InTech 5.4 32V engine- low oil light came on at high speed, think a bearing may have spun?

I want to thank the contributors to this thread that suggested I take a second look at the mechanic's actions. The job is still in its early stage, but I may have misinterpreted the mechanic's knowledge, etc. The mechanic has provided excellent communications to me on a regular basis. which is a strong/ positive sign.
 
cb_13 said:
The 32V 5.4 4V are excellent motors. I was still seeing a few rolling into the dealership for service after 20 years and 300k+ miles. It’s the 24V 5.4 3V that has some major design flaws.
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Yeah, and I'm surprised that he said he knew where a second one was located as they are highly sought after by the hotrodders
 
thastinger said:
Yeah, and I'm surprised that he said he knew where a second one was located as they are highly sought after by the hotrodders
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I actually found it. The pic n pull yard had the vehicle listed as a 2005 Lincoln Navigator, which has a 5.4L 3v triton. When i went tp pull the front seats, I noticed it was a 2004 Navigator. $450 for the engine. $500 to pull it.
 
thastinger said:
Yeah, and I'm surprised that he said he knew where a second one was located as they are highly sought after by the hotrodders
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He did ask if their was a core charge on the engine. I said no. Maybe your post suggests why he asked that question.
 
GON said:
I actually found it. The pic n pull yard had the vehicle listed as a 2005 Lincoln Navigator, which has a 5.4L 3v triton. When i went tp pull the front seats, I noticed it was a 2004 Navigator. $450 for the engine. $500 to pull it.
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That pretty good for an iron NVH block, 4 valve heads and a factory steel crank...which are the pieces hotrodders want. Crank get reused but rods/pistons get replaced, valves get replaced with appropriate springs for either NA or boost application, valves and guides get replaced....but its a solid core. Those heads alone cost more than that most places.
 
GON said:
I recently acquired a 2004 Lincoln Navigator with the 5.4L Intech 32v engine, 141k miles. The engine was having a misfire (0306) on cylinder six, and P0171 on bank one.

I changed the spark plug and the COP on cylinder six, but still had the misfire. I replaced the PCV and related hoses, and the P0171 appeared to go away. Misfire still remained, but would take a while to show up on the scanner. The SUV idled poorly, but seemed to run fine at highway speeds. At 4am this morning, I went to inspect all the vacuum lines with a flashlight. I discovered the what I believe the crankcase breather hose the goes from the engine to the air filter was not connected. It appears the hose was off for an extended amount of time. Leaving a opening to the engine. No oil or any debris was showing aroung the opening, just a lot of dust and dirt.

After connecting the crankcase breather hose, I decided to go on an early interstate test run. About 15 miles into the run, at a high speed, the low oil pressure light came on. I was unable to pull off the interstate, and slowed down and made it to an exit ramp. On the exit ramp the engine made the sound of metal on metal. I pulled over, and checked the oil. It looked overfilled. I checked coolant level, no change in its level. I had my scanner, no misfire on cylinder six. no P0171. But had a new code, which I cant remember but it was something about to much fuel getting to a oxygen sensor.

Called a tow truck, and had the truck dropped off at a local shop, and I took a uber home (I have no driveway).

I suspect the engine had a catastrophic internal failure. The engine will turn over, but not easily. It will try to start but does not.

On a side note, I am aware of the same engine in a 2004 with 120k miles available for $450, but I have to pull the engine and the SUV is smashed and in a field.
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Not worth the effort. You would be better off buying a 2000 dollar old toyota . With high miles
 
Taking the heads off of a used engine usually voids the warranty. Put it in the car as a complete engine and make sure it is OK before contemplating further work.
 
D60 said:
I'd judge a mechanic more on if he knows the nomenclature and seems to understand it. Of course even that isn't necessarily a perfect metric....

....still, if you start talking cam phasers, hydraulic tensioners, HV oil pumps and he looks confused, yeah I'd be scared then.

That said, I have NO idea how these engines vary from the 3V 5.4? Are they considerably different?
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It's basically a predecessor of the GT500 engine.

