Seized Engine total surprise

[robdlouisville]

We bought a 2006 Explorer XLT this past summer with 127,000 miles on it for our daughter. A fantastic looking, great running and great riding truck. A cream puff. My daughter loves it. We just took it for a 600 mile weekend trip to Chicago. Last night on the way home from the store, it makes a horrible noise from the engine compartment. Really loud. Daughter exited the highway thankfully - NO instrument panels lights or warning lights are on at this point. She thought a belt broke on the alternator. Car stalled and would not restart. Towed it in - engine seized. It has oil. It is fully tuned and well maintained. No idea what would cause this. It currently has 130,000 miles on it. Crap. We love that truck. Sounds like $5k to replace the engine. Took it to our regular guy - not the dealership. No questions, just wanted you all to know it happened. Thanks _ RD

 

[jadez03]

We bought a 2006 Explorer XLT this past summer with 127,000 miles on it for our daughter. A fantastic looking, great running and great riding truck. A cream puff. My daughter loves it. We just took it for a 600 mile weekend trip to Chicago. Last night on the way home from the store, it makes a horrible noise from the engine compartment. Really loud. Daughter exited the highway thankfully - NO instrument panels lights or warning lights are on at this point. She thought a belt broke on the alternator. Car stalled and would not restart. Towed it in - engine seized. It has oil. It is fully tuned and well maintained. No idea what would cause this. It currently has 130,000 miles on it. Crap. We love that truck. Sounds like $5k to replace the engine. Took it to our regular guy - not the dealership. No questions, just wanted you all to know it happened. Thanks _ RD

I'd be interested in hearing the cause after your mechanic figures it out - that definitely is odd! Good thing your daughter is safe though! A new engine is a better expense than a funeral...

 

[robdlouisville]

Jadez03 - I will post the cause when he lets me know. I agree - I am so grateful she didn't stall in the middle of 75 mph highway. I feel replacing the engine is wise, though because the rest of the vehicle is in prime shape. Plus - it drives so nice. 23 mpg to Chicago and back.

 

[2000StreetRod]

broken timing chain?

My guess is that you have the SOHC V6 and that one of the timing chains either slipped or broke causing valves to be struck by pistons.

 

[robdlouisville]

That would be my guess as well. On my next engine - should I be replacing those chains every so often?

 

[2000StreetRod]

timing chain periodic replacement

I think Volvo suggests replacing the timing belt and tensioner on my 1996 850 Turbo wagon every 60K miles. I've never seen a Ford published replacement interval for the camshaft cassettes, primary chain tensioner and guide, or balance shaft chain and guide. Probably because so much work is required to replace them. Most of the components were upgraded in the 2002 and later models but the rear cassette guide is still a weak component and it takes the most work to replace (either pulling the engine or the transmission). When I replaced mine I chose to install a pre-oiler (Accusump) hoping to extend the life of the timing components as well as the engine bearings. Some members' cassettes last more than 200K miles while others fail as early as 45K miles. I have not been able to identify any factors that explain the wide variation. Frankly, I doubt the chances of early failure justify reducing the risk by periodically replacing the components. I think pre-oiling, full synthetic clean oil, and avoiding high temperature engine coolant and engine oil are adequate protection. It will be interesting to see how well my engine holds up under 8 psi of boost after I complete my M90 installation.

 

[TourGuide]

Yeah I looked at replacing mine because when I bought it at 96k it made some rattling noises on acceleration. Those noises calmed down with a few oil changes of full synthetic and a good filter, but I know that this engine could go at any time. I just hope it waits until I am in a better financial position because it is like an $1800 to $2500 job!

Full synthetic and a quality filter are how I roll for now.

 

[Zieg95x]

What kind of oil and filter that everyone recommends for the SOHC 4.0. I use motorcraft synthetic blend and filter.

 

[2000StreetRod]

engine oil filters

I use Mobil M1-301 filters in my remote full flow mount. They have excellent filtering characteristics and a quality anti-drainback check valve. I use Amsoil filters in my remote bypass flow mount.

 

[robdlouisville]

I think when I put a "new" used engine in mine I will run either Mobil 1 or Amsoil. But on my wife's Focus, I always use Motorcraft synth blend and a motorcraft filter. But if the 4.0L is a 2006 engine, it'll have a higher than normal chance of failure no matter the oil - motorcraft syn blend or Mobil 1 I guess. I'm grateful it didn't seize up in the middle of the damn highway. Some idiot texting could have rammed her and done some real damage to my daughter. RD

 

[BMFarley]

Something like that happened to me; however, not with an Explorer. It was the car before my first Explorer. In fact, if my engine had not seized/blown in my 1980 Audi 4000, I might never of purchased my first Ford Explorer.

In my situation, I was returning to San Luis Obispo from San Francisco. It was about 1997 and it was a 3hr drive. Right outside of SLO I was coming down the Cuesta Grade, a 7% downward grade. It was dark and there are no street lights or anything illuminating the highway. Anyway, I start hearing rat a tat tat, rat a tat tat. I slow down from 70 to about 55 and crane my ear to the windshield... as the noise seemed to be coming from under the engine hood. Then, BOOM. A quick flash from under hood, lights go out, and no power. I immediately knock the manual transmission into neutral and put foot on the clutch... avoided brake as there was no place safe to stop. No shoulder. No lights to see. But, then headlights and dash lights returned after about 1.5 seconds. As there was no one near me and no place to go... I decided to coast the rest of the way into SLO.. which was about 2-3 more miles. It was a 7% grade. I had no issue with having enough momentum. Here, people ride the brake going down that hill. So, it was an easy decision. I pull off the first offramp, glided passed a stop sign, at teh end of the ramp and then parked. I walked the rest of the way home, which was only about 20 minutes. I returned later with a flashlight and found a hole in the side of my engine block... quite a beautiful sight.

