Cracked cylinder head or bad head gasket what's my best option?

[JJMaine]

I think I will go get one. And you're right, if I'd had one when I bought the truck it would have saved me a bunch!

 

[Angie]

how much coolant do you need to add every week now? small amounts wont hurt much if it is a small leak that isn't that noticeable. but maybe on newer emissions stuff it shows up more?

 

[JJMaine]

Maybe every two weeks I have to fill the overflow reservoir back up to the full mark. It hasn't overheated since Ive had the truck. I watch my temp gauge like a hawk since the reason I bought the Ranger was because the water pump went in my Ford Edge and smoked the engine (more or less). Here we are again

 

[JJMaine]

How about some kind of cylinder head gasket leak fixer? Would it be worth a try or snake oil?

 

[SenorNoob]

That stuff tends to do more clogging radiators and heater cores than anything else.

 

[JJMaine]

Can anyone guess that cost on labor to have Ford install a new engine? Will they sell a new long block to any independent shop and still have the warranty?

If I'm going to spend $2-3k, I might as well spend $5-6k and have a brand new engine installed and be done with it. Just going to save my pennies and run it until it shits the bed I think. Then after the transmission quits I can rebuild that with the upgrade parts and maybe have a truck that lasts me a while. Still be at least $25k cheaper than a new truck.

I do know that I will want a NEW engine and good warranty and I think the only way to get both is to go directly through Ford?

 

[Shran]

I kind of doubt Ford would have any brand new long block 4.0's in stock. 14 years is a long time.

From the looks of your pistons and cylinder walls I would have no problem just throwing a pair of heads at it and running it indefinitely. There isn't even any carbon buildup, walls have nice cross hatch. If you don't feel like doing the heads yourself, find a shop you trust and have them do it. I'm guessing $3000+, there is a lot of labor involved plus parts. Basing that number off my old boss who had his 5.4 powered F150 in for head gaskets - similar engine there - I believe they charged him about $3500 and the heads were fine, it was actually an oil leak in that case.

I have not done heads on a SOHC engine but from my understanding there is a lot to keep track of with making sure the timing chains are set correctly. Your call if you want to try it yourself - driving it to a shop and driving it out fixed is pretty easy, just costs a lot more.

 

[JJMaine]

That's the problem, I don't have a shop that I trust for this kind of work. It seems like any time I have anything done anywhere there's always an issue. It's not a big deal when it's something small or cheap but I can't spend $3k and then have to worry if they did a good job. And if they screw up, the. I have to deal with that whole mess you know how that goes...

On Fords site it looks like they still sell them. I know the 4.0 was used in many vehicles. I'd be up for a factory remanufactured engine as well. I'll have to call them and see what they say...

I agree though, if I knew a good shop I would just have the gaskets done, my engine only has 115k miles on it I was hoping to get at least 200k.

 

[JJMaine]

This is what the Ford site says, whether it's true or not I'll have to see. But if they are available for $3800 (plus the core) I can't see paying almost as much for new head gaskets. Also the labor to swap engines but I'm fine with it.

 

[Shran]

I would confirm that's a NEW long block as opposed to a remanufactured long block. Most car companies sell both new and remans...someone else does the work and puts a Ford sticker on it. I had a $5000 GM reman transmission put in our service truck at work and it failed within 50k, 3 months out of warranty. Complete junk.

Either way it is kind of a shame to condemn a low mileage short block like what you have over a fixable head issue. Do you trust your Ford dealer to put a complete engine in your truck? If so why not trust them to put heads on what you have?

 

[JJMaine]

No I don't trust them to do either lol. I just think I'd have better luck with a complete engine and would probably have a better warranty or at least a chance to get them to honor it if they were responsible for the entire engine. If I have a choice, I'd rather pay $5k and get an engine with 0 miles on it rather than $3.5k and keep my engine with 115k miles on it that I don't know the history of the first 100k that's all.

 

[Shran]

Well.. let me put it this way... if you are getting a reman long block, it failed before, and you're trusting a completely unknown 3rd party rebuilder to do a good job. It's not like it went back to the Ford factory and was gone through by a lifelong Ford tech... it might have...but it might also have gone through a machine shop that has 20 year olds running the show.

I guess if you trust their warranty enough to cover a complete long block & labor, ask what their warranty is on just doing your heads, and if it's similar, you can hold their feet to the fire either way if something goes wrong. Seems like an equal risk either way there to me.

 

[JJMaine]

That's good to know but I'm not sure if it is reman because they have another listing for a reman long block but says they are on back order.

Thanks for the advice though because I was under the assumption that if I bought a reman from Ford that it would have been built by them to like new specs. If that's the case and they don't have brand new engines I might be better off having the heads and gaskets redone like you say.

 

[JJMaine]

You are right it is a reman. Going to call and ask them for a quote on head gaskets. Should I tell them to replace the heads or do they determine that when then they take mine off?

 

[Shran]

The only way to know for sure is to remove the heads and have a machine shop magnuflux them. If they're not cracked, there's no reason to replace them - BUT - if they are good, they should still be checked for straightness by the machine shop as well.

It could be bad head gaskets and the heads are fine but that is kind of unlikely these days. I would just tell them that it's leaking coolant into the cylinders and you want it fixed, and ask that they have the heads checked out while they're off the block.