Are the cats why I have no engine power?

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lvcjt702

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Y'all know how much a 2003 EB Expy is worth with 7/8 pistons?
I'll give you $600 for it.[emoji6]

Do the marvels treatment on it and drive it till it dies. A used engine will only cost between $600-$1000. Pinch your pennies between here and there and you'll be fine. A good shade tree will swap it out for around $500. Its not insurmountable.

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Prince_Polaris

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Actually normal compression should be around 140-150 psi for all eight cylinders in your SUV. Sorry to hear your problem is so severe. Bummer buddy. Now you see what I was talking about in my earlier post about cats. Are you having any top end noise? Most common problems are a worn rocker, or stuck lifter. Either way, you or the shop would have to determine if your compression loss is a valve or bad rings. Here's a Hail Mary pass you can try. Pour about 16 oz of Marvel mystery oil in your oil. If you have sticky rings, or something stuck in the top end, it might bust it loose. Again it's very doubtful it will work, but what have you got to lose. You don't have cam phasers or solenoids to worry about, so you'll only be out about $7.00 or so. I had a nagging feeling a year back when you were thinking about this vehicle, that car lot wasn't being honest. Especially at the premium price you paid, but theirs nasty people in this world, and you found one of them!

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I've met two of them... I paid 4k for an explorer with timing chain problems and I've paid 6k for an expedition, to replace the explorer, and now I learn it has a V7, I just can't win :(

I'll try to remember the Marvel thing, and mention it to the others! Now, with top end noise, would the clicking sounds my engine makes perhaps qualify? Other than that I don't know... hah, I was all worried about "I sure hope the guy who cleans out the cats knows how to prevent the check engine light" and here I am looking at the feat of having to replace the engine itself! Oh boy...

I agree on the Marvel however 16oz is not going to do much. He needs to replace 2 quarts of oil with Marvel, and yes I have had good luck with the stuff in both crank case oil and in the fuel.

Oh dear, which is it? Should I just be getting an oil change and ask them to make sure two quarts of it is marvel?


(And in the worst case scenario, what do you guys think I'd be able to trade this thing in on, since my pathetic savings are likely going to go **** because of the mechanic it's at right now? I really hope we can pull a miracle out of our collective hats though, I do love this thing, even if it's been crippled the whole time I've owned it)
 
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Prince_Polaris

Prince_Polaris

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I'll give you $600 for it.[emoji6]

Do the marvels treatment on it and drive it till it dies. A used engine will only cost between $600-$1000. Pinch your pennies between here and there and you'll be fine. A good shade tree will swap it out for around $500. Its not insurmountable.

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Man, that's how much my 98 explorer with a detached exhaust (that conviently hid the timing chain trying to tear itself apart) was worth while trading it in on this thing lol


I suppose it would be okay to drive until I can afford a new engine, wouldn't it? Worst case scenario, the engine blows up, and I have to- gasp- replace it like I'd been saving up to. Though, I'd be running the risk of something bad happening at a bad time for it to happen...
 

JExpedition07

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Unfortunately when you drive it with a spark related misfire like that the fuel doesn’t get burnt and it washes the cylinder. Therefore you lose compression and the engine is toast.

I’m betting it’s not a valve but that the rings are no longer sealing since you say it had a misfire on that cylinder due to the coil not being clipped in properly.
 
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Prince_Polaris

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Unfortunately when you drive it with a spark related misfire like that the fuel doesn’t get burnt and it washes the cylinder. Therefore you lose compression and the engine is toast.

I’m betting it’s not a valve but that the rings are no longer sealing since you say it had a misfire on that cylinder due to the coil not being clipped in properly.

Is cylinder 1 the closest one to the front of the car on the passenger side? If so, then... yeah. We broke it. I've got it listed on facebook, and a mechanic that my grandma really trusts is seeing about a nice fancy 2006 Yukon XL Denali, so... well, if God decides to let it work out, then that'll be the one I get I suppose.
 

TobyU

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So! Turns out a good bit of my power loss has to do with Cylinder 1 having 50psi of compression instead of 100psi. Anyone got a 2003 5.4L Triton V8 for about $600?


I might as well never buy a car again, I overpaid on a 98 explorer that proceeded to have way-too-expensive-to-fix timing chain problems after a year, and now my expedition, after one year, the fancy vehicle that was supposed to be good, needs a whole new engine that I can certainly afford with the $600 I have saved, right?


What next, I buy a car and it just explodes after 1 year of owning it?

I have a complete 2000 Expedition with 5.4 4x4 you can have for 800 cash.
250K but runs great. It should have intake manifold gaskets put on it if its ever out of truck. In cold weather it gets a vacuum leak and surges some and pops a code.

Rust on rockers but still lots of life left in it and can drive it anywhere.
 

1955moose

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He's in the Northeast, your in the Midwest. How you 2 going to hook up? I think our friend is tired of Ford's. Can you blame him, with 2 flameouts!

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TobyU

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I thought I saw he was in Maryland or so. That's only 15 hr or so Maybe less.
 

1955moose

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I would have thought more, maybe you guys can meet in the middle like truck drivers do to swap 18 wheel trailers.

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Prince_Polaris

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I figured I should update this!

Expy is gone, I sold the poor thing for $2500 on facebook, I guess that's an all right price...

IMG_20190525_1610393.jpg

That sure ain't enough for a new car though, which would probably just last one year before dying again, so now I'm driving my grandma's 1988 conversion van, which only needed a battery to start right up after sitting for a few years. (It's at the mechanic now for maintinence though it's been a while)

IMG_20190524_1154142.jpg


IMG_20190515_1844526.jpg


So I guess I won't really be posting here too much more :(

Not like I knew what I was doing when I asked for help, anyway...

I have a complete 2000 Expedition with 5.4 4x4 you can have for 800 cash.
250K but runs great. It should have intake manifold gaskets put on it if its ever out of truck. In cold weather it gets a vacuum leak and surges some and pops a code.

Rust on rockers but still lots of life left in it and can drive it anywhere.

I gotta admit though, that's tempting, lol, I love the van to death but even with winter tires that thing's gonna be... interesting to drive

I sold it to a ford tech, and he did tell me what the compression was on all 8 cylinders (he's sticking a new engine in it though), here they are if you're curious:

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