Whelp, that didn't go so well

[Occ]

So a couple months ago (maybe September) I picked up a 1994 Ranger 4x4 with the 4.0 v6 and a 143,000 miles or so. The plan was to use this as a rescue/transport vehicle for my motorcycle, as well as a daily driver in the winter. Been driving it quite a bit since and enjoying it. Ran well and looked reasonably clean when I got it.

Well, Monday I was hitting an on-ramp, and as I accelerated, felt some jerking, instantly realized something was wrong. Nursed into work the next day and called a mechanic to schedule an inspection. Well, they inspected it, had some good news and bad news. The good news was it looked pretty good and well taken care of. The bad news was this meant a deeper inspection was needed. The results of this inspection were basically that the head gasket was blown and there's a high probability of cracked cylinder heads as well (apparently a common problem with the 4.0 OHV in this generation). Balls.

Now it appears I have two options: have the engine rebuilt ($$$) or grab a re-manufactured engine ($$$). Both of these options exceed the value of the truck and what I paid for it. However, apart from the failure of an engine, it's in pretty good condition (the only other thing the inspection revealed was a wheel bearing that needed to be replaced). Now, currently, I am leaning towards going with the engine replacement, because apparently it would actually be quicker and cheaper. My logic is that even though the engine swap will kind of suck to have to have done, at the end of it, I'll have a good running truck.

If I look at other old trucks I will be paranoid about running into some other issue. Better the devil you know, etc. And I do have sort of a soft spot for this generation with it's manual locking hubs and gearshift 4WD. I did set aside some dough for repairs and stuff, and while I don't want to say this was expected, I'm not really shocked or outraged. Anyway, I guess I'm just looking for thoughts on getting re-manufactured engines. The Motorcraft ones appear to run in ~$2.5k range and come with a 3 year / 100,000 mile warranty. It would be cool to get some more performance from the swap, but I'm not sure how realistic that is. Any ideas on what to be looking for here?

Cliffs:

• Bought old truck
• Old truck engine failed
• Looking at re-manufactured/rebuilt long block engines
• Thoughts?

Updated 2/15/12 below.

 

[halik]

Can't you pick up a used block for that thing for like 400 bucks? New heads can't go for more than like 200 bucks.

Also jerking -> blown headgasket sounds like bullshit; has it been using coolant?

 

[SyndromeOCZ]

Do you trust your mechanic? If you don't get a second opinion and second price.

 

[janas19]

If you're set on replacing the engine anyways, why not pour a can of that head gasket repair sealant you can buy from Auto Zone in and drive it until cataclysmic failure? I mean seriously, why not?

Btw, just in case

Signs of head gasket failure:
1) White-colored smoke coming from tailpipe - exhaust burning up the antifreeze.

2) Grey or milky discoloration in coolant- from oil leaking in.

If I didn't see either of those two, and see it quite clearly, I wouldn't give a damn.

 

[MaxFusion16]

It makes no sense to repair it when the repair exceeds the value of the vehicle, insurance companies don't do it, so why should you?

2500 for a rebuilt engine is too much, just swap in an used one if you have to.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Can't you pick up a used block for that thing for like 400 bucks? New heads can't go for more than like 200 bucks.

Also jerking -> blown headgasket sounds like bullshit; has it been using coolant?

If the blown gasket causes it to misfire then yes it can feel like jerking. Ever had a misfire on your vehicle?

 

[janas19]

If the blown gasket causes it to misfire then yes it can feel like jerking. Ever had a misfire on your vehicle?

He said a blown head gasket caused by jerking sounds like BS.

 

[halik]

If the blown gasket causes it to misfire then yes it can feel like jerking. Ever had a misfire on your vehicle?

If it's missing on one, it would shake like no other and you wouldn't be able to rev it much; that 4.0 OHV has an external balance shaft.

I spent hours fixing misfires on my S4; additive fuel trims, mutiplicative fuel trims, lambda ... bah.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

First off, get a second opinion.


If it truly is a blown head gasket I would try to find a smaller shop who can find a reman motor and swap it out if the chassis is in great shape.


