Engine/motor blown, new engine or new car? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Engine/motor blown, new engine or new car?

MistahYebba

Well-Known Member
Joined
June 29, 2015
Messages
275
Reaction score
18
City, State
Clearwater, Florida
Year, Model & Trim Level
2005 Ford Explorer XLT
Hi everyone!

I'm sad today...

Own a 1992 Ford Explorer 2WD for almost 2 years now.

I love(d) it. I've taken the best care of it that I possibly can. I've been on Explorer Forum since day 1 learning new things and taking on new jobs.

The truck has been so good to me.

I will say that it is likely that I neglected the 25 year old engine in more than one way.

Firstly, I totally disregarded the oil filter. It never crossed my mind and I finally saw it and was scared and shamed that I never changed the oil filter. I finally changed it about 2 weeks ago.

I never bothered to get oil changes because of reason #2.

Reason #2 is that I always had a slow oil leak. Since my oil was leaking out anyway, I simply topped it off every couple weeks when I would start to hear any unusual sounds like ticks, etc. This was my justification of never getting the oil changed.

Needless to say, ticks become clanks, clanks became rattles. They started happening more often.

As early as On Monday this week, the truck was my idea of "reliable". However, I still had my oil leak, stronger than ever.

I also started filling my radiator up with DISTILLED WATER instead of coolant because my engine started leaking coolant real bad. Of course, I wasn't going to keep topping off with coolant if it was going to leak.

Well, I was starting to look into head gasket repairs and I was honestly thinking about taking on the task THIS UPCOMING WEEKEND!

I was too late.

I'm sure it was a mix of water in the engine, oil leaking out, general engine neglect, and more...

Yesterday, while driving, the rattling of the end of the engines life started. Even in park at a complete stop, the engine was banging, smoking, rattling to its death. Fortunately, I was able to limp to a mechanic.

I even turned the key OFF and the engine continued to do shake, bang, rattle, smoke; cringeworthy things.... for a good 3 minutes before the mechanic pulled the air intake tube and covered the hole with a cloth to "choke" the engine out.

I have not tried to start it since.

I am now torn between whether I should just get a new engine, or go for a "new" used, cheap car ($2k budget or so)...

I am worried that any ol' cheap car will have more repairs to do, probably ones I have already done on my Ex!

But, how hard is putting in a new engine? I am mechanically inclined (done lots of repairs on my Ex), but I don't have a lift. I also don't have much experience on the inner workings of engines, so if I have to put a bunch of stuff together it would help to have a guide or idea.


Anyway, just hoping for someone to say something positive. I miss my truck already :( junkyards offering $150 for it is bullcrap.)


Here is a video about 30 minutes before the engine went to complete crap. The rattling and clanking is actually not that bad compared to its final moments.

 



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if you got $2k to spend... why not have your old engine rebuilt or get a crate motor thats already rebuilt? thats what i would do if i had that kind of budget. getting another car means doing more repairs- if you rebuild or replace the engine, at least then when its all said and done, you will know what you have
 












I'd search the junk yards for another engine. I found a motor for my friends F250 at a U pull it for $300 that maybe had 1,000 miles on a rebuild. Pulled the heads and everything was brand new. Truck was hit in the drivers door.
 






What ever you get you might consider doing oil changes. Jeez, really!

Hey!! I know!! :( but like I said my oil was leaking anyway... I felt like if I fill it up again it's exactly the same as an oil change!
 






if you got $2k to spend... why not have your old engine rebuilt or get a crate motor thats already rebuilt? thats what i would do if i had that kind of budget. getting another car means doing more repairs- if you rebuild or replace the engine, at least then when its all said and done, you will know what you have

Well, I am trying to save money. Getting my Engine rebuilt sounds crappy after it "blew"... don't you think it would be past the point of repair? Maybe not. Like I said, I don't know much about the internals of an engine.

Where would you recommend I even begin to look to get an engine? Seems online stores force you to have it shipped to a mechcanic? What if I want to do it myself?

Engine might be $700 or so...? How much would a mechanic charge to put it in?! $100? $250? $1,000?

I would rather do it myself for $1,000.

Any good guides on what needs to get disconnected before doing an engine swap?

Do I need to take off the intake manifold? So new engines typically come with a new intake manifold? All 1 big piece? I just don't know.
 






I'd search the junk yards for another engine. I found a motor for my friends F250 at a U pull it for $300 that maybe had 1,000 miles on a rebuild. Pulled the heads and everything was brand new. Truck was hit in the drivers door.

