2002 Explorer V6 4.0 Engine Seized Up

[waskly]

the left head guild is broken to peices...... you think a colision engine the valves are good?

best he can do is, drop the pan, drop the main bearings and connecting rod bearings and see if those are still good or blown up, if they are good, he just need heads timing gears.

he already pull the engine, we know timing is off on bank 2, left head, now on right head too.

check main bearings, connecting rod bearings, if they look good, just take heads off. and do a real check on valves. pulling cams does nothing.

motor is out easier to do headgaskets, heads now, then assemble it and it and find out it has a spun bearing. engine knock.

 

[MoonRocky]

Cam Sprocket Bolt X2

I alternated from the front sprocket bolt to the back sprocket bolt several times to see if the engine might by chance spin. No luck.

I cant wait to see what is in the pan. But for now I will work on the top. Removal of the pan requires me to figure out how to suspend the engine or find a engine stand, allowing access to the pan and the pan cover.

 

[waskly]

you dont happen to have a used tire?

or two.

i would unbolt the converter, flywheel, and stand it up on a tire back end up to get to the bottom or the pan.

just a thought.

 

[MoonRocky]

Cam Removal Right Side

To explore the idea of a jammed valve on the right side, I removed the cam.

First I loosened the cam sprocket retaining bolt in the clockwise direction. On
the bolt itself it had an arrow pointing in the counter clockwise direction. I think
this is very important to note the reverse direction of the bolts usual tightening
direction. Thanks to 2000StreetRod on cluing me in on this. With a piece of
weed whacker cord tied to the chain so it would not get lost in the engine, removal
of the sprocket off the cam was accomplished. Then the tensioner was loosened
to give slack in the chain so the sprocket itself could be removed and set aside.

The cam bearing caps were lossened in the following sequence:

Cam Bearing Cap Removal Sequence

To keep track of which bearing cap went where, I noticed that our buddies at Ford have them marked.

Example:

So off with the cam. All the valve springs cam to there top position.
Using the left side cam sprocket retaining bolt, I tried to spin the engine
again, rocking back and forth with no more movement then before.

Engine is still seized

 

[ragajungle]

thats a bummer... and all this happened when you went to star your truck in the morning. It just wouldn't turn over?

 

[2000StreetRod]

Balance shaft chain & sprocket

Good job on removing the camshaft. The valves seating is encouraging. I wonder if the camshaft retaining bolt was loose when the engine seized or if you loosened it with a wrench. Anyone, it's too bad that the crank will still not rotate.

I suggest that you check the balance shaft sprocket and chain to make sure there are no guide parts wedged against them preventing rotation.

Next I suggest that you remove the driver side camshaft to see if the valves retract.

If the valves all retract then maybe a bearing is seized, the rings are still seized to the cylinders, or a rod is broken. If you remove the front jackshaft sprocket retaining bolt and then remove the primary chain the camshaft chain will no longer be connected to the crankshaft. Pulling the heads will not identify the problem so you will have to pull the lower pan and reinforcement section. Since you don't have an engine stand or a crane you'll have to figure out a way to support the engine so you can work on the underside.

Do you have instructions for removing the reinforcement section? If not, PM me your e-mail address and I will send you the SOHC V6 assembly instructions.

 

[MoonRocky]

What could be in the oil pan?

I just could not wait to see what was in the oil pan.

With no engine stand available, the only way to get to the oil pan was to put it on its side. My back felt the strain but on its side it went.
Even if I had a stand at this point, the torque converter is still attached. That would probably make it so I would not be able to bolt it up any way.

The pan came off and this is what I saw.

I collected all the pieces and laid them out. The red arrows indicates some pieces that were in
the head I discovered when I used a flashlight to look under the chain.

Now the puzzle. Make sure they all are there.

Here is the bottom just so you can see where the disassembly stopped for the night.

Very interesting to see in the picture there are still some
pieces up in the oil pick up screen. This was not a surprise. Earlier post suggested they would be there.