FWIW, I've spent some time on the ranger and explorer forums, and I wouldn't say blown head gaskets are a known issue on a well-maintained 4.0.

 

[Ferzerp]

Seconding the check the coolant for oil, and oil for coolant....

 

[Dr. Detroit]

2nd opinion - and then get a used engine and swap it in.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

I 5th the 2nd opinion. Was there any knocking? Check plugs? drian the oil and see if it is milky (means coolant). If this is an OHV motor, pulling the heads and putting new ones on isn't that hard. You need a tool set, a Haynes/Chilton manual and some time.

 

[Occ]

OK, first of all, I'm dumb, sorry. The shop's estimate that got emailed to me had a glitch where the content of the email differed from the attached .pdf. So now doing the rebuild looks like a much better option.

The head gasket is fine, I'm not sure where I got that from (my old explorer had a leaking head gasket though). The shop looked at the spark plugs and the ignition system and it all checked out but the truck was clearly still running roughly. So they performed a block test, which it failed. So the conclusion is one of the heads is cracked (they recommended replacing 2, because if you just replace 1 it can potentially upset its partner?) and also the lifters are on the way out because they are ticking. While it's true the heads could be sent to a machine shop to be tested and redone, the thought is it would end up being quicker and less expensive to just put new ones in.

So any suggestions of where to look for lifters and heads?

So far I've found:
Heavy Duty Cylinder Heads
http://www.moranav6racing.com/category.html?CategoryID=32

If I'm reading this right, looks like $500 for Stage 1 and $900 for Stage 2 and then $200 for the cores. Seems much cheaper than the ones at RockAuto, where I saw some Marshal heads for $876 after $290 for cores. Would the Stage 2 be at all worth it? Seems like I should be looking for aftermarket heads instead of remanned ones because hopefully the aftermarket ones will be beefier and less prone to cracking in the future.

And I haven't found much on lifters.

 

[Billb2]

Seems like I should be looking for aftermarket heads instead of remanned ones because hopefully the aftermarket ones will be beefier and less prone to cracking in the future.

Only Ford makes the castings, so rebuilt and aftrmarket are the same, though aftermarket may be high performance, which you don't want. Unless you change the intake and exhaust manifords and the cam you won't see much differenct with HiPo heads.

Send your heads in and have them checked, if they're OK just have them cut.

Last month I had the same problem (head gasket) on a Chevy (CK2500, 350 V8) $400 to have the heads rebuilt and cut.

 

[Occ]

Thanks for the thoughts regarding the performance heads.

Also, to clarify again, there wasn't a head gasket issue, but likely a cracked head cylinder. Looking on the explorer forums, there seems to be the some consensus that Alabama Cylinder Head makes heads that are less prone to cracking because they use a different casting from stock. I guess I'm still a little confused on the whole rebuilt/aftermarket heads thing.

 

[halik]

(they recommended replacing 2, because if you just replace 1 it can potentially upset its partner?)

Ha what? That statement alone would be enough for me taking the car elsewhere. Have them put on one of those $140 shipped heads and call it a day. The block has 140k miles on it.

 

[SabaII]

Ha what? That statement alone would be enough for me taking the car elsewhere. Have them put on one of those $140 shipped heads and call it a day. The block has 140k miles on it.

Not necessarily upset its partner but if your in there doing one you might as well do both. You have to ALMOST take as much stuff off to get to the one in the long run it may be more cost effective just to get them both done. Especially if they are known to fail which I am unsure of as I do not know the 4.0 history too well. It never hurts to have a second opinion either. Also depending on the head it may just be cheaper to go straight to new heads in some options then waiting for them to be inspected/machined also faster if you need the vehicle back soon. I have run in to instances where that was true working on trucks and again not saying it will be so for your case.

 

[Doppel]

It makes no sense to repair it when the repair exceeds the value of the vehicle, insurance companies don't do it, so why should you?

