Bent Rod?

[Regees]

Hi, I read alot of good advice while trying to troubleshoot my 2005 Sport Trac, so I thought I would get some advice/opinions on the dealership's diagnosis of my problem. On my way home, it started running rough, and the check engine light came on. Not wanting to have to walk home, I put my foot in it, and gradually it ran okay, and the light went off. The next morning, it would start, but run extremely rough. To make this long story short, the the diagnosis was misfire on #3 , multiple times. The staff claimed that it could be a fuel injector, or bad plugs or wires. I ended up changing the plugs and wires, removed all of the injectors, tested and cleaned them with seafoam and then with carb cleaner, changed the coil and crankshaft sensor. It would crank, but not start. Each time after attempting to start, I would definately smell fuel. I finally gave up and called the dealership. When the rollback was pulling the truck up, fuel began pouring out of the weep hole in the front of the muffler. After about 5 hours the service department manager called me and claimed that the mechanic claimed the engine needed to be replaced because of a bent connecting rod.

Can this be the case? I dont think they even opened it up.

I dont have the $7000 they want to replace the motor and a used one is a little out of my price range right now. Should I bring it home and pull the oil pan? I'm out of ideas.

 

[2000StreetRod]

compression test results?

How many miles on the odometer? What were the results of the compression test? A slipped timing chain is more common on the SOHC V6 than a bent rod.

 

[mustang6878]

A bent ROD??? Really! Have you seen how thick a connecting rod is? You are talking a single piece of metal that connects the journals of the crankshaft to the pistons. I have seen them come apart after a catastrophic engine failure while the engine was singing at 8000 RPMs, but not in day to day driving!

I would be tossing down the "bull**it" card on that call!

 

[2000StreetRod]

hydro lock

A bent ROD??? Really! Have you seen how thick a connecting rod is? You are talking a single piece of metal that connects the journals of the crankshaft to the pistons. I have seen them come apart after a catastrophic engine failure while the engine was singing at 8000 RPMs, but not in day to day driving!

It is not all that uncommon for a hydro locked engine (from charging thru mud holes) to have a bent connecting rod. Although I guess that's not day to day driving for most. However, I suspect it is difficult to accurately detect a bent rod without removing the oil pan and the block girdle.

 

[429CJ-3X2]

A bent ROD??? Really! Have you seen how thick a connecting rod is? You are talking a single piece of metal that connects the journals of the crankshaft to the pistons. I have seen them come apart after a catastrophic engine failure while the engine was singing at 8000 RPMs, but not in day to day driving!

I would be tossing down the "bull**it" card on that call!

Yeah, you'd think, but the oil pump in my street performance 460 locked up about 15 years ago, and when I dropped the pan to change it, I noticed one of the rods was off center on the crankshaft journal. Turns out, it had a pretty good bend in it. Engine still ran fine, and had never been hydrolocked or had ever shown any problem until the oil pump locked up and broke the pin in the distributor shaft. If I had more ambition, I'd take a picture and post it. My ace Ford mechanic who built the engine many years and miles earlier couldn't believe it ran like that, or bent like that. I never turned more than 6000 rpms, and rarely more than 5000.

I agree they'd have to pull the oil pan to know if the rod is bent.

 

[shucker1]

A bent ROD??? Really! Have you seen how thick a connecting rod is? You are talking a single piece of metal that connects the journals of the crankshaft to the pistons. I have seen them come apart after a catastrophic engine failure while the engine was singing at 8000 RPMs, but not in day to day driving!

I would be tossing down the "bull**it" card on that call!

You might be surprised as to how easy it is to bend a con rod. If the OP has enough fuel in the cylinders to drip out the exhaust something is very wrong.

I bent rod should make a horrible racket while cranking or if it's bent bad enough the engine should not even make a full revolution.

I'll agree with StreetRod no way to tell unless you drop the pan and take a good look around inside.

A short test might be a compression test. Low compression on one cylinder might warrant further investigation on that hole.

 

[boominXplorer]

You might be surprised as to how easy it is to bend a con rod. If the OP has enough fuel in the cylinders to drip out the exhaust something is very wrong.

You didn't have a bent rod till the dealership tried to crank it...................