1999 Mountaineer 5.0 Cylinder Head Removal

[trplad]

Does the lower intake need to come off to take the passenger side head off?

on a side note, i took the cam position sensor off because of code p0340 i have, should there be any play in the synchronizer itself? it wiggles a little bit.

Bolt snapped in head....

 

[Dono]

Yup. yank the lower intake.
I pull my thermostat housing first since it makes life way easier. On re-install of the thermostat housing, 'glue' the thermostat in with a but of rev the night before so it doesn't slide down. if you don't, the thermostat slides out of position and when you torque the thermostat housing down you crack it.

Sorry about the bolt.

 

[J_C]

^ "but of rev" = bit of RTV?

 

[shucker1]

Yup.

That's what Dono meant.

 

[Dono]

Lol. I'm using a tablet, its a bit difficult to use, along with a spell check that's tough to stop from correcting. sorry about that.

 

[trplad]

I had to think about it for a minute but i figured it out, what does the rv do just give it some cushioning? should i leave the gasket on, if there is one..havent gotten that far yet...also is there any play in the synchronizer or should it be solid?? thanks for the replies.

 

[trplad]

nvm i guess it just holds it in place after rereading your post

 

[Dono]

nvm i guess it just holds it in place after rereading your post

bingo!
I think it was Turdle that suggested using rtv to hold the thermostat in place while putting the thermostat housing back on. Lots of guys have broken their housing while torquing it to the lower intake manifold.

Your going to need a new gasket for the thermostat housing. Cut one out of a cigarette pack if you have to. Its an easy gasket to make. Also, you could use rtv only, but that makes removal at a later date difficult.

The reason I suggest removing the housing is that the air conditioning hard line is in the way, and makes re-installing the lower intake nice and flat very difficult.

So, lower intake gaskets, exhaust manifold gasket(s), head gasket(s) and it is probably a good idea to change the upper intake manifold gasket also if its been a very long time.

Are you just doing the one cylinder head? If you have both exhaust manifolds off already, you might as well pull both heads and have a valve job done on them. If the drivers exhaust manifold is still on, I'd probably just leave the drivers side alone (Unless you discover that the head you pull is in bad shape).

Anyway, you probably know the dribble I just posted. Carry on. Looks like your well on your way.

 

[trplad]

Dont know what direction im going with it yet, probably gonna do both heads looks like previous owner had the driver side replaced and snapped the bolt and left it in there..lookin on ebay for remanufactureed heads or a motor from junkyard or donor vehicle and just replace it. it was a craigslist special for $600...i cracked the head though putting a torch to the snapped bolt...only needed a manifold gasket and starter until that. oh and the guy had 2 spark plug wires mismatched so it was running rough. thought i lucked out haha

 

[trplad]

my sorry 4.0 explorer with busted timing chains will be used for suspension parts and the new rotors i just put on.

 

[Dono]

Body looks good from what I can tell. Great find.

 

[RandomNerd2000]

Nice find for $600, the 302 is a beast generally. Looks like you have the moonroof, watch that, the moonroofs leak IMO, all at the junkyard do and my old 99 had started and trashed the liner before I caught it

 

[trplad]

Got the lower intake and head off, a few questions if anyone could answer...

1. I only snapped 1 bolt taking the lower intake off, which didnt even need to come off, the front drivers side bolt for the ignition coil bracket, can i weld it back in the intake? or drill it out?

2. Pistons and valves look in good shape, I was looking at the drivers side head again debating whether i should change both heads, looks like previous owner did not put an exhaust stud back in on one cylinder, I did a compression test before i started, they all read 100 except for that cylinder which read 75, would 1 missing exhaust manifold bolt cause a 25% drop in compression?? or should i take the valve cover off for further inspection?

3. When i did the compression test it seemed like the ignition/electrical wouldnt let me turn it over quick enough to get enough compression, which i attributed to the low compression of 100. Any other common causes for that? alternater, battery etc..

4. Also still wondering if the camshaft synchronizer should be solid or have a little play on it? I could wiggle it around a little bit in there and i have code p0340, wondering if the synchronizer snapped in there??

 

[trplad]

That back cylinder looks a little more jacked up than the rest of them but otherwise looks good.

 

[shucker1]

Answer to Question #1: You have to drill that out. You cannot weld steel to aluminum.

Answer to Question #2: 100 PSI seems excessively low. I usually hit about the 160 mark. +\- 10% I doubt a stud in the exhaust manifold would cause this.

Answer to Question #3: Were all of the spark plugs out when you did the test? Excess drag could cause low readings.

Answer to Question #4: Some Gear backlash is normal. Say .010? This might make it feel loose. If in doubt pull it out and inspect the gears. It torn down now. No sense in doing 1\2 the job.

From your picture it looks like you have some strange looking burn issues going on in the passenger side rear cylinder? Top looks different from the rest.

Quick "Old School" valve test with the head off: Flip the head over on its back side and pour a shot glass of gasoline in each combustion chamber. Watch for the gas to run out of the ports. If it does you have a leak. Do this outside due to fumes.

Either way I would pull them both.

 

[trplad]

All spark plugs were out when i did the compression test. I had it running before tear down, started right up and sounded good except for the tsk from the manifold gasket.

The rockers, springs and pushrod look burnt up on that cylinder too, gonna take it apart and inspect the valves...I pulled the one bolt out of the head right there and it was gucked up with burnt oil.

driver side back cylinder looks burnt up too

driver side bolt missing.

 

[Harpua216]

can you tell if the gaskets were stock or not? im guessing someone did one side and not the other but that manifold gasket seems to be stamped ford.

x2 on the RTV thermostat trick. after replacing the water pump on the same truck you have, i fought that thing with every curse word and even made up a few of my own. its annoying and if it slips you dont just drip you gush. as well, they pit and it was suggested next time that i either replace the housing or plane it. once i used the red, no leaks no problems.

i remember play in the synchro. i did not inspect it. a StangHead neighbor was happy as a clam finishing up a Ford problem that wasnt his. he did say something like this play is normal. he may have had shims to measure it though i cant recall

 

[Turdle]

Please get a good close up picture of the synchro drive gear and post it up. Preferably looking straight down on the teeth