2004 sport track 4wd. never had issues..no oil burn, leaks, af use..nothing. was a great truck. going to work.heard a thump and truck shut down.


oil was high on dip stick..no AF left..it all went into motor on top. seized up engine and crank broke into pieces...done..


got a new engine put in this week.


Has this been an issue with these engines..or did I just have some bad mojo?

 

What engine was it?

 

Probably the 4.0. Yes, they blow up.

Good news: Millions served in Exploders, Rangers, Mustangs--and they interchange at the long block level with little fuss in most cases.

ALWAYS replace the tensioners (they get old and weak) and the guides (they are cheap to replace with the motor out, which, by the way, is how you have to do it)

 

yes 4.0 figured Id get more life then that out of it though...

 

Yeah in an '04 I think the guides were "fixed" and many report a lot more miles than 120 k. If you want I will find the interchange story link. . I'd do it now but I'm using my phone and I have never figured out how to add links etc.

 

When do you need to replace the tensioners? We've got 180k+ on the one we purchased and it looks like work was done in the general area, so they may have been done at some point, but I'd like to keep up on them as a maintenance item just to make sure we don't have a catastrophic cassette failure....replacing the tensioners appears to be fairly easily done.

 

The word on the tensioners was to replace them if you did guides. I would say replace them if you are swapping engines or doing guides or any work that involves pulling heads. That the tensioners are really weak might be an exaggeration, but given the failures these engines have, it would seem to be a cheap insurance policy. While later model guides are better, they are cheap compared to the labor involved.

The driver side can be done in the vehicle. The passenger side requires pulling the engine, or if you like to suffer, pulling the trans and doing it upside down and backwards with gunk in your eyes.

Funny thing, one guy here, AlaskanEx iirc, had or has one of these with 300k on the clock!

Clean oil helps keep these things alive, so don't skimp on oil changes.

Ditto the 5 speed automatic. Clean fluid helps save them too.

 

Okay, I was just wondering if there was a desired interval to do them on the engines before the supposed upgraded design. Ours makes no noise, the oil is clean and I will definitely keep up on the oil changes.

Anyone know of any particular brands of oil to stay away from for issues like sludge, etc in these engines? I'm not going to switch to Amsoil or Royal Purple, etc...but I've switched to synthetic before on an older engine and then switched to semi synthetic because of the oil loss ( leaks ). I'm assuming that the last oil change was not synthetic since the dealer did it when they went through the car to put it up for sale.

What I find interesting about the transmission, is that I keep hearing that these are the "sealed type", yet we've got a dipstick in ours. I know it's a 5 speed auto and it's a 2002 ( albeit build date 12/01 ) At 180k, the fluid is as red as it would be coming out of the bottle and it shifts beautifully. I've read that Mercon V is "for life" and doesn't require changing unless the vehicle is used in severe duty, which goes for the transfer case and differentials.

 

Got the complete rebuilt engine in running great. But Im smelling fuel..cant seem to find a leak anywhere. any suggestions?

 

Found some fuel on top of engine right side. thinking fuel rail is leaking it at some place..finally narrowing it down..

 

240K on our 4.0. Motor is good, leaks a bit but still runs strong.

body is shot (PA truck).