2002 Mountaineer Engine Locked Seizure

[southernmilitia]

Hi, I bought a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer today that is Loaded with AWD. Engine is 4.6L. Bought it for the sum of 700.00 and was told that the engine was seized. Questions are:
1, which other models/vehicles engines will fit.
2. what things could be the issue making the engine locked or seized up? Is this a common issue with these 4.6L engines?

Thanks a ton for any help.
Scotty

 

[stuartr]

Not sure about the motor but seems like you got a heck of a good deal. Even if the motor is cashed you should be able to put a motor in and still have a good deal.
Stu

 

[Wills05xlt4x4]

Hi, I bought a 2002 Mercury Mountaineer today that is Loaded with AWD. Engine is 4.6L. Bought it for the sum of 700.00 and was told that the engine was seized. Questions are:
1, which other models/vehicles engines will fit.
2. what things could be the issue making the engine locked or seized up? Is this a common issue with these 4.6L engines?

Thanks a ton for any help.
Scotty

Welcome to the forum!
That's a hell of a steal for that truck.
I would say stick to explorer 4.6 the mustang has a iron block and is heavier.

Not terribly common to see a 4.6 go but I'd guess no regular oil changes..
If I had to guess I'd say the timing chain broke and did damage..(most common issue I've seen with them)
Any questions you have post up and everyone here will try to help

 

[miker104]

try searching for an engine at www.car-part.com

Ford Explorer is same vehicle so engine should fit. You can also search by VIN to get an exact match.

 

[southernmilitia]

Welcome to the forum!
That's a hell of a steal for that truck.
I would say stick to explorer 4.6 the mustang has a iron block and is heavier.

Not terribly common to see a 4.6 go but I'd guess no regular oil changes..
If I had to guess I'd say the timing chain broke and did damage..(most common issue I've seen with them)
Any questions you have post up and everyone here will try to help

If in fact it proves to be a timing chain failure, do you think the engine would be salvagable?
The Previous owner now mentions that the engine was making some noises up to the time it quit. She is unsure of the type of noise.
thanks a ton for the quick reply.
scotty

 

[matt0248]

Some tear down would need to be done to see how damaged the engine is. It may jsut be easer to swap it out.

Here are some resources for showing the differences in the 4.6L:
http://www.enginebuildermag.com/Article/2238/rebuilding_the_ford_46l_sohc_engine.aspx

http://www.enginebuildermag.com/Article/3541/rebuilding_the_ford_46l.aspx

This was posted in a nother thread about 4.6's see the links. There was a bunch of small differences in the '02&'03 explorer engines versus the rest of the 4.6 2-valve engines. A big one is the bosses in the block for the 2 knock sensors and bosses for mounting the power steering pump.

 

[jkmath70]

hey just wanted to let you know I have a 2002 mercury mountaineer with the 4.6 in it and I had my engine rebuilt about a year ago. I was going to just swap out the engine but I was told that you had to go back with a 2002 engine because that is the only year they used that particular engine. Not sure if they were blowing smoke, but after searching and seeing the prices for 2002 models it makes since because they are about double of any other year. and most of them have a lot of miles on them. So that said it might be better to get somebody to rebuild the engine.

 

[Wills05xlt4x4]

If in fact it proves to be a timing chain failure, do you think the engine would be salvagable?
The Previous owner now mentions that the engine was making some noises up to the time it quit. She is unsure of the type of noise.
thanks a ton for the quick reply.
scotty

That would definitely explain noise(lose chain/broke tensioner)
It's very questionable if all the other internals got damaged..
I've had two timing chain failures(94 sonoma2.2) it survived but a (96 4.0 xj) that was killed..

It's a gamble.. with the prior noise I'd swap it out....imo

 

[southernmilitia]

Ok, Got the Valve covers off.... The timing chains are tight and are all intact....The seizure must be within the Piston/Cylinders, or crankshaft and bearings.

Anyone have anymore suggestions if I can use a different year 4.6L engine?
Please help!

 

[jkmath70]

i am interesting in finding out if any other year engine is compatible, i was told you had to use a 2002 engine and would like to find out if that was correct or not.

 

[matt0248]

i am interesting in finding out if any other year engine is compatible, i was told you had to use a 2002 engine and would like to find out if that was correct or not.

read the links I posted above. there is a ton of info there. I think you can use any 02-04 v8 with out an issue. Biggest issues are that the 02-04 aluminum block has bosses in the valley for 2 knock sensors, other 4.6 blocks had one. You may be able to get around this with a tune. The other issue is with a taped boss in the left head for the "high mount" power steering pump. If the replacement heads do not have the boss tapped you'll need to tap it. There is also a boss for the oil cooler in the block that needs to be tapped, if you are using the factory oil cooler.

 

[03explorereb]

stupid question but did you pull the plugs? possible leaking injector causing hydraulic lock? had it happen, yes, recently.

 

[Sedition]

Hydrolock, check for a "high tide" mark in the engine bay, drop the oil out and see what it contains.

 

[03explorereb]

actually what i was referring to was hydrolock due to fuel injector failure as opposed to weather flooding. just happened to my explorer for no apparent reason. had it happen to a 2000 windstar van because of a pcm failure, causing the injector to stay pulsed after engine shutoff. rare but does happen. cylinder completely fills with fuel.

 

[southernmilitia]

Wow, didnt even think of taking out the Plugs....I will do this first thing tomorrow Morning! GREAT TIP, thanks a ton!

 

[03explorereb]

no problem. old dragracing trick. plugs can sometimes tell you a story that the engine can't, such as mechanical failure, like when a piston grenades itself it'll usually always hit a plug before the end, or in my case when i pulled the plugs on what i knew to be a perfectly good engine i couldn't believe that an injector hung open causing a hydrolock situation. gas ran out everywhere! liquids, unlike gases cannot be compressed therefore if enough is in a cylinder and the stroke is right it will "lock" the engine. i have been told it is not wise to counterrotate these engines because of the nature of their timing systems but in your case i would maybe see if i could back it off a little by getting a socket and ratchet on the crankshaft. at this point you have nothing to lose. looking at your oil can tell you a few things as well such as if there's water in it or in my case the smell of it from some of the fuel washing down the cylinder from the hydrolock situation. hopefully this helps. sounds like the problem may be a little more internal but hey, you never know! good luck!

 

[94Eddie]

Some tear down would need to be done to see how damaged the engine is.

I would just start tearing it down and find out if the fix is an easy one or hard. It might be a somewhat easy fix and the engine won't have to be pulled.