Hi all,
I am in serious need of some guidance. I am an avid Ford truck enthusiast and would consider myself a good wrench. I have built and rebuilt many '73-'79 pick-ups from the ground up but last yearI bought my first more modern truck, a '98 F-150 4x4 with a 4.6. In March I broke my foot and a few days later My truck developed a serious rod knock. Being laid up with a broken foot and knowing i was going to need surgery in the near future I knew i was not going to be able to go through the engine myslef, otherwise I would have done it myself. So my buddy said he would do it for me for $2500 so i said sure, dropped the truck off with some money and he said it would be done in a week or two depending on how busy he got. After that he dropped off the face of the earth. He does not return my calls or anything, I have been driving by his shop a few times a week for the last 5 months only to not see anything. Now tonight i called again and his number is disconnected so i took a drive over there. Guess what? My truck is sitting outside now and the engine is in 200 pieces in the bed! This sucks. I have rebuilt a few motors 351M a few 460's but never anything fuel injected. What am I supposed to do now? I towed the truck home and put it in the garage and this weekend i will try and sort out the pieces. What are the chances I can get this thing back together and make it run having no clue about it or how it came apart? I must do it. Anyone have any suggestions on assembling a 4.6? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Anyone know of any good rebuildingbook/manuals for this motor? Engine has been hot tanked and honed, crank was worked on and i guess the rods were reconitioned and oversized and one was replaced. Nothing has been assembled yet though. Anyone???? please? guidance??

 

Hi tvw and welcome to FTE

The 4.6 is a lot different than an older engine but since you've got some engine rebuilds under your belt I'm sure you'll be able to handle it. I would get a genuine Ford shop manual. If you look on ebay or www.flatratetech.com you'll be able to find Ford cd and dvd shop manuals which are the same as what we use at the dealership. I'm not sure what a Haynes manual for your truck is like but you might want to check into that too.
Do you know anyone in the shop at a dealer close to you? You're going to probably need a couple special tools for setting the cam timing. Other than that the rest of the engine is pretty straight forward.
When it comes time to put on the goodies on the top of the engine and put the engine into the truck it would be helpfull if you could find another truck the same to have close by to look at.
They really arent hard to install and hook everything up but since you didnt pull it apart it will be a challenge. There are a few of us here that have done these and I'm sure we can answer some questions.