Hello all!

I have a 2003 Expedition (4.6 2wd) with 112,000 miles on it. Two weeks ago while driving to work, I lost power for a short time, regained power then after a short drive lost power again and the engine died.

I have taken it to two different places, both say the engine is seized, I have tried to turn the engine by the crank bolt to no avail.

It made no noise, there was no smoke and it didn't shke or shudder - it just died after losing power.

I have removed the oil pan to find that there are goldish (yellowish) colored metal shavings both in the pan and along the sides of the block.

If any of you have had any experience with this, I would like to hear your thoughts as to why this happened and what I can do aside from replacing the engine (Replacement would be right at $4,000).

Thank you so much for ANY insight you may have to offer.

Jim

**Forgot to add that the engine was full of oil, radiator was full of water - it did not run hot either.**

 

what do the plugs look like? damaged? burnt? possible oil pump failure? usually there is some noise or something when things stop spinning.

 

They look normal as far as wear. A tad brownish but that is what I've seen old plugs look like before.

The title to this thread says it all - it is a strange seizure. It made absolutely NO noise and did not smoke at all.

I am completly puzzled by all this.

 

Do you feel competent to remove the engine for inspection? It's got to be pulled and torn down to see what failed, but doing that yourself can shrink your cost considerably. If you are new to this, use a digital camera to take THOROUGH photos of everything before and during the job.

 

Sounds like you have a main bearing on the crank go bad.sometimes these can go bad on you will have no noise .A rod bearing will make all kind of noise.
If this is the case the crank shaft is ruined.the little pieces you found were part of the bearing.
In some cases people have had the bad part of crank turned down and an over size bearing put back in,but I personally dont like this kind of fix.Four thousand seems kinda high for the work tp be done.Around here A good used engine like yours will sell for around $1200-$1500 and most owner -operator shops will change an engine for around $500.

 

a AWESOME place to search for used engines and auto parts is here:

http://car-part.com/

 

Have you pulled the mains and big end to see if one spun? If you're sure the engine is coming apart you can pull the mains one at a time and put them back as you move to the next one as you check for one that spun. You did pull the serpentine belt to rule out a parasitic load, right? Of course you did.

 

I've been working on all cars we've owned over the years, so I feel I can pull the engine (provided I can get hold of a cherry picker).

I have not yet pulled the mains, I work nights and between that and sleep, I don't have much time for anything else. I intend to do just that (one at a time of course) to see which one it is and how bad it is.

I've also been told that it could have been caused by the water pump going out? First time I've heard of that one.

I really appreciate all the input. I figured the best place for help would be a forum such as this.

i'll get back to you all as soon as I get down to what the cause is.

Thank you all so much!

 

"A good used engine like yours will sell for around $1200-$1500 and most owner -operator shops will change an engine for around $500."

Those prices are realistic for the South (I'm in SC) though the swap on an Expy is usually more (we unbolt the body and block it up with 4x4 sections, leaving the back two bolts attached) like 700.

Pulling each main can be done, but it's hours of wasted labor because you know it's an engine pull anyway. Pulling parts from the bottom is like crawling under a body to do an autopsy! It ain't gonna be any less dead.

I'd be removing accessories and stripping the engine down for removal instead.

Cherry pickers are so cheap that it's worth buying one for one job. A length of galvanized chain (lasts for many swaps) and a couple of hooks and you are good to go.

NOTE:
Not all cherry pickers will lift the engine fully clear of the radiator core brace on trucks. The way around this can be to use a floor jack on each side to slowly lower the front of the truck after removing the front wheels. If you have only one floor jack, improvise with wood blocks or jackstands or whatever. Ya might not have to do this, but keep it in mind.

The AC compressor lines can be left connected so you don't dump the freon, but the 10mm bolts are buried. A Gearwrench ratchet wrench will get the one closest to the crossmember (or a combination wrench and much more time), and a 10mm short on a ratchet (long-handle flex head ratchet if ya have one) will do the other two. I just pulled one yesterday is why I mention it.

The radiator shroud is held by small Phillips screws that go into plastic plugs. If the screw doesn't lift out on it's own, use a small pick or scriber to ease it up.