The 302 in my 1990 Ford Country Squire makes a knocking, rattling sound when first started up with the engine hot or cold. It almost sounds like pinging, but retarding the timing made no difference. The car has close to 230000 miles on it and I am wondering if this is the end of the motor. Let me know what the knocking noise might be and if the car is just going to stop running suddenly or gradually get worse. Also let me know how difficult it would be to put a remanufactured long block or crate engine in an old Crown Victoria. It is a station wagon in great shape and so useful that I hate to junk it. I saw Rockauto.com Auto Parts has 5.0L long block engines for about $1200 (or $10K, 435HP blue printed crate engines, Yee Haa!), but I need to know if changing the engine is something I should try myself. I do my own car repairs like brakes, radiator, etc. but have never swapped an engine. Is is something I can have fun doing myself or do I need too many special tools and skills?
2006-08-17 04:48:52 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
If it makes a knocking noise at startup then goes away, I would suggest it is the rod bearings. Rod bearings are a soft material, similar to brass. The material is babbit. With 23k mileage, consider yourself lucky, that's not bad for a ford motor, although, I admit, the 302, in my opinion, is Fords best production motor.
You can replace the long block, if you like, however, I might suggest you just replace the rod bearings. They can be purchased in a kit, and can be installed without even removing the motor. You will have to disconnect the motor from it's mounts and lift it slighly to facilitate removal of the oil pan.
2006-08-17 05:00:49 · answer #1 · answered by Pigeon P 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need a compression reading.. its a guage a tester will tell you if you have a weak cylider... ( buy at auto place) turn it over 3 times when the piston goes up to the top and make the guage go and make a reading.. usually a good engine is 135-150... if it is in the 60-70's its a low reading... if one of the 8 cyl.. are weak.. then determine if it is a bad valve ( could need a valve job) or rings are worn.... Does it smoke when u run it?
You can get a motor at a auto salvage yard for 500-800 bucks... And it will get worse of course as for it just stopping, U would need to find out where the problem is coming from first to determine that..
as for the other questions.. u need a motor lift ( u can rent them) when u take apart an engine... u need to make sure that u put a new seal in for the converter because sometimes if u disturb that when you take the motor out the front seal on the transmission will leak
so if u havent done it its complicated...
2006-08-17 05:03:27 · answer #2 · answered by yaya 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You probably have a stuck lifter or tappet. The next time you change your oil, buy some engine flush. Dump it in the crankcase, run it for 5 minutes, change the oil. It should have stopped. As for changing the engine, it's not that hard on older American cars, especially RWD. Judging from your attention to grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure, I would say that you can handle it with little or no problems.
2006-08-17 04:56:20 · answer #3 · answered by Robert B 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it sounds like it might have wrist pin going bad in it,,or maybe a bad lifter,,it could be any number of things,,it really is hard to answer this,,because with that many miles on it it is due an over haul,,to the engine,,anyone on here can tell you it may be a lot of things,,but no one can answer this question and be honest about it,,if i could hear it run i could tell you in a minute or two,,i hope this help,s.i been a certified mechanic for 35 yrs,,good luck with it.
2006-08-17 04:58:47 · answer #4 · answered by dodge man 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
At 230K miles, it's time to retire that engine. The noise (knocking or tapping) could come from valve tappets, rods, pins, but more than likely it is the main bearings.
2006-08-17 05:08:27 · answer #5 · answered by Don S 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it's a solid knock.. then its your main bearings going out. the sound sometimes vanish when it warms up. (sound familiar?) You are right in thinking it is the end of the engine. But 230,000 miles was a hell of a run.
2006-08-17 04:56:34 · answer #6 · answered by crazytrain_23_78 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
feels like one in each and every of your belts is free. not uncommon. in case you at the prompt are not prone to do it, locate someone you recognize who's conscious the fundamentals of automobiles, would not take an authority to tighten a belt, and its a 5 minute interest. some vehicle shops might want to do it for loose? relies upon on what type of people you're dealing with in spite of the reality that. user-friendly restore, solid success!
2016-11-05 00:28:36 · answer #7 · answered by jenniffer 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its a Lifter,or bent push rod
2006-08-17 04:52:22 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
cheap gas
2006-08-17 04:54:00 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