new member, terrible start.

superpoop

Registered User
Hey guys. Picked up a 150k mile supercoupe last tuesday with a strong motor, great trans and all electrics in working order. The car lasted around 800 miles before the motor took a catastrophic turn for the worse and began to knock.

Was sat behind a tractor on country lanes doing around 20mph, the car felt like it was stuck in second gear. Shuddering, not very happy doing those speeds. I put this down to it being powered by a six, slowed down to 15 and it dropped to first gear. The car felt much healthier doing the slightly higher rpm. 5 mins later rhe shuddering returned and along came a horendous screaching noise. I pulled it to neutral and pulled to the side of the road to investigate. The car began to knock at idle and felt like it had lost a cylinder. It is jumpy, shudders at idle, and knocks like crazy.

There is also smoke from the oil fill cap.

Something on the inside is not happy and has promptly gone on strike.

I have no clue how to go about the repair. Have never taken a motor out and am currently doing my night shift gutted about the fact i have just blown the motor on a great car to drive.

Any help i can get would be massively appreciated, anyone who has built an engine, dropped on out or experienced the same symptoms please chime in! Id love to gett back to driving it

Neill
 
You'll have to check the motor yourself but from your description it sounds like either main or rod bearing spun. I'd plan on pulling the motor and rebuilding or getting a REMAN short block.
 
Any tips on removal? Or links to threads detailing the process? Bearings are cheap enough from rockauto but the plan of this car was a daily driven yet comfortable car. And its neither outside my house with a knackered motor. I hate downtime on a car thats just spent six days with me.
 
off topic

are you english, from england or such...knackered and gutted are strange words for amuricans to use...seems like i have heard them alot on top gear and wheeler dealers.
 
yeah, from england.

this is why im a lil worried about this one going to the junkyard in the sky due to the lack of knowledge on these engines countrywide. the cost of a new motor will outweigh the cost of the car if it comes to having one shipped overseas.

the car isnt with me at present, is it easy enough to drop the oil pan under these to take a look? i have a free weekend to get under it.
 
removing the engine without a car lift is really no fun but can be done.
If you've never worked on a SC it will test your skills for sure.
How are your mechanical skills ?
First thing you should do is look on Ebay for a Ford Service Manual for your car, it will be a great help to you.

By the way, Love your screen name.
 
Pulled mine with a engine hoist with the transmission still attached. It's tight but with the radiator out doable. of course you have to unbolt the shift lever from the trans. But the stub can stick out if you can get the front of the car up and a good angle.
tn_full_2004_0326removeengine0002JPG_Thumbnail1.jpg
 
thanks for the replies guys!

i also have a 98 cobra mustang which is causing me grief so i havent gotten round to checking this site!

my mechanical skills are moderate i would say. i have never gotten into a motor build though and this worries me. i have found my best bet is to have someone do the work with me and show me what i would need to do. i also dont have anything like a micrometer to check for crank size differences after it being polished.

i shall leave this to the pro's, or at least get some guidance from them.
 
looks like you're the man i need some help from maybe!

the question i have been asked is can you get the oil pan off to replace bottom end bearings without taking the motor out? or is it a full blown motor out job?

i have someone coming to look at it on Tuesday to weigh up options. if it can be done in car then its a load less money to do so.

Neill
 
looks like you're the man i need some help from maybe!

the question i have been asked is can you get the oil pan off to replace bottom end bearings without taking the motor out? or is it a full blown motor out job?

i have someone coming to look at it on Tuesday to weigh up options. if it can be done in car then its a load less money to do so.

Neill

You have to drop the lower k-member to get the oil pan off. It is easier to just pull the motor. At that age there is value in doing the head gaskets and checking the block over.
 
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i have been googling my symptoms and a link has thrown me to a twelve year old thread which i think may answer my question.

symptoms:
tick from top end when cold when first purchased car. disappeared when warm.
squeal that increases with engine speed.
one occasion the noise went away. came back shortly after
motor is running on five cylinders
once all belts removed, noise stays present.
motor locked up once at idle.
car will idle on its own no problems. fires up as normal but is noisy and lumpy.

i have had someone out to look at it today and they have said it is NOT bottom end. its more than likely from the top.

the thread : http://www.sccoa.com/forums/showthread.php?5215-engine-noise

it could be a stuck and flat spotted roller on one lifter.

the squeal would be because of the cam lobe hitting the flat spot instead of a smooth roll.
one time the noise went away, possibly when the flat spot rolled away from the cam lobe
five cylinders because it isnt opening one of the valves on a cylinder
noise is internal- not belt driven.
cam potentially hit flat spot enough to stop any downward motion, stalling the motor.
if it was a rod bearing, the motor would run smooth but be noisy. it would also not cause so many issues so quickly.

what do you guys seem to think to this? i will be tearing the top end apart at some point today.

Neill
 
I didn't read everything to offer any help, except I'll suggested that you might want to start a new thread in the Technical Forum area. The New SC Owner forum doesn't see as much traffic and is generally used for introductions.

Good luck.
 
Your motor has 150,000 miles. Nearly anything you might need to do to it is made easier by removing the motor. At that age all sorts of things could need replacing and near failure.

Sure, problem could be cam or lifters. But the front cover needs to come off for that. Once you get to all that with the engine in the car, you are just a few bolts and exhaust manifolds away from pulling the whole thing.
 
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