New member here.. Valve job or new engine?

[Anarchist51]

I have a 1999 Ford Explorer XLT with the 5 Liter V-8 engine. It has all the bells and whistles you could get back then. It is in excellent condition. It has 300K miles on it. It runs great up until a month ago. The Check Engine light came on. I took it to my mechanic and was told that 3 cylinders had low compression. It doesn't burn oil, and I held a paper over the Oil fill and it sucks the paper down so apparently the rings are still good. The mechanic told me I needed a new engine but even with 3 low cylinders it still has lots of power and gets up and goes.
My question is, should I replace the engine or just do a ring job? I am a 74 year old disabled Veteran, and if I were 20 years young could do the work myself but the old body just doesn't let me do that anymore. Right now I am working on trying to scrape up the money just to do the valves. I tried to get a loan from my bank but they only loan for new/used low mileage vehicles.

 

[Rick]

A wet dry compression check will tell you if it's bad rings or not.

 

[410Fortune]

Did your mechanic tell you what the check engine light was on for? The trouble code?

Do you trust this mechanic?
I’m thinking we could get a second opinion and maybe just solve the trouble code?

Maybe far cheaper and buy you more time
Auto parts stores will scan your truck and can provide us the actual trouble Code(s) for free

 

[Josh P]

I seriously suggest getting a second opinion, but don't tell the second shop what the first shop said. Usually when I have an engine with low compression, it's 5 quarts of oil and check the gas during a fill up.

 

[C420sailor]

Any drivability issues? Or just the code?

Ya know, I’m always wary of mechanics like that. If the truck runs and drives fine, has decent power…why not just run it?

The other thing…have you tried running a few heavy doses of fuel system cleaner? You can also try direct injection of water via a vacuum hose (just a little at a time!). Sometimes the valves really carbon up, and they hang up just a hair before fully closing.

If you use a lot of fuel system cleaner (and it’ll take a few treatments for bad fouling), be sure to change the oil soon after the last tank.

I’m having a hard time justifying fixing this problem, unless you’re looking to wrench…which it seems you’re not.

 

[94Eddie]

As Rick suggested, definitely get a wet and dry compression test done. If it runs well enough, and you don't have to pass an emissions test, I would just keep driving it. This engine is one of the most durable Ford has ever made. It could go for many more miles before it completely fails. Also, it would be helpful to know what code they read. It might not have anything to do with cylinder compression.

Edit:
Can you tell us the compression numbers they measured? An engine with 300k miles could have uneven compression but still be within acceptable tolerances. Especially if you don't notice a major problem with how the engine is running.

 

[Bronco Guy]

Personally, I think of Explorers, especially stock ones, as being totally replaceable. Granted this is getting less and less true, but when my first Explorer died of old age at just short of 300K miles, I just went out and bought another one rather than replace the engine. It's still possible to find ones in good condition with lower miles. My current one is a 2000 Eddie Bauer with a 5.0L that I bought 2 years ago and it had 160K miles on it. This approach may not make sense for people that have done a lot of customization since it would take a lot of time and effort to transfer those mods, but for stock ones, it's a lot cheaper and easier option.

 

[C420sailor]

The only problem is if you maintain your vehicles well. Putting $1500 of suspension parts and exhaust and odds and ends into a truck, then getting rid of it when a more pressing issue pops up…that kinda sucks.

I’m of the mindset that a car is either totally disposable (I do only the very basics for maintenance and junk it when it fails) or I take good care of it and fix what needs fixing when it comes up. Invest in it, or don’t. The gray area between tends to yield pain for me.

 

[94Eddie]

Personally, I think of Explorers, especially stock ones, as being totally replaceable. Granted this is getting less and less true, but when my first Explorer died of old age at just short of 300K miles, I just went out and bought another one rather than replace the engine. It's still possible to find ones in good condition with lower miles. My current one is a 2000 Eddie Bauer with a 5.0L that I bought 2 years ago and it had 160K miles on it. This approach may not make sense for people that have done a lot of customization since it would take a lot of time and effort to transfer those mods, but for stock ones, it's a lot cheaper and easier option.

In my area, I see 2nd gen Explorers and Mountaineers fairly often with relatively low miles and in pretty good condition. Most times they can be bought for around $2k, give or take.

 

[C420sailor]

That’s awesome, I’m so jealous. Around me, a $2k truck will need a lot of work.

 

[Bronco Guy]

In my area, I see 2nd gen Explorers and Mountaineers fairly often with relatively low miles and in pretty good condition. Most times they can be bought for around $2k, give or take.

Exactly. They're not that cheap in our area (Seattle), but they're pretty much always under $5000.

 

[410Fortune]

I would almost never do any sort of engine rebuilding or major repairs in a 5.0’w 300k because the transmission is going to fail as soon as it has a new engine in front of it
Almost always.. usually the bonehead mechanic that changed the 5.0 skips the part about not getting anything into the trans cooler or cooler lines while the engine is out.
4r70w is tough, but 300k is a lot of miles for an auto

I would instead be interested in just fixing the code and keep running this sucker till the wheels come off