new motor or sell -6cyl misfire -thoughts?

[Kodiak59]

Hi all,
First post and looking for some opinions.
My son (17) bought his first vehicle last year- 2006 Expy SSV last spring, had 80K miles, clean body and frame. (He has his own bass boat, hence the need to for a truck.) The check engine light came on, and then on the way to our mechanic, it went off. Then 2 days later came back on. Showed as 6th cylinder misfire. Mechanic said the plug was coated with oil. Cleaned off and reset and light is off. Doesn't seem to be running bad, but gas mileage has dropped below 9mpg.

My mechanic, (local to town and well respected) said to trade/sell. I asked about a motor replacement, he said 'trade or sell, not worth the cost and you don't know the condition of differentials, tranny, etc..' It has the 5.4 v8. SSV, so no carpeting, basic steel wheels, no 3rd row, etc..

Only paid $4400 for the vehicle. Thoughts??
- Pay $3-4k for a used motor to be installed? Is this worth it?
- Pay $5-7k for another used truck and take the loss?

 

[Flexpedition]

I suspect the 9 MPG has something to do with 17 year old driver. Our Expedition, heavier than yours but with the same 5.4L gets low to mid 20's in fuel economy. When our teenage son would borrow it, I'd reset the average and sure enough, when he brought it back, the average was now like 12 MPG. Miraculous, aint it?

A new air filter, cleaned TB, tire pressure corrected, new plugs and a variety of other improve-your-mileage efforts won't change the fact a teen driver is behind the wheel.

No way I'd spend $3-4K for a new motor when the one you have runs just fine. No need to trade it. Tune it up and accelerate easier.

 

[docraymund]

Yup just have it fixed. The oil on the plug may just be due to wear on the valve stem oil seal. Not a major repair and the fact that the body is in good condition, might be worth keeping the truck.

 

[Lostneye]

Agree with the others. Mileage is mostly due to driving style. I wouldn't fix/sell it if it isn't broken.

 

[Kodiak59]

Hi All,
Even when I drive his Expy, the mileage is about 9-12mpg (20 mile commute when I use his occasionally), so not necessarily a youth driver issue. Couple people said to add the Lucas oil treatment to help seal cylinder leak to 'buy more time'...

 

[bnicov]

Before getting rid of it, have the o2 sensors been replaced?? Can you find a used cylinder head in a scrapyard relatively nearby? Snakeoil may help disguise the problem but will not fix it.

 

[Skauber]

20+ mpg? Cant be city driving if so, I doubt thats possible in a 2nd gen Expy.. 10 to 15 mpg in city driving seems to be normal on an Expy with the 5.4, depending on how much traffic you face and how much time is spent stuck and idling. May push it to 18 on pure highway cruising

 

[Kodiak59]

One of the 02 sensors was replaced about 5 months ago. Plugs are a couple years old.
replacing cylinder head is WAY beyond my abilities. I'm asking around now for some costs for cylinder or full motor replacement. For some reason my mechanic is against that.

 

[stamp11127]

How fast does it go through a quark of oil? Is there blue smoke on first startup?
Introduce your boy to busting knuckles and turning wrenches and if it really needs fixing it would make a good father son project. There are plenty of us here that will guide you along the way.
Walking the first time after birth was a ***** but we mastered that....this isn't that bad.

 

[Kodiak59]

Thanks Stamp11127 - No smoke upon start up, but it does idle rough for about 10-12 seconds before settling down. We did oil changes 2x since we got it, so not sure about oil consumption.
Had the kid soldering in 4th grade (took video to prove to teachers who thought I made his hover craft), power tools and wood working in middle school, basic boat engine work, etc. so he's knowledgeable. I jst don't have the tools or space for full engine work. Plus he needs a vehicle for sports, job, school etc.

 

[stamp11127]

Read up on these engines with the cam phaser problems, good vids are on youtube & get a good torque wrench to keep an eye on the #6 spark plug. Torque to the middle of the specs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZuArjvEfRc

 

[Skauber]

Is there anything special with the SSV vehicles? Like stiffer suspension, suped up engine or something? That might be reason enough to keep it and fix it.

 

[Lostneye]

Is there anything special with the SSV vehicles? Like stiffer suspension, suped up engine or something? That might be reason enough to keep it and fix it.

I don't know much about the Expys but I have owned a couple Crown Vic Interceptors. My guess would be internally the engine is the same. Some year Vics had a larger intake tube/MAF and a different tune. Mostly the packages were additional cooling and upgraded electrical. Later model Vics had 200amp alternators.

 

[Kodiak59]

The SSV had a heavy duty alternator to run all the police equipment and light equipment. Interior was base (no carpeting, cloth front seats, no 3rd row, etc) but most other was standard. Some had upgraded suspension, but depended on what was ordered.

To add insult to injury, today we went to start it and it was completely dead. Battery starter/charger did nothing and said 'bad alternator'. Jumping it took a few tries but finally started. Battery is only 5 months old. Plugs are only 30k miles. Coincidence or just kicking me when we are down lol.

 

[stamp11127]

Check voltage at the battery posts with the highbeams on and blower motor on high, engine at 2000. Charging range should be 13.5-14.5 volts dc. If it is within spec there is a drain in the system pulling the charge down.
Use a digital multimeter not the gauge in the cluster.