Compression test 01 Navigator

[Atman246]

The other way around not having to line up the chains would be to remove all of the cam followers,but that would be a lot of extra work. And with it being cold outside,you probably don't want to go there. Don't you just love working on vehicles in the winter?? I just loved having a car on the hoist fresh off the road, and having a big clump of slush fall down the back of my neck.. Mmm,fun times.

 

[TobyU]

Why can't you just take the gear off of the cam? Doesn't it unbolt? I guess you could also just pull off the Saddles and take out the cams. The followers are come out on their own after that. This is one situation where the 32 valve is a piece of crap. I've never liked dohc Motors. I'm not one for horsepower especially not in SUV's so it's all a waste of over complication and more parts to go bad in my opinion.
Sure on the old Cobra Mustang since you got more power it was fine. Also since the 4.6 instance option was a weak engine and should have never been putting a Mustang in the first place. I like the fact that it is a more durable and smoother engine than the 302 that replaced but it did not have the horsepower and she's never been the replacement. They should have put more cubic inches and to start with. Maybe the 5.4 with some intake and head improvements would have been fine when the sn95 Mustang came out in 1993.

Anyways, if the heads going to come off regardless because it has a valve or valve seat issue that has to be repaired at the shop or the head replaced, why does it matter about lining up the dots now? As long as you don't start turning a crankshaft of an engine over with the heads bolted on without the camshaft moving improper correlation with the Pistons there won't be an issue.
You don't really have to line it up to take it apart. You can take it Engine with no timing chains and no heads and assemble them from whatever location they are to start with. That's how it is when you rebuild a motor from scratch. They aren't lined up to begin with so you turn everything in the proper location and line them up as you put them together.
I'm not sure which side were talking about here but if it's the head for the outer timing chain and gears then you don't even have to disturb the other side.
Once the head is off you can have someone, or tie a rope to the center of the chain to hold it and the tot position and turn the motor over which will turn the other heads cam shaft to line up the dots for the proper position. Then you just make sure when you put the head back on you get that one right and double and triple check everything and then rotate it a couple times and check it again.

 

[Fordgirl01]

Got the head off!! It will be heading to the machine shop shortly. Thank you all for your support and advice.[emoji16]



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[Trainmaster]

Well, you found your problem, that's for sure. The worst is behind you.

 

[TobyU]

Looks like the exhaust seat popped out. Only viewing on a small phone screen here and there could be some little indentations in it from something being in there bouncing around I'm not sure. And can't tell if there's any burn damage around the aluminum. I'm sure it can be fixed but sometimes it's cheaper just to get a used head and bolt it on.
This happens on lawn mowers all the time but I didn't think it happened on cars anymore. The biggest problem you hear of with car valve train would be a spring breaking or maybe a vowel dropping in which causes all sorts of damage but is not from a seat popping out. To the best of my knowledge the only reason I see it pops out is because it gets overheated in that area and the aluminum expands and let it pop out. But I only deal with aircooled engines on these kind of things.
If it were on a mower I would remove the valve and press the seat back into the proper position as best I could and stake it all the way around to hold it in placeand then make sure the valve sealproperly and maybe even lap it with valve grinding compound.
But I wouldn't wish this on a car because it is far too hard to remove the head asyou know all too well.
He want to make sure whatever you put back on is in perfect operating conditionand going to last a while. Because you certainly don't want to have to do it again.
Congratulations though!!!
You have done more complicated work to a vehicle than 90% + people in the world.

 

[Atman246]

That's awesome girl. Like the other lads said. The worst is behind you. Was there any visual damage to the piston,or is it like Toby said,a hot spot in the cooling system? What's the head gasket look like? Now to decide how much to spend on it. If that engine is anything like the three valve,you might consider timing chains and tensioners etc. Either way, you've done an awesome job so far. If the body on this truck is worth it,i'd spend the money. But that's me. Keep us posted.

 

[Fordgirl01]

The body is in great condition-that’s why I’m putting in the effort. I prefer the 1st gen navigators so finding a southern vehicle around here was pretty exciting to me! It also only has 115,000 miles on it. Even if I have to dump some money into it, to me it’s worth it. In this world of having new things and living on payments, I am an oddity[emoji38]. I don’t like shiny new vehicles or payments.


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[Trainmaster]

In this world of having new things and living on payments, I am an oddity

You're not that odd at all. Lots of us live with no debt. It's just not in any commercial or government interests' to mention us anywhere.

The work you are doing has its rewards, the least of which are financial.