Getting closer.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Remove the oil pickup tube/screen

The only way I could get all of the pieces out of the insider circumference of the oil pickup screen was by removing the assembly. I bent a 12 gauge copper wire to dislodge the pieces and then shook them out.

One danger associated with timing chain guide assembly destruction is blockage of oil passages and oil pickup by the pieces. Hopefully, the reason your engine is seized is not due to loss of oil pressure.

 

[MoonRocky]

Engine Block Cradle Off

After removing the engine block cradle and the oil pump ,the long awaited view of the underneath is possible.

This is what was visible:

After a closer inspection, its getting clearer why this engine is still seized.

Again, no surprise as this was suggested in an earlier post.


What damage will result from this?
Is it still fixable?

 

[2000StreetRod]

bent rod?

From the photo is appears that the #3 connecting rod is bent. Are any other rods bent?

I am surprised that the rod is bent when according to your original post the engine seized one morning while cranking with the starter motor. It seems to me the engine would have to be running to bend a connecting rod. Was the engine running normally before shut off the previous day?

To remove that rod the passenger head will have to come off. Since the guide broke on the driver side I would also pull that head and check for damage. I would not order or purchase any parts until all of the damage is determined. The cost of the OTC-6488 timing kit, connecting rod, head gaskets and bolts, primary timing kit, driver side cassette and other gaskets probably exceeds the cost of another engine from a salvage yard.

 

[BobWiersema]

Since the rods and caps are stamped, I would say this is not the first time that engine failed. You may must want to look around for a low mileage used one.

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

Sounds like the tensioner broke, chain got sloppy, valve stayed open too long, piston and valve shook hands, and the connecting rod and valve got bent. At least now you know what the problem is.

 

[NHarris]

You may want to pull the heads off to see it there is any further damage to the valves or pistons...
Like bob said you may want to start looking for another engine

 

[Cobra Jet]

I would look in your area for a local auto dismantler that sells low mileage used engines w/ a warrantly period. Usually, you can get a very good engine, low miles for about $500-$800 - that's a complete engine upper intake to oil pan, including all front drive accessories. All you would need to do is drop in, hook up wire harnesses/hoses, fill w/ coolant, oil, etc and start up... and you're back on the road again. Do NOT get one from a "junkyard" - as most "junkyards" won't offer any warranties and they do not do a thorough inspection or testing process before the engine is pulled - plus, they don't care if the engine you are buying would go another 100,000 miles or 5...

Most of those types of Recycler or Salvage businesses do offer a warranty that will cover the engine for X-amount of miles for X-amount of months - and they stand by their recycled (used) engines as well (meaning, they don't sell junk, the engine was not a leaker, had good compression across the board and the engine was tested/ran/driven and looked over prior to being pulled from the wreck or donor vehicle).

Now, you can purchase a new engine - some are built by "Jasper" - but be prepared to pay a decent amount of money for one as well. Also, even though an engine is "new" or say a "rebuilt new" engine w/ a longer warranty period, there's no guarantee that a new engine won't fail as opposed to buying a used one. It's a 50/50 chance no matter which way you go.

I've bought used 5.0 engines from a facility in PA which offers a warranty and I've never had any issues w/ the engines bought & installed from them. I pay $600-$800 for a complete motor, which is THROUGHLY CLEANED by them - and when I mean clean, these engines have NO grime, oil, grease, etc on them. They are warranted against any leaks, non-ops, etc.

Best of luck w/ your progress & getting back on the road.

 

[MoonRocky]

Head Bolt Size

Just a quick question before I can comment on the previos posts.

What size are the head bolts, 3/8 socket?

They have the torque heads

Have to go to the auto parts store for this socket

It is a bent connecting rod.

 

[MoonRocky]

Engine Is No Longer Seized

Today The Engine Is No Longer Seized

When I last posted, disassembly was at the point of taking off the engine block cradle and was able to see the bent piston connecting rod.

