Rebuild vs buy rebuilt vs pay someone to do it

[crowncrazy87]

I may have left out a few parts but I listed all the major stuff. Id say if you can do it yourself its worth rebuilding it. I was lucky enough not to need machine work done to the heads or block. If I had needed that then buying a rebuilt motor would probably have been better money wise.

I still have the original intake on the motor... old one was good and rubber seals on it were good.

I do have a couple pics of the condition of my cylinders to show if you want.

 

[american steel]

I may have left out a few parts but I listed all the major stuff. Id say if you can do it yourself its worth rebuilding it. I was lucky enough not to need machine work done to the heads or block. If I had needed that then buying a rebuilt motor would probably have been better money wise.

I still have the original intake on the motor... old one was good and rubber seals on it were good.

I do have a couple pics of the condition of my cylinders to show if you want.

show me. and any time you take the intake manifold off you should use new gaskets.

 

[crowncrazy87]

This is before I did anything. Honing took out the vertical markings seen here. This was the only cylinder with this the rest looked the same minus the vertical marks.

I did this on a tight budget so I saved money where I could.

So far after 20k on it running good and no oil consumption or water loss. Been run in 100 degree weather and single digit weather. Ive worked it.

I take back what I said though. Looked back through my records I did buy the new intake gaskets.

 

[crowncrazy87]

I wish I had took more pics.

I was able to re use pistons and all rods but one. I did install new wrist pins.

If re using rods you need to be careful. They are laser broke and the rod caps will only match back to the rod it came off of and only one way.

 

[american steel]

if your cylinders look like that rebuild it. but make sure when the pistons are out to check each cylinder lining for deep nicks if any are visible. deep scratches too.
each rod and cap must be matched to each other keep your rods numbered for each cylinder they were in. use new rings and celan your pistons with a carbon dissolver. throttle body cleaner should fine.

 

[stamp11127]

May have been better to see what the cylinder psi was before tearing into the engine. Just because it has the "normal amount of mileage" that you see here in the Atlanta area doesn't mean it needs a rebuild.
Let your measurements tell you what is needed.

 

[american steel]

May have been better to see what the cylinder psi was before tearing into the engine. Just because it has the "normal amount of mileage" that you see here in the Atlanta area doesn't mean it needs a rebuild.
Let your measurements tell you what is needed.

hee may not have needed a rebuild but considering the age and miles an engine rebuild is often recommended. and is a good idea.
my 2002 4.6 doesn't need a rebuild, it has 160k on it how ever compression is lost over time due to carbon build up on the pistons and on the combustion chambers (loss of power) the rings lose shape compression gets by the rings (loss of power)
intake and exhaust ports on the cylinder heads build carbon blocking airflow (loss of power)
the timing chains, tensioners should be replaced, and a thorough camshaft inspection.
I will also recommend a slight head porting but more so a cam grind with some more lift on it. by todays standards the 4.6 and 5.42v motors just don't cut it anymore. so in away its a good idea for a rebuild. it will also help with fuel economy.

 

[BrandonB]

I finally got the engine out over spring break when I had a few days of no rain and decent weather.

I tore into it expecting to see really really bad things. So far so good. The timing set that I had previously replaced was still doing good and pretty tight with no slap in the chains or broken guides.

Oil pump and pickup screen don't appear to be clogged. No debris on the screen itself. Pump turned smooth and appeared to work, replacing it anyways.

Turns out when I got a good look at the castings that my heads are in fact PI, I thought they were non PI. Good thing I didn't go ahead and order one! The passenger side head appeared to be good, pulled a few bearing caps and they seemed ok. Drivers side is marred really bad and is being replaced.

The cylinders are in pretty good shape, at least visually. The hone hatch marks are still visible, no apparent gashes or scarring in the cylinder walls from the inspection with the pistons still in. I'm going out today to pick up some gauges and number punches so I can get the pistons out and check the crank and pistons.

Crank appears at least visually to be ok. I pulled a couple main bearing caps, and rod caps. No copper showing through the bearings, in fact they look damn near new to me. Very little wear from what I can tell. Kind of amazing being a 200k+ mile engine.

My dad ( who recently retired from running a machine shop ), is going to setup a bore gauge for me to check the cylinders. If all is good I hope to just get the block tanked and cleaned up nice, new galley plugs and all and start putting her back together with no other machine work - hopefully.

 

[BrandonB]

Ever seen someone put a 4.6 ford into a chevy monte carlo?




























Boom, just happened... hah

Cars riding a little low at the moment..

 

[BrandonB]

News from the machine shop today -- Block is in excellent shape, no machining necessary. Crank in excellent shape, no machining necessary. They are going to go ahead and clean it up, polish the crank, etc. Still just use standard bearings. So the most expensive part of the machine shop just got a whole lot cheaper!

Shocks me that over 200k on the clock with a history of oil starvation, it's still in this good of shape.