Engine Seized

[Moco de gorila]

Last night the engine in my 2003 Expy seized up. Its a 4.6L XLT. I bought the truck exactly 1 yr ago with 126k on it. I paid $6k for it then and then had about $2k of work put into it. I hate to admit this but someone told me last year after I bought it that I just bought a money pit. I paid the truck off 2 months ago. So now come the questions I pose you the Forum:

1. If I was to keep the truck, which now has 136k miles and is still in great shape, and have a rebuilt engine put in it, what else can I expect to go wrong with it that is typical of these trucks at certain mileages? I'm asking because I don't want to buy an engine and then have to keep throwing money at this truck for other issues.

2. Would you recommend crate engines or a rebuilt?

I need all the advice I can get, I am not mechanically knowledgeable, need your guys support here.

Thanks in advance.

 

[stamp11127]

There are excellent rebuilders out there, you just need to do your homework as there are also some jackleg thieves that will do a half ass job and steal your money.

At one time Ford offered a crate engine with a long warranty, if it is still offered it would be worth comparing their cost to other vendors.

As things age they will require maintenance or replacement - keep that in mind. Down the road you will need a reman transmission, ac work, suspension work possible cooling system work so start a fund now and it won't be a financial shocker later on.

We Americans are not known for our top of the line maintenance - we drive them into the ground instead then ***** up a storm on the repair costs. If we were to have better maintenance we would not have the high repair costs but you can't get that across to most people.

 

[Moco de gorila]

There are excellent rebuilders out there, you just need to do your homework as there are also some jackleg thieves that will do a half ass job and steal your money.

What are the names of some of these excellent rebuilders out there? Also, what are the names of the jackleg guys?

 

[stamp11127]

Better for you to do the homework for your area, the higher quality engines will cost more than the down and dirty engines. It all depends on how long you want to keep it & how much you budget for the swap. The more new parts an engine receives the higher the cost.

Check with Ford for their crate motor and compare others to it. Also compare local junk yards for used engines. Consider the length of warranty coverage, where warranty repairs are performed etc among the various vendors.