I stopped by the local auto parts store and actually found a counter person that gave me some information that was help full. The question at hand was what size are the head bolts. They have Torx heads. He pointed me to the tools section and looked on the back of the package. There was information on what vehicle that it would fit. Unfortunately that information was for brake calipers. No use for me. Then as other sales assistants never did, he looked up replacement bolts and found them in stock. As we opened the package he mentioned the year 1997. Wait a minute, the vehicle we are
working on is a 2002. And of course they were not in stock. The computer showed them also with regular bolt heads.This trip seemed doomed again. But the guy went a step beyond and showed me the bolts for the 1997 and sure enough the bolts had the torx heads. With a quick check to the torx tools in stock and we foudd that they were T-55. Problem solved. Now the heads can come off.
This step took awhile because of the tool needed I would have liked to buy a whole set, but as we all know money is tight. The single socket was $5.00. The whole set was $23.00.Too much right before christmas.

I removed the eight torx head bolts. Let me tell you they were tight. I reffered back to a manual the StreetRod2000 sent me. And there they were two addiontal head bolts down in the head by the timming chain area. They have a funny head on them. (not sure what to call them). I used a small socket and was able to remove them.

At that point a tap with the rubber mallet loosend the head and off it came.

This is a veiw of the Values in the head:

Removing the connecting rod cap was next. (13mm x 2) With a small wooden dowl I tapped the botom of the piston towards the top and out.

The piston was jammed up against the crank. With the bend in the connecting rod, it must of allowed it to go far enouth down in the cylinder to just barley touch the crank. And the connecting rod to jamm against the crank also.

Pic of the Bent connecting Rod

Then it happened.
The 2002 Explorer V6 4.0 was Un-Seized.​

 

[NHarris]

Wow, it took me this long before I actually saw the final post Well although I'm over a month late this is good to see! Any updates on a possible replacement?

 

[BobWiersema]

I was wondering the same thing. Did you ever get a replacement engine?
Obviously that one was not repairable. Judging by those last two pictures that engine was hydro-locked. I can see the crack in the cylinder wall. I remember you said it faild while cranking, exactly what you would expect in a hydro-locked engine. If I had to guess, I would say all that engine damage is the result of a bad head gasket.
I hope you got it running or plan to. Post back and update us.

Bob

 

[MoonRocky]

Stuck

After the last post I was not very motivated to do much. The bent connecting rod
and the fact that the timing is off, has pretty much sealed the fate of this engine. Its Shot.
I have listened to many with thoughts of why this happened.
Very interesting. Hydro Lock? Whats that? Timing chain guides. Bad head gaskets.
List of causes of such a catastrophic event can be long and complicated.
But my guess it all happened because FORD engineers had
a bad day, week, month. ( Do not tell my wife, but I think it is her fault )

With the engine down in my basement for the winter, and the Explorer snowed in,
there is time to figure out what to do next.

Replacing the engine seems the top goal. How and with what king of engine is
the big question. Rock Auto has a Marshal remanufactured engine for around
$2000.00 and $400 core. Sounds Good. But then questions arise.
What is, or is not included with this engine. Does it include a timing chain cover
and will it include a engine block cradle?

I am not sure what other kinds of engines are available with low mileage, but
that seems to me to not sataisfy my goal of having an Explorer that will be dependable
for the next couple years.
If anyone has some thoughts of what path I could take from here, shout them
out. I would love to hear about some options.
Long Block? Short Block?

Are any parts of the engine of any value? Can I in some way sell anything to offset
the cost of a replacement engine?

I am glad to see the community is interested in my situation.

 

[BobWiersema]

Take a look at these guys. http://www.powertrainproducts.net/

Crazy 4 Year 1 million mile warranty on reman engines.

Engine looks complete except for intake and exhaust manifold but they include all the gaskets you need. Looks like delivery might be free for you, I think?


Bob

p.s. I think that picture needs to be in The 2010-2011 Snow Thread.