LS engine dies at 65,000 miles

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rubber_factory

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So I have an 03 Lincoln with 65,000 miles, 3.9L V8. I've taken great care of it, to the best of my ability, at least. Synthetic oil, 93-octane gas, no coil problems, and i have replaced the faulty 2003 electronic throttle control.

It'd been running fine. Last week, it failed to crank one morning ,after sitting a few days. Engine made some bad noises and i felt some vibrations. After that the starter would just whirr.

I take it to a mechanic I trust, because I've had trouble with the dealer. He finds no compression in the right side of the engine, and he thinks the engine is out of time.

Long story short ( a week later ), he finally gets around to getting the timing cover off, and says it is full of metal shards. If I recall he said "the crank shaft won't turn. it gets in a bind." Says that I may have broken a rod, or something, but it isn't worth it to continue taking the engine apart, I should just get a new one. I'm no mechanic.

He's pricing out a new engine right now, but I have no idea how much that would cost, or where to find one. I think that the car might be worth $6k or so if this hadn't happened. Right now I don't have a clue.

Anybody have any advice?
 
engines

plenty of used engines around , check ebay or local wrecker yards for pricing and installation. Many local yards will install at reasonable costs.
 
engines

I've seen lots of engines for under $1k, installation is another matter, not checked on that yet.
 
well,

the mechanic is saying that a bearing went bad, or a cap broke, in the lower half of the engine. this is not certain, it is based on how the crankshaft feels when he tries to turn it.

he says that it'd be too expensive, in his opinion, to even open up the engine to see what went wrong; that there is no point. he's quoting me $4k-5k for installation of a new engine. he's found 3 engines with varying milage.

which brings me to this forum....

what's the best way to get rid of this car? everything else is in excellent shape. i live in north carolina... what's the likelihood of someone from lincolnvscadillac.com wanting this car for scrap parts? i've taken good care of it, with only 65k miles, and even the mechanic was commenting on how good of shape the rest of the vehicle is in. it is good looking... LS Sport, black exterior, black interior. i'm kinda hoping it winds up in the hands of someone who knows how to fix it.
 
Hmmmm

Just post it for sale and see what happens, i think your mechanic is kinda high.
 
Maybe buying a short block. Buy a complete engine.
 
tireman said:
Just post it for sale and see what happens, i think your mechanic is kinda high.
Click to expand...

he is, but he is upfront about that. he's supposed to be the best guy in town, a small import shop with experienced mechanics... there was a maserati parked next to mine, for example.

i'm not saying i trust a mechanic i don't know, i'm just saying that he seems to be fixated on quality work.

i'm going to post it on craigslist, and I suppose I'll post something on here, too, if I get the chance. I don't imagine that there's a scarcity of scrap LS'es out there.
 
my original engine bit the dust at about 45K (bought car 3 years old with 32,500 in '05)
It was a spun bearing and Ford replaced the engine (at least the bottom end) under warranty (worth about $6000 installed). I also took very good care of mine, run Mobil 1. The new engine has a manufacturing tag from 2006 on the front. I installed 125 shot of nitrous once the warranty ran out at 75K, still run Mobil 1 and drive very "spirited" and occasional trips to the dragway... knock on wood... no issues and I know have 137K on the clock (twice as many miles as the original engine).
 
well, i called FoMoCo up on the phone and gave them a little bit of hell.

it seems there's no chance for me to get them to replace the engine, since it's not under warranty, and they aren't going to buy back the car or give me any kind of compensation.

they're offering to put me into something called the X Plan, which is the old "Friends and Family" plan, with good pricing on new Fords.. which does me no good.

i suppose its good to know i'm not the only person this has happened to.
 
I think as much as you like your mechanic you are getting charged way to much. When this happened to my car, it cost me under $2,000.00 for a used motor with 30,000 miles on it, and that included the installation.
 
Bring the car to Michigan i'll give you 5 whole dollars for it..
 
with a repair that potentially has such a high cost, i'd get a second opinion from the dealer.

i'm not questioning your mechanic's credentials but we're not talking about a thermostat. get a second opinion.

if that's the case; man that sucks and it's a premature failure. to the extent that your mechanic describes it, and if you can (or not- doesn't matter) support your meticulous maintanence schedule, i'd plead with lincoln/ford to cover a portion of the cost; if not all.

i have had success with this in personal experience, so i'd give it a shot. either way, we are not talking about a major failure at 100k+, which might be considered acceptable. this is, obviously, unacceptable. i believe the accountability falls upon the manufacturer at this point.

you just need to get on it in terms of letters and phone calls as this a premature failure in a critical component.

good luck.
 
rubber_factory said:
So I have an 03 Lincoln with 65,000 miles, 3.9L V8. I've taken great care of it, to the best of my ability, at least. Synthetic oil, 93-octane gas, no coil problems, and i have replaced the faulty 2003 electronic throttle control.

