My poor 1994 5.8 Club Wagon is going on 234,000 miles. I can clearly hear a lifter ticking, It does not have the power it used to and has a pretty major oil leak.
I am considering a rebuilt engine.
I was quoted $3700 installed by a reputable mechanic that has ase certification. (this is a rebuilt, not used)
I think he installs Jasper engines.

I would like to replace the water pump, alternator, smog pump, distributor, harmonic balancer, exaust manifold and probably the muffler and Cat. (But those could come later).
Radiator is good, I replaced that a few years ago.

What else do you recommend replacing while the engine is out?

Thanks.

 

I got a reman trans from the local Ford dealer about 3 years ago. I asked him if it was a Jaspar. He said no, they quit using Jaspar due to quality problems.

They are known to do the least work possible to put an engine out the door. Mismatched bores and journals are the norm. If you can find a core at a junkyard, and have it rebuilt by someone local, you are better off, I think. Ask at your local trusted mechanic's shop or NAPA and see who they recommend for rebuilding locally.

 

I will check to see exactly what he would put in. Thanks.

 

A buddy put a Jasper engine in his Suburban about 2 years ago and it failed a few months later. Jasper did cover the cost of another engine and installation, but my buddy traded it in shortly after because he didn't want to chance it.
Another buddy worked for an engine rebuilding outfit, not Jasper, and they would just bore out cylinders that needed it and had mismatched journals as mentioned above.

 

That sounds like a lot to me , but I swap my own engines. Check at Advance auto parts etc. for a long block and put all the new accessories you want on it. Engine swaps aren't that complicated once you do it. Maybe a friend could help you with it ?

 

Found this at Rock Auto

 

Recently I had installed a Ford reman'd 5.4 in an '05 E350, replaced due VERY low hot idle oil pressure: 8 PSI. The engine alone cost me just over $3K, labor by a friend was $700 and I opted for all new injectors as the originals condition warranted it--those cost me just over $300. Ford supplies a lot of extra parts, go so far as filling the engine with oil ready for that first start. In addition they claim their engines arrive ready to install, delivery the vehicle back to the customer and let them drive it as they will---no break in period or further action required.

The trick dealing with Jasper is having one of their "authorized" installers do the job. If something goes wrong you have that to fall back upon. You would want to carefully ask your installer of choice how many failures or issues have they had, how were they resolved and do they really REALLY recommend that brand? Would that be their choice for their own vehicles?

I had a few options from different trusted mechanics and went with Ford---something about the Jasper just didn't sit well with me. I would NEVER buy any sort of engine assembly from any chain store---they sell stuff and quality is not their first priority. If bottom line pricing is the main concern buy what's available and hope for the best.

 

Especially not RockAuto. They are absolutely great to deal with, until you have a problem with a product they said would fit, and doesn't. Then try to deal with them about a return. I'm betting you won't deal with them again.

By the way, I have 100k on the reman trans I go from the Ford dealer. So far, so good.

 

My Uncle put a reman 302 from Advance Auto in his 76 Bronco eight or ten years ago and it's never missed a lick. That's the only experience I have with them.

 

It turns out that the price I was quoted was to have my engine rebuilt and installed by a local rebuilder my mechanic uses, with only a 1 year warranty.
My mechanic does install Jasper and he is an authorized installer but if I wanted a jasper its going to be over $5000 installed, but it has 3 year warranty or 100,000 miles.

I am on the fence, I can put $5000 down on a 2000ish E150 cargo. Ive seen them anywhere from $5000 to $13000 used depending on mileage. Obviously I would want as little mileage as possible.
Smog test is due in a few months and I really dont want to put any more money into the van unless I am going to keep it.

Still debating.

 

Determine where the leak is coming from first and foremost. Then make your decision on what it will cost to fix, verses what you can sell it for. Let the buyer know upfront the problems you've found of course. Rear main seal is my guess , but a leaking valve cover gasket can present a pretty decent oil leak if left alone.With over 200k miles , the buyer will know what he's looking for and getting into. If you like the vehicle, fix it one way or the other and enjoy it for years , if not , sell it.

 

Rear seal leaking, Too many miles and the lifter noise. Ive been babying it for a long time and fixing things as they break, the time is coming to either replace the engine or retire the whole rig.

