I'll check out those sources, Bob . Thanks for posting. Yeah, a rebuilt long block is may what I end up with if a suitable donor car is not found. Either way, gotta save up some $.
I know I said look for another engine but for me I would sure like to know what happened to it. I don’t know your mechanic skills but if just needed normal rebuild parts such as rings and bearings and in your case timing chain parts I would be inclined to rebuild myself. If the heads needed repair in my opinion that’s where lots of money could be spent. Anytime you get a machine shop involved hold on to your wallet. Interstated to see what you find.
Pulled a valve cover off today on the right bank. Timing chains looked good. I removed one of the cam multi-cap castings. There was very little gouging of the cap on the 3 bearing surfaces. "very little" meaning I can see it on one spot, but can't feel it with my fingernail. It's maybe 1/32 wide. imho, so far I have found nothing indicating major damage. I'm not pulling the cams, only the caps one at a time. I'm thinking if the cap has no major galling, the lower part of the race isn't going to have it either. So, combining the quoted thoughts with what DIYguy posted about the tensioners being controled by oil pressure, I am now hoping maybe the chain did jump when the oil pressure dropped, and that is what is causing the low compression and the no-start. Opinions? I'll try to post pics later.
If the cam turns freely I wouldn’t worry about it for now. If you can rig up compressed air to your compression checker you could air up each cylinder to see if all or any of the valves are seating. You will of course have to turn the engine enough to allow the valves to close.
Not even sure what/where to look for at this point. I thought the timing chain cover had to come off for that. Finally got to check compression on the left bank, and it's worse. Between zero and 30 on all 4. Need to move the hydroboost to pull the valve cover. Maybe tommorrow. Wife's birthday, went to Outback for a family lunch, naps, I've got a bunch on my plate.
Retired Ford mechanic on the 57 forum has pretty much confirmed my engine is toast. He has told me not to be concerned with the OBD I vs OBD II because the architecture of the dohc motors is the same, and I can simply swap the necessary components from my existing engine to the new one without having to get into modifications or change in wiring. This is excellent because it at least doubles the vintage years I can look for without having to worry about changing the expensive engine wiring harness. I am going to be looking for a low miles donor car, preferably one that's been in an accident. Until I find out otherwise, I'm now looking for a 93-98 Lincoln Mark VIII. Keep your eyes open for me!
Try the local junkyards, they can check other yards too. It will be hard to find one with low miles in that age range, but worth a look.
Salvage yards, with the exception of Owens, will probably be my last resort. Too many unknowns. It's going to take me a while to find a suitable donor car, I don't have a lot of $ available, but I'll wait for the right one before I risk a salvage yard, or high mileage one. In the meantime, I'll eventually get this one pulled and torn down for a look. Possibly wouldn't need a full rebuild. Tons of stuff out there.....I could probably buy a few dozen today if I wasn't picky. BTW, Bob, I checked with Jasper. They only do the dohc 4.6s on a custom request only. I'd need to get my longblock sent to them. $5300 incl tax. Unfortunatly out of my price range right now. I probably have a better chance of finding a low miles Lincoln than most other makes. Lots of blue haired old ladies are/were driving them, even the Mark viiis. LOL.check autotrader for used Mark VIIIs, almost all the low miles ones are in Florida.
I agree, take it apart. It may be fixable and not need too many hard parts. I figure at the worst you're in for a new or cut crank, pistons and rods.
Jegs has rebuilt long blocks from ATK, 3k ish, and supercoupes performance says they use the same remanufacturer as Ford, which is AER in Texas. 3k plus ship. Much more doable for me than 5300. and there is a 95 Mark VIII with 64K miles that opening bid of 2900 hasn't been made yet. The link that Allout posted is great. Here's a link within that on ***embling one of the Mod engines.....the first few paragraphs sure are enouh to discourage a novice build on one, lol https://www.diyford.com/how-to-***embly-ford-4-6l-5-4l-engines-step-by-step/
http://www.blainesmotorsupply.com/ Don’t know much about them but they have been around for a long time. $ 2400 if I picked the right engine.
AER stopped rebuilding the dohc 4.6 in 2015...bummer, I had decided on them. They supply Ford with rebuilts nationwide.
Yes sir, 4.6 DOHC. Found out last night Supercoupes Performance no longer has the rebuilt Mark VIII's available either. In my price range, it's looking like it's down to the Jegs ATK, which they say is available with a 5 week leadtime. Been looking at insurance auctions, actually found 2 Mark viiis with less than 70k miles on them, one in Florida with 55k that looks more like 555k in Baja races, one in Tennessee coming up for aution today, not enough time to get set up for it.
With the recent tornadoes maybe a road trip might get you what you need and in a way you may be helping out. Might be worth looking in to.
gotta save some bucks.....roadtrips are out, and I don't have anything I could tow with anyway. Nice thought though!
Have you thought about a 32 valve 5.4 from a Navigator? There are several on eBay. Some had fairly low miles.
I haven't only because I don't know anything about them, are they rear wheel drive? I really don't want to have to get into a whole new wiring/computer system. The 4.6 dohc Mark VIIIs or engines are out there, just need to find the right one. I'm picky, and resigned to the fact I've lost this season. Had I been prepared for an auction, a "right one" came up at auction today. 64k miles, rear damage. It was in Tennessee. Anybody have any idea what kind of transport charges I'd be looking at from places like Florida, Tennessee, etc.
This group may be a help in getting transport. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/social-forums/hamb-relays.183/
Thanks Rui. Jeff, that link is to a single overhead cam engine, but I did copy their website address, I'll check them out. Thanks. I've always hated Ford's SOHC/ DOHC descriptions.....in my mind single means ONE, but a SOHC engine has two, etc. confusing when you're talking engines, but the description is talking heads (talking heads? lol)
The Navigator is rear wheel drive and the computer is an EEC V. I am not sure if your computer is an EEC V or an EEC IV. I don't remember what you parted out to start. Was it a Mark VIII? If so I think that is an EEC V. If you did a 5.4 you may have to do something to you exhaust downpipes. It cost me $800 to get a car moved from Wisconsin to Charlotte NC. It was a running, driving car. If the car won't run and drive the cost to move it goes up.
Thanks, I'll stick with a 4.6 dohc. Don't know about the "EE" ratings, Yes mine came out of a 95 Mark VIII. That was the last year for OBDI, in 96 they went to OBD II, so Marks had both obd I and II depending on year. I've been told not to be concerned with the I vs II, as the basic architecture is the same for all the Mark VIII 4.6 dohc. That does not apply to 5.4s, etc. I do not want to get into a new wiring harness.
10 or12 years ago when I was first looking for one, there were still quite a few on the road. Now, I hardly ever see one. There was a damaged one coming up at auction that only had 55k on it, but it was obvious, even aside from the collision damage, that the car was not taken care of. If I had seen just the pics, I would have guessed 200k+ on dirt roads. There is one on ebay (maybe autotrader)with only 3500 miles! they are only asking 15k for it, need an appointment to see it.
Getting the engine ready to pull, I finally took the left valve cover off for a look. The secondary timing chain was broken, camshaft severly galled up under the caps.
Does the 4.6 have cam bearing or is it like the Coyote and the Aluminum saddle and cap is the bearing surface?
I don't know your mechanical abilities, but you could possibly get the machine work done on your engine for less than what you are looking at spending on a used engine, that may turn out to be in no so good of shape itself. I would talk to a machine shop and get some estimates before I bought a used engine.
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