It'd been running fine. Last week, it failed to crank one morning ,after sitting a few days. Engine made some bad noises and i felt some vibrations. After that the starter would just whirr.

I take it to a mechanic I trust, because I've had trouble with the dealer. He finds no compression in the right side of the engine, and he thinks the engine is out of time.

Long story short ( a week later ), he finally gets around to getting the timing cover off, and says it is full of metal shards. If I recall he said "the crank shaft won't turn. it gets in a bind." Says that I may have broken a rod, or something, but it isn't worth it to continue taking the engine apart, I should just get a new one. I'm no mechanic.

He's pricing out a new engine right now, but I have no idea how much that would cost, or where to find one. I think that the car might be worth $6k or so if this hadn't happened. Right now I don't have a clue.

Anybody have any advice?
Click to expand...

I have done 2 motor swaps in the LS, if ya live anywhere near KY I would do it for 1000 labor.
 
I bought a four litre Jag engine for $750. You should be able to find a good used 3.9 engine for not much more than $1000, and it should be also easy to get it installed and running for another K. Good luck!!

KS
 
engines are around a 1000 and should only cost about a 700-1000 to swap, tops. your "mechanic" is too pricey probably. go to a smaller shop, buy a used engine assembly and call it a day, its not like this is a high end car so it doesnt require an amazing shop to swap an engine in it. ive swapped my motor all by myself in 5 hours. if you were close to st louis id do it for ya cheap

car-parts.com is a great place to look, search by distance
 
Here is the repair times from Alldata 14.8 hours labor. At any legitament shop that will be costly

Engine
Short Block
To 7/17/00 2W4Z6006EARM $5238.67
From 7/17/00 2W4Z6006AARM $5238.67


Labor Skill
Level Mfg.
Warranty Standard
Engine
Diagnose/Test
Oil Leak, Diagnosis C 0.6 1.0
Replace
Complete Assembly Without Transfer Of Parts B 9.1 12.8
Does Not Include: Transfer Of Any Parts Of Engine Or Replacement Of Optional Equipment.

Complete Assembly With Transfer Of Parts A 0.0 14.8
Includes: Transfer Of All Fuel And Electrical Units, Does Not Include Transfer Of Optional Equipment.

Long Block B 13.4 20.8
Includes: R&I Engine And Transfer All Necessary Components Not Supplied With Long Block.

Short Block A 16.2 23.8
Includes: R&I Engine & Transfer All Necessary Components.

NOTE
To Grind Valves, Add A 13.8 16.1
Overhaul/Rebuild A 0.0 35.3
Includes: Disassemble & Clean Engine, Inspect And Replace All Necessary Components, Grind Valves & Tune-Up.
 
You could probably part it out for more than selling it whole.
 
well, i appreciate the advice.

i have a buyer for $500 and a maybe for $1000. i have to cut my losses on this Lincoln. going to go buy a toyota hilux.
 
that's a real dick thing to say, but i guess you're from detroit. i didn't realize this would becoming a pissing contest about auto repair competency. i'll concede that: i can't swap out an engine.

i've called 4 shops and they've all quoted me $4000+. nobody is giving me figures any lower. $2000 - $2500 for the motor, $2000 for the labor.

however, to the other folks -- the ones who tried to help -- i appreciate it. this has helped me figure out my options.
 
rubber_factory said:
that's a real dick thing to say, but i guess you're from detroit.

i've called 4 shops and they've all quoted me $4000+. nobody is giving me figures any lower

however, to the other folks -- the ones who tried to help -- i appreciate it.
Click to expand...

I don't think that he was trying to be mean or that he was talking about what happened with the LS. I think that it was a little bit of humor about you defecting to Toyota. I look at it as whatever happens with the Toyota (probably nothing bad, but also nothing exciting), it's what you picked.
 
cammerfe said:
I bought a four litre Jag engine for $750. You should be able to find a good used 3.9 engine for not much more than $1000, and it should be also easy to get it installed and running for another K. Good luck!!

KS
Click to expand...


did you install or have installed the jag engine in the LS?
 
last time i checked this website: http://everdrive.com/ you could get the engine, delivery from Midlothian , VA , 2 year warranty and 1 year labor installation warranty for $1,100. Their website is down right now so i couldn't check for you but you can call them at (804) 608-3050 . This is the company that sells engines, transmissions and so on to Autozone, advance auto, Oreilly, napa and so on. Being you live closer to them than I , you can save on shipping and cut out the middle man. Good luck. Also, search for another mechanic, he seems a lil' high on prices as well as personally.
 
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