 

It turns out that the price I was quoted was to have my engine rebuilt and installed by a local rebuilder my mechanic uses, with only a 1 year warranty.
My mechanic does install Jasper and he is an authorized installer but if I wanted a jasper its going to be over $5000 installed, but it has 3 year warranty or 100,000 miles.

I am on the fence, I can put $5000 down on a 2000ish E150 cargo. Ive seen them anywhere from $5000 to $13000 used depending on mileage. Obviously I would want as little mileage as possible.
Smog test is due in a few months and I really dont want to put any more money into the van unless I am going to keep it.

Still debating.

 

Nick: Bear with me here please. My 1993 Bronco with 5.8 had ~200,000 miles on it when I sold it. My current 1995 Bronco with 5.8 has 192,000 miles on it.

I warped the passenger side exhaust manifold on the 1993 because I waited too long past 100,000 miles to replace the catalytic converter. The Y pipe is shorter on that side and builds up heat faster and hotter IMHO. That manifold warp sounded like a lifter to me until I had some more experienced people listen to it. I replaced the manifold and the Y pipe with the catalytic converter and the tick tick tick sound went away.

The 5.8 was still strong when I sold the 1993 Bronco.

So, immediately after I bought the 1995 Bronco used, I replaced the Y pipe and catalytic converter to avoid warping the manifold.

The 5.8 in the 1995 Bronco is still strong. In Feb my wife and I drove to and from the Sacramento California Valley to Big Sky MT and in March drove to and from the Sacramento Valley to Southern B.C., Canada. It is going strong. Yes, I have to watch the oil (I use 5w-30w Mobil 1 Full Synthetic.)

I know your E150 is heavier than my Broncos, but I have packed those Broncos pretty heavy too. I know your 5.8 has 30K more miles on it than my Broncos, but I doubt that my 1995 will be much different with another 30K miles on it than it is now with 192,000 miles.

If you haven't replaced the Y pipe and the catalytic converter, you will be surprised about the additional power you will have when you do. When you have a crank no start condition, you will likely need to replace your distributor with the one with the correct cam gear on it. Spark plug wires should be replaced with the 9mm Ford Racing wires with separator combs to avoid cross firing. I had that which caused a miss.

Things definitely wear out and break. Including engines, but my hope is that my 5.8 will make it to 300,000 miles and beyond.

So, I am just saying, you may want to really stop look and listen to your lifter noise to make sure that it is really a lifter and not a warped manifold caused by a stopped up catalytic converter which is robbing the engine of power.

If I were to replace the engine, I would only do it with a Ford oem remanufactured engine:

https://parts.ford.com/shop/en/us/re...k%29-7860935-1

 

Having just bought an OEM reman'd 5.4 I'd naturally concur here.

Being honest though I'm having an issue with that motor, had a small vibration that so closely mimics a bad COP or plug yet no CEL's or DTC's---had it been something the PCM controls or monitors it would have shown up on a deep scan. It seems to be valve train related, the actual issue yet to be determined.

Ford Powertrain Tech is not the least bit hesitant to accept there's an issue but they do require diagnosis by the original installing shop, first step is for that shop to open a claim. Said claim does require a bit of documentation that's already in place: receipts for engine purchase, installation charges---normal stuff. (FWIW If I claimed this as a DIY install I'd be forced to turn it over to a dealership--that's a firm requirement, not a suggestion.)

They do slightly prefer the diagnosis be done by one of their dealerships but for a million reasons I'm not enthusiastic about that. Conversations with two dealerships regarding what I might suspect to pay out of my pocket for them to become involved is mixed so far, the "service writers" a bit too snarky and haughty towards the installation not being done by a Ford dealer. I've resisted very hard to NOT point out their core of "mechanics" aren't known to me, my trust in their ability and/or experience to do this phase correctly very, very low. Problem there is IF I presented my van for their diagnosis I'm stuck Ford's warranty doesn't involve charges over and above the original engine's build and parts used and labor to repair/replace the issue.

My shop will stand by me but its worth pointing out ANY work done needs to be documented, receipts kept available and most all conversations summarized on paper so they're easily recalled when/if needed.

That's just me-------YMMV.