I actually pulled the motor in my truck. It's my first attempt to rebuild/replace a motor in a vehicle. I have done about everything you can to one short of rebuilding it. This motor was burning oil and finally quit on me(3 miles from home with a camper in tow). It has been in my garage for two months. I pulled the motor and am currently trying to decide whether to rebuild, buy rebuilt from Ford for $2200, buy rebuilt from Jasper for $2650, or buy used. I wouldn't mind buying rebuilt but when I get done I will still have a truck that gets 9mpg. I would like to rebuild just so I know the motor and can say I did it, but it seems after machineshop work I will still be spending $1500. How do I decide????????????????

 

Dude, if you can pull an engine, you can rebuild one. How much money you spend depends on what kind of condition the old engine is in. If the cylinder bores are in good shape, just go with a hone job to clean off the glaze. And if you're gonna plan on having the block cooked and cleaned, you're gonna need new cam bearings. If you have the means to check the clearances in your oil pump, do it...you can save $40 or more if your stock oil pump is in good shape (which they usually are). You don't need a high volume oil pump unless you plan on turning the engine over 6000 RPM on a regular basis, and even then you'll have to budget in the extra money for a deeper oil pan. And it doesn't matter whether you're rebuilding an engine for a daily driver or a racer, you've GOT TO CHECK your crank rod and main bearing clearances and ring clearances. If they ain't within tolerances, you'll probably have to get the crank ground and get undersize bearings.

Other than that, let us know what kind of truck you have (so we have an idea of how much it weighs), what engine you have, and what you want to do with it. You already mentioned you tow, so that kinda indicates you want to build an engine with plenty of low-end torque.

Hope this helps...
Pat

 

When it quit you didn't mention whether it was a catastrophic failure (i.e. thrown rod) or just quit running. If something internal failed you could have block damage. The trick to rebuilding them is to get them out while they still run so you minimize damage and costs.

Comparing the prices for the rebuilts, are we comparing prices on the same product? If so, I'd definitely get the Ford rebuild for $2200 versus the $2650 Jasper. What comes with each for that price?

I have had mixed luck with used motors. You never really know how many miles on it, how it was maintained or even if it runs unless you see it in the original vehicle. Most junk yards will warranty a motor for 30 days but it still means installing it and removing it if something is wrong with it. Then all they will do is give you another junkyard motor. More trouble than it is worth sometimes.

Bottom line, I always like rebuilding the motor that came with the vehicle if this is possible. My second choice would be a Ford rebuild. I have had bad experiences with third party factory rebuilds. Use a boneyard motor only if you don't want to put the money into a new one.

Just my opinion of course.

 

The truck is a 1988 f250 and the engine is a fuel injected 460. Before It stopped it would use a quart of oil every 200 miles. It has a c6 tranny with 3.55 rear end. I was pulling a 2750 lb camper and it used 3 quarts of oil in 125 miles. it was rattling like a diesal when something broke and it stopped. The crank turns over so a I think it must be the timing chain. I am looking to borrow a harmonic balancer tool so I can take of the timing chain cover. I decided since it used so much oil I should just pull the motor and rebuild it.

 

that probably is ur timing chain or ur distributor is worn out and jumped time. i had a 78 351m do the same thing. when you had it under load that could of happened. your best bet would be to check timing and replace the distributor.also you didnt say that it would still turn over with the starter with out makin any noise internally.your best bet if your on a budget is to rebuild it yourself. grab a hanes manual and get started good luck with your project.

 

I took the motor apart. It actually failed because the ignition coil secondary failed. It reads as an open circuit. I dismantled the motor anyway and found that the exhaust valve in the number one cyclinder has a hole in it the size of my pinky finger. It is between the stem and the outer edge. The cyclinder and piston show no marks or damage and overall the engine appears to be in good shape. I am taking the lower end and heads to the machine shop to be cleaned, fluxed, and checked.