Hi, I have a 1993 f150 XLT with a 302 EFI. Had a complete rebuild 10 thousand miles ago. Shortly after the rebuild (about 5 thousand miles) I noticed a slight ticking coming from either a lifter or a fuel injector. While returning home on the freeway the ticking became louder and then the engine began shaking and running extremely rough and the temp guage went way up. A friend thought timing chain.
I pulled the timing cover and in the process discovered the water pump bearing was shot. Removed the timing cover and found chain and sprockets were fine…checked rotor and distributor cap…all ok. Now I’m stumped. Don’t know where to go from here. Does anyone out there have suggestions?
Since I’m broke I have to do the work myself and also the warranty on the rebuild has run out.

 

So....the problem started 5,000 miles ago, and you've just been driving it that way???

 

Maybe he means its just been ticking, and then just other day...either way, u would pull the intake, check lifters, pushrods, and rockers. You could pull valve covers then just turn motor over several times to verify rockers are moving up and down and then pull intake to verify condition of lifters on cam and have a look see at the cam lobes. You already have the pump and timing covet off, so now would be a good time if in fact a lobe/lifter went bad...just a few thoughts since it could have developed 5000 miles ago and or it went bad long ago...

 

@Gururaji......if you just had a complete rebuild, why would you ignore any noise from under the hood? Now if it turns out to be motor related, as you stated, it's out of warranty. Another motor out of pocket doesn't seem logical to me.

I agree with timbersteel, should check it out while all is off....or even spin motor by hand to feel for binding. It's possible all that noise you heard was from the water pump blowing apart and overheating due to pump failure. Also, don't use old fan clutch, if shaft was wobbling on water pump it already hurt clutch and you don't want old clutch ruining new pump. ~just saying~

 

@ Gururaji.. I have to agree with timbersteel and Cubawashere. Turning the engine by hand could possibly let you know if there is any binding. The bearing being "shot" could have been making the noise you were hearing. Bearings make all kinds of sounds when they are not happy. Good luck.

 

Thanks for all your responses...It was stupid, lazy on my part to ignore the "ticking" for as long as I did, but I did and here I am, facing reality.
I will do as you all have suggested and report my progress. I'm hoping I don't have to pull the engine but if I do I'm grateful that you guys are there. Thanks again!

 

May not have to pull engine, as long as there isn't a pan full of metal. Let us know what you find out.

 

Exactly.... stay positive until you can prove otherwise... added stress doesn't help either. Take this as a learning experience too... ;-)

 

I appreciate the encouragement. I drained the oil; no water or metal debris. I'm now in the process of disconnecting and numbering hoses and wires...remove upper intake to get to valve covers.
Trying to stay calm and not be in a hurry...one step at a time. I sure hope cussin' 'n cursin' is allowed. When it gets too loud (such as disturbs the neighborhood), I take a break. Thanks again for being there!

 

Hold up there buddy! lol um...now that you found no metal or coolant in oil....refill oil and throw on a pump with a new fan clutch and give her a try....unless you hear something else would you continue to break it down. Sounds like you are just tearing everything apart when you may not have to.

 

I would love to "hold up" but I've gone so far. I'm about ready to remove the valve covers. Here's my thinking and keep in mind I know very little. I don't know if it's just human nature but when it comes to mechanical failure I always suspect the worst.
I can see that a bad water pump bearing would cause the temp to rise but would it cause all that shaking? My first thought was I'd blown the engine, then a friend suggested timing chain. That made sense and in the process of getting to the timing chain discovered the pump bearing.
Since I've gone this far I need to be convinced that these symptoms would be resolved by replacing the clutch fan and water pump.
Of course being 73 years old and not wanting to go through this again may have something to do with it.
I'm going to remove the valve covers and have a look; If it looks ok, I'll put it all back together. I do appreciate your input...thank you again.

 

Not sure why you would tare the engine apart without some checking.
The ticking was most likely a bad bearing in the belt area and then the bearing locked and caused the over heat and that is what cause all that shaking also.
I dough the water pump cause it to over heat unless it was the water pump bearing, more likely the belt not moving did that.

Now you say the engine is not running. What do you mean by that?
Does it crank?
Do you have spark?
Do you have fuel pressure?

 

It cranks ...It has spark and fuel pressure. The engine was running..shaking badly...and overheating. Assuming it was the timing chain I removed the water pump and discovered the bad bearing. My question is; should I assume the problems were caused by the bearing and replace the water pump and clutch fan or investigate further?

 

I would check all the bearings that the belt goes over to see if they are OK. Also unplug the A/C clutch in case the compressor is locked up. If everthing turns free including the engine and then if does not start we would have a electrical, fuel or compression problem.

You might want try and start it with the belt off to see if it still has the clicking. Just do not let it run too long with out the belt or water pump.
Note you do not have to put the water pump and fan clutch back on to see if it will start.

 

All pulleys turn freely including engine. I have drained the oil. The timing cover is removed. How long to run engine. 10 sec?