 

[robdlouisville]

That sounds like a nightmare. Good think you are safe. Engines can be replaced. But not our health.

 

[TourGuide]

As far as oil goes I run Penzoil Platinum and an Mobil 1 - 210 filter. I've looked at and read UOAs on Mobil 1 oil that don't give it as favorable performance compared to Penzoil. Plus now the Penzoil Platinum is DEXOS certified - which means it meets the newer spec requirements for wear and longevity. I just feel better running it as compared to the M1 stuff.

 

[robdlouisville]

My boy has a 2000 Toyota Avalon - 160,000. V6. I have always ran PP in it. I like it a lot and the car always sounds and performs very well. RD

 

[robdlouisville]

Update on the seized engine from 12-26-13

So my trusty mechanic friend put in a 2006 engine with 80,000 miles on it. At test drive, he noticed the transmission slip. Then the transmission was slipping into neutral. High revs. The transmission needs to be replaced as well. The timing chain broke in the original engine quite possibly due to unexpected high revs with faulty tranny. Found a transmission in PA with 51,000. miles on it and so we'll swap it next week. This truck has some major issues with only 130,000 miles on it. The inside of the engine was very clean.

 

[2000StreetRod]

bad luck!

As the saying goes: if it weren't for bad luck you'd have no luck at all. I'm sorry to hear about your transmission. I doubt the transmission was the main cause of your engine seizing although high rpms could aggravate an existing cassette weakness. If your PCM is like mine there is an rpm limiter. The stock setting on mine is 6250 rpm which I didn't change because the power drops rapidly on my engine above 6000 rpm. With a fresh engine and transmission your daughter should get many years of dependable service out of her Explorer.

 

[F SANE IL]

So my trusty mechanic friend put in a 2006 engine with 80,000 miles on it. At test drive, he noticed the transmission slip. Then the transmission was slipping into neutral. High revs. The transmission needs to be replaced as well. The timing chain broke in the original engine quite possibly due to unexpected high revs with faulty tranny. Found a transmission in PA with 51,000. miles on it and so we'll swap it next week. This truck has some major issues with only 130,000 miles on it. The inside of the engine was very clean.

How much was the labor for the engine swap and where/how much did you find the engine? Mine is making noise and I figure I should set myself and cash a side for this possible misery.

 

[robdlouisville]

$$ for swaps

The mechanic has access to salvage yards across the nation. I am in Louisville, kY and the engine came from another state and the transmission is coming from Pennsylvania. The parts are common carried here in two days. the swap takes a day each. The engine swap was $2500. Of which I think $800.00 is labor. The engine is in high demand (that tells you something - used 4.0's are in high demand) so it was expensive - $1500 or $1600. $100 for the miscellaneous stuff. He only charged me $300 labor for the tranny because of the poor timing of it all. The transmission cost me $1250.00. All toll - $4,000.
But if it goes another 80,000 miles I will be happy. Right now I am just glad daughter wasn't in a wreck when the engine seized. She thinks it was her "fault" so she feels bad.But she is a safe driver and doesn't drive very fast.
Try to google salvage. If that doesn't get you anywhere, visit a salvage yard. They probably have the same access nation wide that my guy has. I see you are from Brooklyn. I miss the boroughs and the city. Lived and worked there the first 40 years of my life. Good luck.

 

[F SANE IL]

The mechanic has access to salvage yards across the nation. I am in Louisville, kY and the engine came from another state and the transmission is coming from Pennsylvania. The parts are common carried here in two days. the swap takes a day each. The engine swap was $2500. Of which I think $800.00 is labor. The engine is in high demand (that tells you something - used 4.0's are in high demand) so it was expensive - $1500 or $1600. $100 for the miscellaneous stuff. He only charged me $300 labor for the tranny because of the poor timing of it all. The transmission cost me $1250.00. All toll - $4,000. But if it goes another 80,000 miles I will be happy. Right now I am just glad daughter wasn't in a wreck when the engine seized. She thinks it was her "fault" so she feels bad.But she is a safe driver and doesn't drive very fast. Try to google salvage. If that doesn't get you anywhere, visit a salvage yard. They probably have the same access nation wide that my guy has. I see you are from Brooklyn. I miss the boroughs and the city. Lived and worked there the first 40 years of my life. Good luck.

Yes yes. You are correct.

Was just curious how much yours cost you. There are plenty of yards locally but who knows if they have Sandy Flooded engines. I checked eBay and CL. Average price is about $1300.

I'm going to visit a performance shop by next weekend. Only because I don't feel like doing a pressure test and anything else to locate this noise I have. Plus this guy is an expert. Used to work on my Camaro on steroids.

 

[Paris_Dan]

Last week our 2006 XLT (140k mi, we are original owners-this is our second Explorer) engine stalled as wife was coasting to stop at a traffic light. She pulled off, gauges looked normal - tried to re-start, wouldn't crank. Made a "bad noise." Friend from her workplace brought "Computer," plugged in, got error problem with #2 cylinder. Oil level was OK on stick. Still wouldn't turnover. Towed to shop, they say "Seized." I'm thinking 'Not seized, maybe broken timing chain.' Anybody have any diagnostic ideas?

Thanks