the piston and re-use all the other parts or get a new piston and rod. In my ignorance I think I would re-use the rod, wrist pin, rings and bearings. The problem is you'll have to put the new assembly in from the top in order to use the ring compressor, which means you'll have to cut the ridge out of the cylinder (unless the ring compressor can be used from the crankcase). The whole thing is somewhat shaky to me, which is why I said to get a used engine.

 

The piston comes out the top. Remove the oil pan and rotate the engine until the affected rod is at the bottom of its stroke. Mark the rod and cap so they don't get mixed up. Remove the bolts and cap then rotate the crank to push the piston to the top of the bore. Then keep rotating the crank to get the rod journal out of the way. Get a long object and push the piston the rest of the way out with someone up top to catch it. These engines don't really wear a ridge in the cylinder but you can remove the ring of carbon with some scotch-brite pad if you like. The new piston will come with a wrist pin and new clips. It will be fine to re-use the rings and rod bearing just be careful removing and installing them and don't get them mixed up. You can prob rent a ring compressor from a parts store. There is a dimple on the piston by the wrist pin that faces the front of the engine. Mark the rod on that side before you swap it to the new piston. Install new rod bolts (they are torque-to-yield and should not be reused) the torque spec is 32 ft-lbs then turn another 105 degrees.

 

Here is what I found in my oil pan.

 

That's the rollers from the needle bearing in the cam follower and the large piece looks like a valve keeper. I don't see any bearing material so hopefully when you pull out the piston the bearings will be fine.

 

I'm looking at $2700 + in parts from Ford. They are offering a reman engine for $4438 with three yr. warranty. Hmmm.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-NEW-Ford-5-4L-3V-Camshaft-Phaser-Sprocket-Timing-Tensioner-Guide-Chain-Set-/261487188603?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3ce1d9da7b&vxp=mtrhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/05-12-Ford-5-4L-330ci-SOHC-3-Valves-Per-Cylinder-Cylinder-Head-RIGHT-SIDE-/221526619629?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item339403f5ed&vxp=mtrThat should help with some of the parts costs.

 

If your intention is to keep this truck, I would go the reman route. It would be a shame to invest a bunch of money into resurrecting an old engine just to be running the risk of another major failure in the foreseeable future. Thats my $.02

 

Very helpful... But the head ad says it is not compatible with my 2004. Are there many different combinations of head and cam? The parts shop that was searching for me was also unable to find the same part numbers.

 

Ahh I didn't know yours was a 04. There was a few valvetrain changes from 04 to 05. I did a little research on Alldata and the bare head for a 04 or 05 is the same part number. I would imagine if you got the complete 2005 head it will work fine on your engine. The only part you will need to swap is the VCT solenoid housing and I don't know if that is the same for a 04 and 05. P.Bonner has a very good point about the reman. It all boils down to how much you can spend on it. Maybe the dealer you talked to can come off the $4438 price a little.

 

The Ford reman. option is definitely a smart way, and I could afford to do it. I have a dealer in NH where I can get it with no sales tax down to $4400. I also have a price of $3600+tax from Gearheads.com but I'm not sure the price difference is worth the risk of it not being from Ford.

Part of my reluctance to simply replace it is 1) it should be repairable, and should have lasted longer than 137k and 2) I will get the personal satisfaction from making it run again.

Otherwise the truck is very solid. So it is definitely worthy of a new engine. I've got to make up my mind but today am leaning toward ordering that new engine.

 

I know exactly where you are coming from and it is repairable just not really cost effective given the high price of reman cylinder heads. There is no guideline as to how many miles one will go, I have seen 3v 5.4s with over 200k on them and rattling like crazy but they still run good and I have also seen 3vs with 30k on them with a hole punched in the side of the block. If I knew I was going to keep the truck and could afford it I would put a Ford reman in. It's hard to beat a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty good across the country.

 

Well if I do that I'm going to drive the **** out of it.