I got a few junk yards to choose from around here. But it sounds like you got pretty lucky?

I'd imagine 90% of the trucks in the junkyard are there cause they didn't run??? How would I even know if the engine im about to buy for $300 will even run? No returns? :(
 






You be surprised what ends up at the junk yard. Sometimes right after a major repair the car gets wrecked, transmission goes out, or some other major expense pops up and off to the junk yard it goes. The engine I got was easy to spot being new, the exhaust manifolds were taken off already and no carbon in the exhaust ports, all gasket joints had blue permatex showing and it was really clean compared to all the other motors. Select auto parts there in clearwater has an engine listed with 137K miles for $300. Phone: 727-572-0151
 






Any good guides on what needs to get disconnected before doing an engine swap?

Do I need to take off the intake manifold? So new engines typically come with a new intake manifold? All 1 big piece? I just don't know.
Spend your money on a mechanic to either swap in a used engine or rebuild the one you have. Doing it yourself is way over your head, trust me.
 






Couple things...

Oil filters are very important. Some people don't change them when changing the oil. Sometimes you can get away with it but they're cheap. The biggest issues is that if they get plugged with carbon deposits or anything and the flow through the media is slowed, pressure will build and it will open the bypass. At that point, your entire engine gets unfiltered oil. Bad idea.

Rebuilding your engine is a gamble. With the oil starvation/contamination issues, the bores may be scored. If that's the case, it's time for a new engine. It wouldn't hurt to tear your engine down and see what you have. If the block is good, you can build from there. Generally these cast iron blocks don't warp or crack so they're usually bullet proof. You just have to have a machinist look at it for roundness of bore, scoring and wear. Building an engine takes time and knowledge and you will waste money if you don't know what you're doing. Done right, it's the best way to go.

You could go junkyard engine and toss that in. Find one from a wrecked vehicle or one with a blown trans (conveniently common) and it will probably be fine. You could scour Craigslist and pick up a whole junker. I picked up a 1994 with 190k miles for $200 and had AAA tow it for me. The trans is bad but the engine is damn strong and silent. They're out there if you're willing to wait and look. The nice thing is going that way, you get far more parts and most likely get to start the engine and see how it is.


If it was me, I'd probably opt to find a used engine and throw it in. Take the old one out and tear it down with the desire for a rebuild. That way you can take your time, do things right and not be rushed.
 






if you ever had a reason to go to the east side of texas.... i have a 4.0 engine i can offer you... its is in a '92 explorer parts truck. it ran when the truck was parked.... but been awhile since it has been started
 






If it was me, I'd probably opt to find a used engine and throw it in. Take the old one out and tear it down with the desire for a rebuild.
I agree with this... Throw a used motor in it. In San Antonio I see them all the time on Craigslist for $400 or less. Spend another $500-600 paying a mechanic to swap it out, but ask him to let you watch or even help. Best way to learn is to get in there yourself. Then take the old motor see about the possibility of rebuilding it over time. Read all you can about rebuilding motors; ask questions. Learn the inner workings of the engine. Then you'll at least have a spare. If the original motor can't be rebuilt, still keep it. Take it apart so you can get an understanding of how everything works and fits together. Tinker with it.

Once you start digging in engines and how they work, the mystery of it all goes away and then the next thing you know you're tearing down & rebuilding a truck/car from scratch. Then your pride and joy is "Built - Not bought!"

BTW, this is how I got started, but I cut my teeth on motorcycles. After a couple years of figuring those out, I bought my dream car - 1971 Datsun 240Z - and then proceeded to complete an 8 year ground up restoration. Including body and paint work!
 






Hows the body & the rest? Not worth putting $ into it if the body is rusted/rusting out or if it needs trans or suspension repairs. The roof is rusting out on me, it leaks oil but is otherwise great.
I keep mine only because everything I have looked at was WORSE shape then my 93.
 






Get it fixed one way or the other, and keep it. Pay someone else to do it for you. Spend a little while looking for a long block (not a short block for you) at a junkyard and then consider getting a rebuilt one that's all ready to go if that doesn't pan out. Long block will include the water pump and oil filter and you'll be reliable for years, but blow your budget.
 






Get another car. Change the oil and filter regularly. Sell Explorer on Craigslist or offer it on the for sale section of this forum.
 






Get another car. Change the oil and filter regularly. Sell Explorer on Craigslist or offer it on the for sale section of this forum.
He got a 2005 explorer, not sure what happened to the 92.
 






I know the feeling. Hate when it comes to replacing some things that I got so used to.
 






I’d recommend a pedal bike.
 






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