1998 f150 please help
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1998 f150 please help
hey guys, i am a first time f150 owner although they have been in my family for years. i have a bit of a situation and i could use some advise. I recently bought a high milage 1998 4.6 liter f150 which seemed to run and shift great. The person that i bought it from pretty much lied to me and said there was nothing wrong with it, shortly after buying it it began to overheat. After replacing the thermostat, upper radiator hose, checking (pressure checking) the radiator and with no water pump leak, my truck tested positive for a blown head gasket(on the third block test performed), the previous two tested negative for some reason). Guys this has totally left me in a bind, because i can pretty much only drive it to work and back(as there is no water in the oil from what ive seen). I truly need to make this truck right. Heres my question, assuming that i have to get the heads (or head gaskets) fixed, would it just be more sensible to buy another used engine and just replace the old one( as the truck had 195,000 miles on it)? Perhaps get a rebuild on top of fixing the gasket? Where would i find a good used engine? what would the cost be? I know its alot of questions but i would really appreciate some feedback, thanks guys.
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Joined: Nov 2006
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From: SE Wyoming
Location would help in the engine search.
If yours is bad it would be cheapest to just find a low mileage replacement, assuming you can do the work yourself you can get a complete engine either side of $1K to your door. First I'd make sure it truly is overheating and not just a bad sender or gauge. These engines run 200°F normally and can run up to 220° easily.
If yours is bad it would be cheapest to just find a low mileage replacement, assuming you can do the work yourself you can get a complete engine either side of $1K to your door. First I'd make sure it truly is overheating and not just a bad sender or gauge. These engines run 200°F normally and can run up to 220° easily.
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thank you for the reply man. First off, i will say that the engine is 100% for sure overheating, in fact the first time that it did it it started to steam but i managed to shut it off right when it was hitting the red. Ill say this though your response was a relief, i am in riverside, ca, and i would like to know where you find a low milage engine for around 1k to 1500?? i don't have the equipment to put it in but ill cross that bridge when it comes. Do you know of a trustworthy place to buy a used engine from? cant afford much more than that but if itll salvage my truck thatll be great, cause hell i was quoted 2000 min for the heads...
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From: SE Wyoming
Got my 5.4L from these guys:
Nordstrom's Automotive - Nordstrom's Auto - Used Car Parts Sioux Falls SD
Bought off their ebay auctions was under $1K shipped . I am a lot closer to them than you are though, I am sure there are tons of places in CA that have engines. Need a place that tests them for oil pressure, compression and should have some kind of short term warranty.
To have someone else install will probably be another $1K but you would have the old engine to scrap and make a little money back, the aluminum heads are worth a little bit alone.
I was kind of in the same boat, had 250K miles and 1 head spit the same spark plug twice, instead of paying over $1K for 1 head it was better to just get a lower mileage engine. I also did new Torque converter, water pump and P.S. pump while I had it out. As well as all new hoses.
Nordstrom's Automotive - Nordstrom's Auto - Used Car Parts Sioux Falls SD
Bought off their ebay auctions was under $1K shipped . I am a lot closer to them than you are though, I am sure there are tons of places in CA that have engines. Need a place that tests them for oil pressure, compression and should have some kind of short term warranty.
To have someone else install will probably be another $1K but you would have the old engine to scrap and make a little money back, the aluminum heads are worth a little bit alone.
I was kind of in the same boat, had 250K miles and 1 head spit the same spark plug twice, instead of paying over $1K for 1 head it was better to just get a lower mileage engine. I also did new Torque converter, water pump and P.S. pump while I had it out. As well as all new hoses.
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if you dont mind my asking, how many miles did your used motor have on it when you bought it? Cause ive found a couple on the site you gave me. they both have around 130.000- 140,000 thousand miles and they are around 1400-1600.not bad i guess.
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i have been looking around online and have found some for the price range that you said, right around 1k, but alot of these places seem like they want me to call a representative or a salesman to make a deal on it, they'll leave a quote and a phone # on my email, have you been through this before?
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From: SE Wyoming
No, I just bought it and they shipped. Biggest hassle was the shipping company messing my phone number up and sitting on the engine for almost a week because they couldn't contact. Mine had around 95K on it, it was almost two years ago now that I got it.
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From: n charleston
You may want to check your water pump its self and make sure the fins had not ceroded off. If water was ran in the system it is a possibility.
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galaxie!
hey galaxy, thanks again for turning me onto ebay engines, there r some good deals. Sounds like this aint yur first rodeo so i got another question. Something scares me...Like for example i saw a 4.6 romeo with like 90k on it going for like 500.00 and the bid is almost closed, but then ill see the same engine with twice that many miles going for 1200! doesnt make sense why people would bid higher on a higher milage engine, is there something im missing??
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From: SE Wyoming
No idea, never know why 2 people bid something up more than it should be. Usually you see engines that are sold from a guy in his garage sell for far less because he hasn't tested or warranted it at all like a lot of the salvage yards do.
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