It doesn't have phasers or VVT. It's a traditional DOHC engine. The only real issue is in stock form the valve seats can get dropped primarily when overheated.

Nothing exotic about these engines. If we good old boys can freshen a road race, big bore, stroker version of the low deck and turn it into a turbo drag engine, bumping it up to 800-1600 bhp (depending on boost setting) with no prior mod motor build experience a professional should have no problem dealing with one. Of course we replaced the valve seats with an improved design (different seat to head angle and material) during the machine work.
 
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No offence….but this seems to be a huge amount of $$$ on an 18-year old vehicle, considering the $$ you have spent before this whole engine thing started.
I really don’t see how this makes financial sense. You should have cut your losses once the engine went. I know new vehicles are expensive, but this can’t be the best way to go, unless this vehicle has some special value to you?
 
It's still less than new or much newer used.

Not completely related, but I've never understood why people get so wrapped up in a vehicles perceived value and their reluctance to repair older vehicles. When someone tells me that my car is "only" worth x amount of dollars, so I'm not going to spend the money to repair it. What that tells me is that you're willing to spend potentially 10,15, or 20k on a vehicle worthy of being repaired? Why? I look at it like this - if it meets your needs, is still serviceable (not rusted in two or heavily body damaged) and you like it, fix it.. It'll more than likely be cheaper than replacing it. To me a vehicle's value is quite subjective. It only matters when buying/selling or the insurance man gets involved. Otherwise if you plan on driving it forever, who gives a flip what it's worth?

In this case, the suv sounds like it's in great shape otherwise, so putting an engine in it is much less than a newer suv like it. Why not spend 5k (or however much) to get it on the road instead of 30k+?
 
addyguy said:
No offence….but this seems to be a huge amount of $$$ on an 18-year old vehicle, considering the $$ you have spent before this whole engine thing started.
I really don’t see how this makes financial sense. You should have cut your losses once the engine went. I know new vehicles are expensive, but this can’t be the best way to go, unless this vehicle has some special value to you?
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It doesn't to me either, however his rational is something new is $60,000.00. Plus he rebuilt the air suspension so now he has "time" tied up in it. I mean the SUV was sitting in a junkyard.....
 
addyguy said:
No offence….but this seems to be a huge amount of $$$ on an 18-year old vehicle, considering the $$ you have spent before this whole engine thing started.
I really don’t see how this makes financial sense. You should have cut your losses once the engine went. I know new vehicles are expensive, but this can’t be the best way to go, unless this vehicle has some special value to you?
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No offense taken. Maybe I am on to something.... or maybe I am a hoarder (my Wife would suggest I am a hoarder when it comes to cars and car parts).

You are likely right. But when I found a engine, decided to take a risk, and this is 100 percent risk.

I had rebuilt the suspension, which is unheard of on this generation SUV. I have never seen a 2nd GEN Navigator with the air suspension, everyone goes to coil. I stayed with air. I reconditioned the entire interior. Installed OEM heated and cooled seats. Interior ended up very nice. Not in new condition, but nice. This SUV has a full frame, zero rust. Lived its entire life in South Carolina. First 12 years of its life it was Ford dealer maintained. This SUV has the same trans as my 2002 F350 V10. Independent rear suspension which makes the third row seating much more comfortable. And I put Michelin Defenders on it with new TPMS sensors. This SUV has the heavy duty tow package, and from all indications this SUV never towed a single time (hitch hider appears to have never ever been removed).

So, I could walk away. Or for 3k-4k, I MIGHT get lucky. Decided to see if I get lucky. I drove a 2021 Ford Expedition with every option for a week in Tuscon, AZ (rental) about a year ago. Other than bluetooth and some navigation and safety features, not much difference except the 2021 Expedition was likely priced 50-70k.

If this NAV was a tow vehicle, had any rust, had been in a accident I would of dumped it. Because it is rust free, super clean, and everything else works- decided to roll the dice.
 
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