Hi All - New forum member here. I've got an 03 7.3l With 395k, Goldie. Goldie is basically a farm truck with an occasional 200-400 mile haul of a gooseneck trailer up and down some hills. Goldie is solid, but tired... so very tired. I purchased an engine and trans (4r100 which will be professionally rebuilt) to rebuild and swap. It's from a 2000 7.3l PSD with 170k. The engine had been pulled but was outside under a "tarp." Unfortunately the tarp must've leaked and 2 cylinders were badly rusted such that honing won't restore the crosshatch present in the other 6 cylinders. So far, during disassembly, the engine is otherwise pristine. My plan is to get it bored as needed and do pistons, bearings, heads, etc. There are two exhaust valves with some pretty nasty pitting, which I'll be replacing. (see questions below)


The other valves appear to be decent and a light lapping has cleaned the seats up.

Now my questions:
Procedure:
Should I be numbering anything other than lifters, pushrods and valves that'll be reused?

Valves:
Should I replace only the 2 that look bad or should I replace them all?
Are there decent alternatives to Motorcraft OEM? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Lifters:
Replace? (The current ones look really good with no flats or bearing oddness.)

Parts and sources:
Any recommendations on a source for the rebuild kit itself, i.e gaskets, pistons, etc.
Is Mahle an ok source for gaskets?
Paint the block or leave it stripped?

Hopefully I haven't worn out my welcome with so many questions right off the bat!
Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

I would first figure out how much bore it needs, then get an oem overhaul kit. I would do all new valves and lifters.
Decide how much you want to spend on this, vs possibly just finding a good used running engine.

Cheyene has lost of good info in his thread here.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...e-rebuild.html

 

Thanks. I'm following @LegalizeChey 's post now.

 

Regarding the crankcase

• You probably wouldn't be able to do this unless you had both crank cases side by side and stripped, but the one with the least core shift is likely the better one to have machined. The other two things to look for would be fretting under the main caps, and lastly (if you have a bore gage) a change in cylinder bore diameter when a head is bolted on; the smaller the diameter change the more rigid the casting. All of this isn't necessarily a big concern if power is close to stock, but machining isn't cheap and a superior foundation is a superior foundation. Of course mag flux and pressure test outcome are the ultimate deciding factors.
• If you have a bore gage (or have the machinist do it if you don't), inspect cylinder bores for diameter, out of round, taper... if it's just two that require boring, might be better to just sleeve those two and hone the rest?

With regards to heads

• First thing I would do is have the heads inspected for cracks around the seats as they are quite common given the seats are just hardened iron. If this build is long term investment and you're pushing above stock power, SBI non magnetic seats for all valves as they will drastically reduce the risk of valve seat crack.
• Check valve guide bores, replace with SBI iron valve guides if necessary.
• SBI makes a nitrided int and ex valve that theoretically should hold up better than stock style.
• Shimmed 910-16 valve springs.
• Aftermarket pushrods aren't a bad idea but depends on power.
• Before you decide whether to do new lifters or reuse, watch this video:
  You Tube

I'd be glad to offer more input but a lot depends on budget, if you're building for long term ownership, what kind of power you're aiming for.

 

I would take ESwifts and my advice on the bore size. Get the block down to the machine shop and let them tell you what it needs. After that buy the rebuild kit from CNCfab for the correct bore size and go from there.

PriusLover makes good points too, lots of good brains on this forum and plenty of stored info

as for the heads, imo if you have to take them off and transport to a machine shop or head shop for work on 1 or 2 valves, you may as well get everything checked out and or replaced. The shop that did mine did a full overhaul, replaced everything and used SBI valves

I ended up replacing my lifters, but some say I shouldn’t have because I used the old cam. Which I had checked and is in spec. Lots of people say “no new lifters on a used cam” and lots say you can put new lifters anytime. I replaced mine, something about reusing 20yr old valve train wasn’t settling with me

pressure test, magnaflux and visual inspection are all necessary when doing any rebuild. And use OEM or equivalent parts companies only. I bought everything from riffraff, cncfab or my local ford. Also now is a good time to replace any components that are looking suspect to age and failure. Hpop, lines, hard lines, fuel bowl rebuild etc….

if I were to do it again I would have bought a fully loaded crate from diamond advantage or even ford. I am %200 over my initial budget (5-6k) but ended up replacing ALOT more than expected…. If you are aiming for a long block rebuild and using your existing components make sure to double and triple inspect every component, nut, washer, bolt, oring that you are considering reusing…

best of luck and may the force be with you

Also, a bit of personal advice, stay strong and don’t let it beat you up. It’s just an engine. It can be a lot of work or even lots of stress but it was fun looking back at it now and I can’t wait to see people faces when I tell them I rebuilt the diesel in my school bus.

