03 lincoln aviator

[jd4242]

Some of the valves are not sealing,you can clearly see light through them..also he ise what looks like Vaseline on the guides/valve and im willing to bet it will cause enough seal for me to not be able to pull oil down them..

But the valves need to seal before i can even test that..

Also some of my lifters i can push in with my fingers,swore i read these you shouldnt be able to do that..


First one ''seemed"" ok..held vacuum but leaked down pretty much right away slowly. .15lb leaked in about 10sec

 

[Dono]

Love your head test setup. Awesome!
Sorry about the results. I hope his block work was better.

 

[jd4242]

Love your head test setup. Awesome!
Sorry about the results. I hope his block work was better.

Well the block is done by a different guy there..but yea im definitely worried..im gonna pull the caps and at least check the bearing clearances.

I dont have a way to check bore or PTW..the honing looks good though. .

I honestly debating taking the whole thing to this other shop around the corner, they do realy good work but are super pricey ..im taking the heads there in the morning and see what they will charge me to do a good valve job,open up the valve inlets,clean up the casting in the ports,true full bronze guides (not inserts) and deck them a little to raise compression from 9.8-1 to 10.5-1

 

[Dono]

I'm learning that if a shop is really good, spend the money. Way cheaper in the end.

 

[jd4242]

I'm learning that if a shop is really good, spend the money. Way cheaper in the end.

Yep..just sucks because I've known this guy forever and never had issues with his work EXCEPT on these heads..hes got a new guy that just SUCKS. .he needs to get ride of him before it really hurts his business or name..

Hes lost mine now

 

[jd4242]

Dropped heads off at new shop..guy really knew what he was talking about,knew what i was gonna ask before i asked and knew numbers that took me weeks to find off top of his head

 

[2000StreetRod]

I ran into problems when trying to install the Explorer starter. The housing around the starter teeth interferes with the flexplate. Below are photos of my Explorer type of starter.

The interference with the flexplate occurs at the 2 o'clock to 7 o'clock positions in the above photo. I'm confident that I didn't install the flexplate incorrectly unless the sticker on the flexplate stating "engine side" was on the wrong side. I suspect the problem is due to the thicker flexplate and a different offset. I did some cursory part number comparisons and learned that the Explorer and Aviator starters have the same part numbers. I also learned that the Mustang Mach 1 and GT have the same part numbers but different than the Explorer/Aviator. The photos below show the Mustang starter type.

Both starter types have 12 teeth and rotate clockwise but I need to do more research before buying one to try. I want to confirm the flexplate number of teeth on the Mustangs are the same as my flexplate.

 

[jd4242]

I ran into problems when trying to install the Explorer starter. The housing around the starter teeth interferes with the flexplate. Below are photos of my Explorer type of starter.
View attachment 158341
View attachment 158342
The interference with the flexplate occurs at the 2 o'clock to 7 o'clock positions in the above photo. I'm confident that I didn't install the flexplate incorrectly unless the sticker on the flexplate stating "engine side" was on the wrong side. I suspect the problem is due to the thicker flexplate and a different offset. I did some cursory part number comparisons and learned that the Explorer and Aviator starters have the same part numbers. I also learned that the Mustang Mach 1 and GT have the same part numbers but different than the Explorer/Aviator. The photos below show the Mustang starter type.
View attachment 158343
View attachment 158344
Both starter types have 12 teeth and rotate clockwise but I need to do more research before buying one to try. I want to confirm the flexplate number of teeth on the Mustangs are the same as my flexplate.

Excellent thank you for the updates

 

[jd4242]

Well my heads are definitely more ****ed up than first thought. .he's shocked any of the valves were seating or sealing. .said looks like he did a valve job with a Dremel ..he said the guides looked like he used a standard old hand drill with twist bit...

He's gonna do a valve job,open up the intake throats to 90%,open up the exhaust to 85% of valve size, clean up the casting, put new full bronze guides and deck the head .020 to bump compression back up to 10.5:1

I did start on the block today,i checked all the clearances and they appear to be within spec. The aluminum block calls for .0010-.0020 and id say im around .0017ish

Im working on getting the gt500 pan gasket/windage tray installed right now.ill post some pics soon

 

[jd4242]

It fit..only thing i needed to do was bend the baffles in the pan down..the boundary pump uses a 3v pickup otherwise i would've had to trim the baffles off the pick up and slightly trim the windage tray..

 

[2000StreetRod]

Check the distance from the bottom of the pan to the oil pickup. If it is too short the pump can starve from restricted flow. If too long the pump can starve in hard corners.

 

[VictorClark94]

Just read your whole thread! I am extremely jealous of your Aviator. Plenty of hard work into this one. Hope it treats you well with the new engine and the vortech once it is installed. Keeping an eye out for updates on this one !

 

[jd4242]

Well finally got the heads back today,they took a $100 off for taking so long..they look really really good..he did a very good job on the seats and blending the opened up throats..its not a huge difference but definitely noticeably larger.the finish on the deck is awesome, my old guy could have never got it to look like that..most important part they all sealed and pulled a vacuum. .

Got started putting the motor back together but didnt get to far..got the water pump, heads and timing gear all on and called it a night ..going to finish up tomorrow and drop it in on Saturday. Hopefully dont run into any major issues. .

 

[Dono]

Sorry about the cost. Its cheaper than continually re-doing it to the same ****ty standard though.

 

[CDW6212R]

Those look very nice, let's hope it'll never come out again.

 

[jd4242]

Sorry about the cost. Its cheaper than continually re-doing it to the same ****ty standard though.

Those look very nice, let's hope it'll never come out again.

Worth every penny if they work and never come off again!! Plus my old guy has refunded me $800 of the original cost i paid so all and all im just out time

 

[jd4242]

She's in!!! It actually went in very easy and aligned itself right up..didnt rush or over due myself ,just a slow easy pace..all i got left is the ac,ps lines,intake and radiator. If all goes well tomorrow it should be running by night time ;-)

 

[2000StreetRod]

Nice going! I hope that all goes well.

 

[jd4242]

Nice going! I hope that all goes well.

Thank you and again thank you for all your help with the flexplate/starter..it all fit perfectly..i did go ARP on the flexplate and cams..mains,side bolts,crank and head bolts all got new OE tty..wish i have money to go all arp for piece of mind but funds wouldnt let me..lol

 

[2000StreetRod]

I considered ARP head studs/nuts but decided against them. Cost was a factor but I was concerned there might not be room in the engine compartment to pull the heads with the studs in place. Also, I prefer 6 point over 12 point bolts/nuts.

If you used a lot of engine assembly lube I suggest that you install an inexpensive oil filter for engine start. After the engine warms up replace the oil filter with a quality filter. On rare occasions the assembly lube will clog the filter and the bypass.