I was just wondering if anyone could give me some info. about maybe getting a rebuilt engine. I have the '99 5.4 that might have the head gasket leak and I am not under any warranty. I first thought I might have the famous head gasket leak. If i do, the shop that I go to said it would be around $2000 or so to fix it. And, that ios no garuntee that it will be fixed as I have read in some of the other forums. So, I thought that a solution that might cost more upfront but less in the long run might be to get a new or rebuilt engine from may be the 2001 model year. What does everyone think about this idea? Am I totally off or what? The body of my expy is in great condition so I would like to keep it. THanks for all of the advice.

 

Even if you do have the infamous oil leak, I wouldn't worry much about it, unless it is ruining your driveway or the like. Just keep an eye on your oil level. If you're eventually planning on replacing the entire engine assembly, drive the one you have until it dies. You might be surprised at how long it will actually last.....back in the old days all engines leaked a little oil, just look at parking lots, there are oil stains in every space.

 

My engine swap was a cool seven grand.

 

hkiefus-

Man, that was a lot of dough!! Could you tell me what you had changed out and what to (ie, what engine did you have and what you swapped it out to?) Thanks.

 

The slighest of rough idles. Compression was just a hair low in one cylinder. Two days later the body was off the vehicle and the engine was on a stand. They were going to send it to the machine shop to determine if the cylinder was slightly out of round. They were heading toward working on the one cylinder. I said I'd really like a new motor so they ordered one up and put it in.

The part I didn't tell you was that it was under warranty. The actual 'bill' was $7,256. Just a simple replacement of the Intech (32V) motor in my 2K Navi. Stock to Stock. The worst part is the labor was charged at the warranty rate; had I had to pay for it it would have been higher.

 

Thanks hkiefus. Anyone else had a similar experience. Would buying a n engine on the internet be worth while or would a shop be able to get a better price?
Thanks.

 

Hello,

I've had my Explorer (92 XLT) engine swapped - although there are better prices out there on the internet I always questioned the possibility of what if something goes wrong with the engine and where do I take it for warranty work. I ended up buying an engine locally and had my mechanic swap it out. Took her a day and a half (I had all necessary parts for the new engine ready). My engine has a 3-year UNLIMITED warranty that's why I use my Explorer everyday and hardly use my Expy.

I'm not sure now if you bought an engine from Ford and had someone else swap it in terms of warranty. That's a question I'd ask or will ask Ford as I work right next to a dealership. Labor is definitely cheaper thru my mechanic as it only cost me $700 and the engine was only $1700 for the Explorer. She quoted me no more than $1000 (per her book as to how many hours it would take to swap an Expy engine) to do the work on the Expy should I deem it necessary.

Hope this helps - oh, I'm extremely satisfied with the engine swap and with all the snow we've been getting here in the East Coast, I'm glad my Expy's under cover in the garage.

BTW my local Ford dealership says you can't buy new engines thru Ford. They're all rebuilts and they cost $3,500.

Drive Safe,
Dan

 

Dan-

Thanks for the valuable info. I have thought that if it is going to cost me at least $2000 to fix the head gasket, why not spend a little more and get a newer engine with a warranty. Thanks.

 

You could put a lightning motor in it, buy one from the ford dealer, it should have the warranty.

 

I think I would have gone with a SOHC 427 for that kind of money.

 

Funny you should say that. As the engine was sitting on the stand, visions of camshafts and heads and cranks, and pistons appeared in my head. Once I saw the prices on the camshafts I opted to go with the Kenne Bell supercharger and that was a simple bolt-on.

But at least the thought occurred to me. I actually had one of those engines once. (side-oiler)