before i go and spend thousands on a new engine, i'd like to hear opinions on rebuilding an engine. how do you know if your engine is still in good enough shape to bother rebuilding? will a rebuild make a huge difference in performance/power? is a rebuild something that can be done in a weekend, or will it take longer?

also, currently my truck drives pretty rough-not rough suspension-but a rough powertrain when accelarating. also, sometimes in first gear it really struggles to make it to the 2000rpm mark. sometimes i will floor it, and it will just putt at it's own pace to the first 2000 rpms. what causes that, and how can it be fixed? would a rebuild take care of that? thanks

 

I would also like to know when it is better to rebuild than buy a new engine. I have 113K on my 87 F150 Extended Cab EFI. Seems to be running pretty good but uses a fair amount of oil 1/2 quart every 1-2 weeks. I'm thinking about rebuilding while it is still in good shape. Thanks.

 

I think that buying an engine thats rebuilt already is the way to go.You can get some pretty good warrantys on some. Just make sure that you really need a motor. I know someone who took an 89 E 250 5.8 litre with 200k miles on it into the local ford dealer because it was down on power. They took one look at the milage and told him he needed a new engine. Turns out that his cat converter was clogged. The worst part about it was they only put in a short block and the engine developed a burnt valve 40k miles later.

 

You didn't mention what year your truck is. If it's in the late 80's - early 90's, with fuel injection, you should get a code scanner and find out if any trouble codes are in the computer's memory. (or pay a shop an hour of labor to do it)

Your truck's poor performace may be due to a lot of things. Scanning for codes can point you in the direction for further troubleshooting.

To determine what shape your engine's in internally, a compression and cylinder leakdown test is needed.

A blocked catalytic converter will make the truck run terrible. When it's cool, tap on the bottom of it. If you hear pieces bouncing around then the catalyst is falling apart.

Even if you have to pay someone to check it out, isn't it worth a few hours labor vs several thousand $$ for an overhaul??

When it's time to rebuild, consider that you'll be without your truck for a while. Depends on how buisy the machine shop is. Also (and this is an important consideration) you may want to buy a rebuilt engine and have yours swapped out. I got mine from Capital City Engines (Richmond VA), but there's several others out there (like Jasper Engines, Ford authorized rebuilders, etc...). This rebuilt gave me a 3 year / 50,000 mile warrantee ANYWHERE in the US!! So if I'm towing the camper 1000 miles from home and I have a problem.. I don't have to worry about getting the truck back to the machine shop that rebuilt the engine. Often cheaper to swap for a rebuilt, too.

 

(my response below, covers this also)

Do (or have done) a compression test and a cylinder leak down test. This will determine if your rings are shot, or if oil's getting into the combustion chamber via the valves.

Your valve seal(s) might be the problem.

 

oh yeah, i forgot to mention that the truck is an 87 f150 with a 302, EFI and i think an AOD tranny. anyway, yesterday after work, i popped the hood to check my power steering fluid. then i was looking at the driver-side valve cover when a huge drop of oil just comes dripping out from underneath the valve cover, drips down, sizzles, and smokes up! Profanity Removed! i'm guessing its a valve cover gasket. any thoughts?

okay, so later i will tap on the cat to see if the catalyst is breaking down, and perhaps next week, i can get the compression tests done. thanks