03 fliptrac $700 daily driver (summer of fun with 4 sport tracs)

[Mbrooks420]

Oof.

 

[Nctruckman]

How can you delete the abs without throwing codes or making the light come on? And crap that sucks about the engine

 

[410Fortune]

By also deleting the light or just
Black it out inside the cluster and leave the bulb in place so I don’t get a chime

I will post up details on the delete when I do it.

I was “checking” the coolant level by watching the overflow tank…. Bad idea. The overflow tube was plugged, radiator is about dry…. Likely going through the intake, or head gaskets because no signs of water loss externally. $700 it’s ok!!! We fully expected this… especially with all the noise I have made about sohc engines over the years!!

Once the sohc is out I will tear it down to find the carnage…
Here comes another 5.0 trac!

 

[Mbrooks420]

Really, it’s for the best.

 

[410Fortune]

Agreed just crappy timing
My bii has rust issues at the door hinges
Wife’s FJ needs new front coilovers and fuel pump
Black excursion needs rear ac lines otherwise it’s basically an oven
Was hoping this sucker would make it through summer… siding the house, building a deck, fixing the road


Not complaining by any means, I just try to keep the wife in something with ac during the summer months

Time to switch gears and focus on some of
My own crap!! Ordering some parts for the blue 07 next week I’m calling it “stage ii” of the
Build plan is to have it done and delivered to Seattle by end of June

 

[fordpickupman]

How does it drive w/o the front swaybar?
5.0 swap already, you just got that thing.

 

[donalds]

How does it drive w/o the front swaybar?
5.0 swap already, you just got that thing.

Yeah I know it just so happened to blow up

 

[410Fortune]

Well the plot thickens

Only two of my trucks have sway bars, the big ones. I prefer no sway bars or at least no front swap bars on my small trucks they just handle the bumps so much better

After further review the sport trac seems to be running just fine????? I may have jumped the gun?

The thermostat housing popped… that must have been the noise. I’m hoping it was also the water leak. Funny thing is no evidence of external leaks?

I will replace the housing
No evidence of water in oil
Water went somewhere
No timing noise and she is running smoothly and shifting, so far I have only taken her off the trailer… will pull her into shop asap and have a closer look. I don’t trust it!

 

[vroomzoomboom]

time for mr. pressure tester

 

[oklagp1200r]

All was well in sport trac land and then boom it happened. Overheated, lost oil pressure engine quit. Wife was driving it yesterday with ac on, started to hear ticking noise, then she checked the gauges saw water temp was pegged and she turned off ac… hahahaha temp started to drop but it was too late… tick tick tick she said oil pressure needle started to bounce, heard loud pop… she made it off highway to gas station and it quit. All happened in less than a mile.

Two hours later I made it there with trailer, it fired right up and drove on! I was not expecting that I already had my winch cable out hahahahaha

Dang.
Does not run properly something is a miss, even though the engine is smooth something not correct I can feel it.
So guess who is getting a 5.0 way ahead of plan

Now we know why she was $700
I suspect loss of water even though I see no leaks, will check it out this weekend. She is still on trailer.
Bad truck!

This is what I get for owning a sohc!! Hahahahahaha about 1000 miles before
Kablooey

Crappy timing! Was hoping it would make it through summer for us

DAM!!!!

 

[Nctruckman]

I'd throw an aluminum thermostat housing on there, the plastic ones suck even when new

 

[oklagp1200r]

I saw where Dorman makes a aluminum thermostat housing now

 

[410Fortune]

I actually keep the aluminum housings in stock lol

 

[Nctruckman]

Might be a stupid question, but what's the advantage of the Polaris manual tensioners?

 

[Mbrooks420]

Might be a stupid question, but what's the advantage of the Polaris manual tensioners?

They can’t bleed down and go slack. Perfectly good question.

 

[410Fortune]

Exactly but I would like to add

Manual tensioners do not require oil pressure to “pump up” and build tension as they are always tensioned because they are manually adjusted.

Most mechanics and engine building know that 98% of engine wear happens during startup before oil pressure is built up.

Manual tensioners eliminate the slack in the chain and the need for oil to reach the top of the heads where these are located. During start up your engine is running out of time and slack in the chains is what wears and eventually destroys the factory nylon guides

 

[Nctruckman]

Exactly but I would like to add

Manual tensioners do not require oil pressure to “pump up” and build tension as they are always tensioned because they are manually adjusted.

Most mechanics and engine building know that 98% of engine wear happens during startup before oil pressure is built up.

Manual tensioners eliminate the slack in the chain and the need for oil to reach the top of the heads where these are located. During start up your engine is running out of time and slack in the chains is what wears and eventually destroys the factory nylon guides

Every new tensioner I've seen for a 4.0 sohc has a fairly stiff internal spring, that isn't enough to keep the chain tight until the oil pressure builds up after say 30 secs? The concern I have is that manual ones don't have enough give to let the guide move with the chains. I'm here to learn, not question your judgement, so please don't take it that way. My goal is to keep my 4.0 on the road as long as possible.

 

[donalds]

Simple answer is you don't want the guides moving around you don't want slack in the chain ever

 

[410Fortune]

We have the same goals

This is discussion forum so please discuss

I have very thick skin you will not offend me

The stock tensioners are great! The sohc engines do not typically make any ticking or rattle noises until high miles
The key here is to change your oil often

These engines require full synthetic only
I have seen the inside of enough of these to be able to tell who changes it and who does not, also who uses quality oil vs the cheapo stuff

I am by no means a sohc expert, just an enthusiast like yourself

 

[410Fortune]

Looks like it was leaking for a while and I missed it due to not using a pressure tester (as @vroomzoomboom suggested) and because it was leaking down the back side

Popped right in two

Easy enough to remove by taking off the throttle body, the alternator and bracket, and the little vacuum manifold (for bolt access)

Here is what I am thinking, after consulting my friends and other sohc experts (stepson and Brett)

Overheating due to weak fuel pump (running lean) truck has long crank from time to time, (points to weak pump)

Overheating due to leaking housing and lack of water (final straw)

The reason the engine actually quit after she got off the highway was lack of fuel supply

Truck starts and runs fine now because pump had a chance to cool

I’m going to:
Replace housing w aluminum unit
Replace water pump and fan clutch
Replace fuel pump

Run it see what happens, short trips until we build some confidence

Thoughts?