2002 LS V8 Advice needed!!

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Motloq

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First off Thanks to all @ LVC for the endless amount of help you give to anyone in need. Heres my story:

My girl took my car without my knowledge while I was out of town for a few weeks and drove it after the check engine light had come on due 3 cop's gone bad for another 90 miles . She had a mechanic replace all the plugs and cop's and then of course the cats were shot too so those got replaced also. I came home to a car still running like it was missing and chugging @ idle. As furious as I was and still am I was due to go out of town 2 days later so I dropped it off at the stealership and here is what I got from them:

Found dead miss on #1, 5 # and #6 Relative compression found 1 and 5 low, performed manual compression test and found all at 195psi except #5 and #6. # 5 was 0psi and #6 120 psi ...Possible head gasket ,,customer declined estimate for engine replacement.

Altho its a 2002 LSE V8 w/ 135,000 on it the condition of the car is incredible for its age.

Is this engine toast or can it be repaired.

Thanks for any Advise
 
Compression loss

Motloq said:
First off Thanks to all @ LVC for the endless amount of help you give to anyone in need. Heres my story:

My girl took my car without my knowledge while I was out of town for a few weeks and drove it after the check engine light had come on due 3 cop's gone bad for another 90 miles . She had a mechanic replace all the plugs and cop's and then of course the cats were shot too so those got replaced also. I came home to a car still running like it was missing and chugging @ idle. As furious as I was and still am I was due to go out of town 2 days later so I dropped it off at the stealership and here is what I got from them:

Found dead miss on #1, 5 # and #6 Relative compression found 1 and 5 low, performed manual compression test and found all at 195psi except #5 and #6. # 5 was 0psi and #6 120 psi ...Possible head gasket ,,customer declined estimate for engine replacement.

Altho its a 2002 LSE V8 w/ 135,000 on it the condition of the car is incredible for its age.

Is this engine toast or can it be repaired.

Thanks for any Advise
Click to expand...
I would replace ER valve, complete PVC system, pull heads, have shop check for cracks clean mating surface, replace head gaskets, check replace timing assembly while heads are off, replace water pump and belt if not replaced lately. Performed these tasks on 4.6 & 5.4 in last 2 years, both trucks running well now! Short change anything and you will be back under hood again. Doing same to a 3.0 in Ford mini-van now. Just MHO.
 
well if its just head gaskets, then no the motor is not toast, it just needs new head gaskets. however if its more than that, then who knows until the everything is inspected.
 
It seems like it would be more likely that the timing jumped than the head gasket failed.
 
How could I tell for sure if the timing jumped on it ? I didnt really think the whole head gasket idea was right but Im no hardcore mechanic . On top of the fact they quoted 8500 for a new motor..LMFAO ! The car still drives it just idles terribly ( real choppy ) the car actually shakes. No fluid loss or smoking at all.
 
Motloq said:
How could I tell for sure if the timing jumped on it ? I didnt really think the whole head gasket idea was right but Im no hardcore mechanic . On top of the fact they quoted 8500 for a new motor..LMFAO ! The car still drives it just idles terribly ( real choppy ) the car actually shakes. No fluid loss or smoking at all.
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Head gaskets aren't a "usual" failure on cars these days, UNLESS, the engine has overheated. IIRC, the last person here that a compression issue was actually the timing chain skipping a tooth because of worn/broken tensioners. As you have a 1st gen V8 I would look there first. Do you hear any type of a rattling on start-up?
 
Replaced the degas about 8 months ago and it did overheat back then but nothing since. No rattling at all from the engine. When the cats were replaced the drivers side where #5 and #6 cat was broke all apart and rattling but the passenger side was still intact. No CEL at all ?? Is there any way to confirm timing jump ? Cause to me it sounds like the timing is off.
 
You don't have to be a true mechanic to figure this out, but there are multiple threads on this. There are 10-12 bolts on the valve cover. Passenger side - remove the intake tube, remove the COP cover, pull COP's and then undo all the valve cover bolts. (there might be some other odds and ends in the way, but I don't think there is on passenger side.

To check timing, turn engine over to get the cam flats facing up. They are before the gear at the front of the engine, you will notice it. You can do this with a big wrench or breaker bar on the harmonic balancer bolt on the crankshaft. Taking the spark plugs out will make this a helluva lot easier so you're not trying to turn the engine while dealing with compression.

NOTE: Only turn CLOCKWISE to get the cams lined up. This engine is zero interferance, meaning if you go the wrong way, you be bending some valves or breaking the shims on top of the valves (I've done this)

The cam flats should be parallel to one another when one or the other (hopefully both) are parallel to the cylinder head. If one is off, you found your problem.

If they are lined up, go ahead and do a cylinder leak-down test on the #5 and #6 to see if either one of the exhaust or intake valves are leaking. It's easy enough to look up online and even easier to perform.

This thread is the most comprehensive tensioner tear down and build.

http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/forum/showthread.php?52333-Timing-Chain-Teardown-Time/page2

Page 2 has most of the information relevant to you with pictures of the cam flats. In post #45 you can see De-marko's cam flats just before the first cam lobe -the exhaust is a good 20 degrees off.

Good Luck
 
Broseph said:
You don't have to be a true mechanic to figure this out, but there are multiple threads on this. There are 10-12 bolts on the valve cover. Passenger side - remove the intake tube, remove the COP cover, pull COP's and then undo all the valve cover bolts. (there might be some other odds and ends in the way, but I don't think there is on passenger side.

To check timing,turn engine over to get the cam flats facing up. They are before the gear at the front of the engine, you will notice it. You can do this with a big wrench or breaker bar on the harmonic balancer bolt on the crankshaft. Taking the spark plugs out will make this a helluva lot easier so you're not trying to turn the engine while dealing with compression.

NOTE: Only turn CLOCKWISE to get the cams lined up. This engine is zero interferance, meaning if you go the wrong way, you be bending some valves or breaking the shims on top of the valves (I've done this)

The cam flats should be parallel to one another when one or the other (hopefully both) are parallel to the cylinder head. If one is off, you found your problem.

If they are lined up, go ahead and do a cylinder leak-down test on the #5 and #6 to see if either one of the exhaust or intake valves are leaking. It's easy enough to look up online and even easier to perform.

This thread is the most comprehensive tensioner tear down and build.

http://www.lincolnvscadillac.com/forum/showthread.php?52333-Timing-Chain-Teardown-Time/page2

Page 2 has most of the information relevant to you with pictures of the cam flats. In post #45 you can see De-marko's cam flats just before the first cam lobe -the exhaust is a good 20 degrees off.

Good Luck
Click to expand...

Make sure the trans is in neutral.....
 
LS4me said:
Is the transmission "disengaged" in Park?? I thought in Park the transmission was "locked" to the engine with the park pawl engaged.
Click to expand...

Come on now. If that were true you couldn't sit in the car with the engine running (idling) and the transmission in park. I think that most of us start our engines while in park, and don't shut down until after shifting into park.
 
joegr said:
Come on now. If that were true you couldn't sit in the car with the engine running (idling) and the transmission in park. I think that most of us start our engines while in park, and don't shut down until after shifting into park.
Click to expand...

DOH!!!! Forgot about that!!
 
2 (2).jpg



Gotta get her back on the road. Thanks for all the help. Will update when I know whats up

2 (2).jpg
 
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