I posted a picture in the Gallery under Gamboni. I can't figure out how to link it to this post. Anyhow, I'm a little pissed. I never received a letter from Ford, not even an email about this leaking injector problem. Here I am like a fool trying to start my truck "thinking that the starter is bad" and destroying it. It has been said that you can replace the bent rod without pulling the engine by removing the oil pan and Head. Has anyone done this......Please provide advice.

 

You can and I have done it before. Just to be clear #1 is the first cylinder on the passenger side. You are going to have to take the accumulator and PCM bracket out to get enough room to pull the head. The rear 2 head bolts are too long to take all the way out before hitting the firewall so pull them up and wrap some rubber bands around them to keep them up. Ford doesn't notify people about extended warranties, they only fix the issue if the vehicle is brought into the dealer. They are only required to notify people about safety and emissions recalls. Make sure the rod bearing is ok before you start pulling the head or its a waste. If the bearing is damaged then the crank is too and the engine needs to come out. If you have access to a lift it will be easier IMO to lift up the cab to pull the head. Not necessarily faster, but easier.

 

Unless your engine was in a perfect running condition, might be better off getting a low mile used engine and replace all common problematic parts then swap the engine. Pulling head while the engine is on the vehicle is not an easy task and if going that far, might as well as do it all the way.
If you decide to replace just a rod, do the timing job at the same time since it has come off anyway. Replace roller followers and lash adjusters as well if the budget allows.

 

NEVER worth it on one of these engines IMO. Timing components and oil pump are close to $1000. Add the cost of a used engine, and you are way too close to the cost of factory overhauled 5.4. I paid $3200 for a overhauled engine with a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty. Most rebuilt 5.4's, no matter who sells them, come from AER out of Texas who is the Ford/Motorcraft rebuilder. The Ford rebuilts have a warranty that reimburses at dealer shop rates, but list for $2400 more than what I paid. My warranty pays about 1/2 of dealer rates, but I doubt I ever need it.

 

Agreed. I was thinking it would be possible to get used engine for around $1000, but it seems a good used engine would be closer to $2000. There probably is few hundreds dollars of saving by repairing used engine, but there is no guarantee everything else will be good with it.
Re-manufactured long block at rockauto is a little over $3000 before core, so definitely worth getting re-manufactured engine since used engine is most likely to require timing components replacement.

 

 

This video probably will help.

Why do you need to take that off?

 

This guy has made 1000hp mixing and matching used parts on JY LS engines. He reuses TTY headbolts and reuses headgaskets. Here is a relevant video.

 

Great video. Thank you. IDK, if I do not need to remove the exhaust manifold to get the head up and out of the passenger side........PLEASE let me know cause I do not want to remove it. It simply looks like there is not enough room to get it out from the top without removing it. Can I? has anyone done it?

 

Yes, you will going to have to remove the manifold. What was I thinking.

BTW, was your engine as noisy as mine before you had leaking injector?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o3B...ew?usp=sharing

I think most pronounced noise I hear are the fuel injectors and I am not sure if they are supposed to be this loud or it is fuel injectors going bad.

 

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Byoung_oh, no your engine sounds like mine did BEFORE the rod bent....Sounds normal to me. I did not take a video of mine run because I knew it was bad and did not want to run it anymore than I had to. Anyhow my connecting rod was hitting the bottom of the engine head and it sounds just like somebody is "pounding on a door" literally. You do not hear the metal cling like you think you would, it's a hard Knock and you will know right-away it's not good.

@ pdgford what were you trying to say? Your message is empty. I thank all of you for any help you can offer. Today is another day under the truck.

 

I have always pulled the head with the manifold still attached. I use a 15mm deep swivel socket and a long extension to get the 2 nuts at the pipe off. You will need to pull the intake which is not fun in the truck. There are 3 wiring connectors and a large vacuum hose at the back plus a nut holding the harness to the intake. Two of the connectors are for the knock sensors and the wires are routed on the front side of the IMRC linkage and needs to go back that way or they will rub on the linkage. The other is for the IMRC actuator. The vacuum hose is for the brake booster and is at the drivers side bottom of the intake. The power steering pump needs to come off to get the timing cover off I use a 10mm reversible gearwrench to get the bolt near the pressure line so I dont have to remove the pulley or the line. Its a tight fit but it will work. Try to keep all of your posts limited to this thread so things dont' get confusing. As always, pictures are worth a thousand words

 

Thank you, I will stay on this thread. Just a little confused and have a few questions. Your post above "". Are you referring to the "airflow intake?" Also, did you pull the radiator or fan to get to the timing cover off? If I mess up the timing I am SOL. What is your advice when I get to that stage ( Probably tomorrow). Did you see my pictures of the bearing cap and camshaft on the other post? It really didn't look bad but that does not mean it's not bad. It really is a shot in the dark with this kind of damage "I know" but truly I have no choice to try and save money first.

 

I take the fan off and leave the radiator in. You will need a fan clutch wrench to get it off. I was talking about the intake manifold which is on top of the engine and connects to both heads. You bearing looks like its brand new I would even re-use it. Don't worry too much about the timing its easy to set right. Once you get the timing cover and valve covers off you will see 2 marks on the phasers. If they are original they will have a "L" and a "I" 180 degrees apart. The updated phasers have a "L" and a "R". Rotate the engine until the crankshaft keyway is at the bottom and the L on the drivers side is facing the alternator. This puts the piston at the bottom of the bore so you can get to the rod cap bolts. Take the cap off then rotate the engine until the keyway is at 11 o'clock. The L should be perpendicular to the head on the driver's side and the I or R should be at 12 o'clock on the passenger side. Now you can take the chains off. Use a wooden dowel or small hammer handle to push the piston out after the head is off. Be careful not to nick the bearing surface on the crank.