 

[Fordgirl01]

I dropped the head at the machine shop tonight. He didn’t see anything that looked concerning except the one valve. He said he’d have a closer look tomorrow and let me know what parts we will need. He even said if I needed help when getting the timing components back together, he and his son would come over and help me. I know he would as he has dropped everything before when my powerstroke left me and the ex couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it. Maybe I’ll get this thing up and running after all!!


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[Fordgirl01]

Woohoo-my machinist just called me with great news. He said the valve looks totally fine and it just popped out of the seat. He is going to clean everything up and pean the seat so it won’t happen again. He said I should buy a lottery ticket today!!


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[TobyU]

Woohoo-my machinist just called me with great news. He said the valve looks totally fine and it just popped out of the seat. He is going to clean everything up and pean the seat so it won’t happen again. He said I should buy a lottery ticket today!!


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Well, that's what you do with lawn mowers but I didn't know they did that on auto heads. As long as this is an actual machine shop and they know what they're doing you should be good to go. When I do on a mower always check them to make sure they seal properly but they often do go right back into place just perfectly. Sometimes I even lap them to help seal.

 

[Fordgirl01]

Yes-it’s a small machine shop, but a real one! The owner is well known and very respected around here. He is very talented and honest and fair.


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[Fordgirl01]

So I’m going back through the service manual checking to see which bolts I can’t re-use. I know I need new intake and head bolts. I haven’t checked through everything yet to see if I’ll need others as well. I’m replacing all gaskets.

I also just now saw where it says to keep track of where the lash adjusters came from as they need to go back in the same place. Oops. I just pulled them out and put them in a container with the roller followers. Will this be an issue? My manual is for the 04 and this vehicle is an 01, but I assume they are the same in most applications. What if new ones were installed? What would you do in that circumstance?

I tried to follow instructions for the most part, but apparently I didn’t read this part.


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[TobyU]

I reuse intake bolts all the time with no issues.
Head bolts have been torque to yield for decades so you have to replace those.
I think the intake and exhaust valve lash adjusters are all the same. The idea is to put them back on the same surfaces they were before so whatever wear patterns are the same but it's never been an issue. It's not like the old days where you had a lifter that rode on a camshaft that you did not want to switch over to another lobe.
These are all roller style anyways and in reality it won't make any difference.
So as long as the intakes aren't different from the exhaust it won't matter. Like on a 2 valve where they're all the same, you could take them out and mix match them and put them all back in and it wouldn't really make any difference. It's not going to wear out a camshaft or something because these are rollers.

 

[Fordgirl01]

Phew-thank you. I’ll have a look at them tonight to see if the exhaust and intake are the same. If not, I’ll figure out which ones are which. Thanks again!

Where is the best place to find the bolts I need? I think I’ll replace intake bolts too-I would really kick myself if I had to rip this GD thing apart again!!

I’ve been finding Tasca is a great place for parts-do any of you order from there?


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[TobyU]

The intakes pretty easy to remove but I've never had any problems. I just put new gaskets on and I don't even torque the intake bolts with a torque wrench. I just tighten them up for the nice and snug but it's always smart to check everything with the torque wrench. I certainly do everything by the book for head bolts.
Last time I bought head bolts was at my local parts store but prices have been going up there a lot locally. People quote a lot of good prices from Tasca.

 

[Atman246]

Hey there,just checking in to see what's happening. It's been a while since we heard anything,and I know it's gotten cold out so,i'm not surprised. Just sayin' hello.

 

[Fordgirl01]

Hey there,just checking in to see what's happening. It's been a while since we heard anything,and I know it's gotten cold out so,i'm not surprised. Just sayin' hello.

Hey there-thanks for checking in! My navigator project will be on hold until spring.
1. It’s too dam cold in my garage!
2. I just bought a place and I’m working on it before I move in (in the spring), so that is keeping me pretty busy. Not to mention snow removal at 2 properties. Luckily my new place is close to where I am now.

The head is all ready to go back on when I get around to it. I’m pretty excited about moving to a place with a bigger garage! I plan on insulating it and getting a wood stove in there so I don’t freeze when I need to work on something in the winter.


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[Trainmaster]

Congratulations and good luck and blessings with your new home.

 

[Atman246]

Congratulations on the new place. That's awesome. I know how you feel about working in the cold. It's a balmy -22c here this morning and i'm very happy to have a heated garage to work in. I worked too many years laying on the cold ground or cement and it gets to your bones. Good luck with the new place and keep us posted on the Nav.