Yes it does, this is a tired argument. He can drop a little more than value of the vehicle to end up with an engine with potentially warranty on it plus he knows what else is or isn't wrong with the vehicle and how it's been taken care of. OR he can take the money for that and buy another vehicle, knowing nothing about it not to mention the hassle involved.

 

[RedRooster]

Would this help?

 

[MaxFusion16]

Yes it does, this is a tired argument. He can drop a little more than value of the vehicle to end up with an engine with potentially warranty on it plus he knows what else is or isn't wrong with the vehicle and how it's been taken care of. OR he can take the money for that and buy another vehicle, knowing nothing about it not to mention the hassle involved.

so you think insurance companies are leaving money on the table?

investing $2500 in a $2000 car does not make any financial sense, period. you will not get any of that $2500 investment back when it comes time to sell.

 

[SabaII]

so you think insurance companies are leaving money on the table?

investing $2500 in a $2000 car does not make any financial sense, period. you will not get any of that $2500 investment back when it comes time to sell.

Unless you dont sell. At the point its really up to the owner. If the rest of the vehicle is sound I would personally fix it. If I didn't think the rest of the vehicle was personally worth it I would not. But I believe there is a point where yes it does not make sense and one where it might.

 

[SparkyJJO]

so you think insurance companies are leaving money on the table?

investing $2500 in a $2000 car does not make any financial sense, period. you will not get any of that $2500 investment back when it comes time to sell.

Maybe he has no intention of selling and just wants to drive it until the wheels fall off.

Resale value is worth considering, but it isn't the end-all-be-all for repair decisions.

 

[hanoverphist]

i just pulled the head off my little honda. i didnt have any oil in the coolant or vice versa, but i did have exhaust bubbles in the radiator. i took the head to a local machine shop and they tested it for 60 bucks. after it passed the pressure tests as well as each port pressure test to verify valve seats, i paid another 60 for the milling. 120 to find out if the heads are good doesnt sound too bad.

i would definitely get a second opinion. if you still want a new engine, swap in a supercharged 4.6!

 

[Occ]

Not necessarily upset its partner but if your in there doing one you might as well do both. You have to ALMOST take as much stuff off to get to the one in the long run it may be more cost effective just to get them both done. Especially if they are known to fail which I am unsure of as I do not know the 4.0 history too well. It never hurts to have a second opinion either. Also depending on the head it may just be cheaper to go straight to new heads in some options then waiting for them to be inspected/machined also faster if you need the vehicle back soon. I have run in to instances where that was true working on trucks and again not saying it will be so for your case.

Yes, I was a little off in my description. Since the engine is being torn down, and the stock heads are known to develop cracks, might as well replace both since it's not that much more work once you're in there.

Yes it does, this is a tired argument. He can drop a little more than value of the vehicle to end up with an engine with potentially warranty on it plus he knows what else is or isn't wrong with the vehicle and how it's been taken care of. OR he can take the money for that and buy another vehicle, knowing nothing about it not to mention the hassle involved.

This is essentially my logic, and just doing the heads it actually comes out as much less expensive than the engine swap, and also less than the value of the car. Only slightly less, if any, I suspect, but much better.

Would this help?

Ha, I was looking at that a little bit longingly, but I'm not that handy and it looks rather involved. Would definitely be kick-ass though, a V-8 in a little Ranger? Mmm.

So I've decided to just have the heads replaced. Found a pair of assembled heads with a new casting from Odessa Cylinder Heads for a good price and free shipping with an unlimited mileage / 2-year warranty. Thanks everyone for the responses.

 

[Subyman]

Glad to hear it may only be a $1K fix instead of diving into a remanufactured engine. Are you still going to get a second opinion? It is always a good idea to do that unless you have a great relationship with the mechanic. It isn't because you may think that the mechanic is trying to screw you, but because two heads are better than one .

Personally, I would stay far away from remanu'ed engines. I've heard not great things about motorcraft engines. When I messed around with a V6 camaro engine for a project car, I bought the engine from a junk yard for 400 dollars. I had a mechanic go over it from top to bottom and open it up to hop it up a bit. Total cost was 1100 for a professionally rebuilt engine to my specs. Not bad!