 

Id possibly compression test the motor that is in the truck (unless it has terrible blow by). If it checks out good it might not be tired, it may just be riddled with leaks making it appear "tired" and just need some maintenance.

 

Since two of your engine's valves already have noticeable pitting and you're in the middle of a major rebuild, I'd suggest replacing all the valves. This way, everything wears evenly and performs consistently, which is key for an engine that's going to work hard. It’s usually cheaper and safer in the long run to replace all the valves at once.

If you're looking for alternatives to Motorcraft OEM parts, there are a few reputable aftermarket brands to consider. Manley, Ferrea, and SBI are all known for good quality valves without the OEM price.

 

Dropped the heads block and crank off at the shop yesterday (7 May). Said the crank "looks" ok except for a "small chip" which he said he'll deburr at which time the chip becomes an oil pocket. This is the only visual defect present. He said he'll know more once he takes proper measurements. Block and heads will be magnafluxed, leak checked etc. With the rust damage he says to expect at least .030 over bores.

 

I personally wouldn't go over 20 thou over, but people often do without issues. Sleeving the rusty cylinders would end up with a stronger block overall vs a 30 thou overbore on all cylinders.

 

HI @brokestroke . These numbers are from 2019 and 40k ago:
Cyl. PSI

1. 320
2. 310
3. 315
4. 320
5. 320
6. 360
7. 320
8. 320

Am I correct in thinking those are "pretty tired" numbers? And, keep in mind that was nearly 4 years and 40k ago! Could a constant, minor but annoying lope that its had since I got it (with 275k) possibly be explained by the one cylinder being 40# higher than the rest??
I really am tempted to waste time tearing the current engine down once it's swapped just to see what's up with that cylinder. (I ran the test 3 times because I couldn't believe that onoe cylinder woul;d be that much higher).
I have not run the compression test since the one 2019.

 

The shop is planning to start off on the two rust-buckets at .020. He's going to check the other cylinders for wear and if they'll clean up, I may go the sleeve route as it might be more economical to sleeve 2, versus boring all 8 and new pistons. What would you look for in determining if pistons are suitable for reuse? They're not visibly damaged, i.e., melted, cracked, badly scuffed, etc.
Thanks!

 

@Ethanfoster Definitely all new valves and lifters.

 

@LegalizeChey Great points, thank for your reply! I'm trying to stay as near $6-7k as possibly, and I'm not really looking to go much beyond stock HP. Was planning a better HPOP and lines, slight cam upgrade, already have a Garrett Powermax GTP38R Ballbearing Turbo - not much of an upgrade, but a definite improvement over the one that lost a bearing on the interstate and thankfully didn't result in runaway. (Broke on the exhaust side)

 

Cranking compression tests can only show fails; there can still be issues with even with a positive result. Running compression can help shed more light on the situation (I had decent cranking but poor running):
https://www.skoolie.net/forums/f37/9...pdf-15425.html <- This thread has a link to the T444E service manual. All information needed to determine if the pistons are reusable is in there. Regardless whether you reuse or buy new pistons I'd highly recommend having them ceramic coated.

The engine you're having machined is a 2000... does it have forged rods? New rod bolts aren't an option anymore, only ARP which means big end resizing on the rods. Speaking of ARP, I wouldn't bother with head studs as new head bolts will be fine and save a lot of money. If you're concerned about head gasket sealing going with Cometic MLS is a much better investment vs studs.

I'm not sure if a cam would be worth the money at the level you're targeting.

 

I'd skip the cam too. Bang for buck ain't there.

Get a lot more from tuning.