Gearheadloco
LVC Member
HeyJewel and his work on his V6 has gotten me inspired to continue with my 2001 LS V8 re-build. This poor engine was driven with too little oil by the previous owner - several connecting rod bearings "spun" around the crankshaft and deeply scored the original crank - plus it filled the oil pan with a sparkling array of metal shards that got into EVERYTHING so this engine really needed a full rebuild - at least the bottom end. As you may know this engine was built by Ford to a Jaguar design, and oddly enough Ford never expected Ford technicians to do what I and my buddy the machinist are doing, as there are no instructions on bottom-end rebuilding in the LS service manual Ford put out in 2001. So I'm treating the engine like an early 4.0 L Jaguar S-type engine (which it almost is) and have found that the connecting rod and main bearings from the 4.0L Jag fit just fine in the 3.9L Ford.
Terry's Jaguar Parts is your friend if you ever attempt to do this yourself.
Jaguar Parts, Jaguar Accessories All Jaguars
These Jag enthusiasts have the connecting rod, crankshaft and thrust bearings for the early S-type. The also have connecting rod cap bolts which are torque-to-yield (TTY) and should only be used once. The head bolts are also TTY, but are available from several mainstream engine rebuild parts suppliers - RockAuto being my favorite. Rings are available from Mahle, but good luck with crankshafts, pistons and connecting rods... they will have to come from a dismantler if you need replacements. In my case I actually ended up re-using "used" connecting rod and crankshaft main and thrust bearings from a used Jag 4.0L motor since they were in excellent shape on a low mileage motor... if they spec out, are clean and not full of metal shards as my old ones were, it's safe to re-use provided the spec out when you 1) put them in the block and torque to spec (without the crankshaft) and then 2) measure their diameter carefully. Most of the other bolts in the bottom end of the Ford 3.9L/Jag 4.0L engine aren't TTY - but Jag does suggest they be re-used just once, and should be marked in some way so that they aren't used a third time in a later rebuild.
I did manage to find a Ford 3.9L crankshaft from a dismantler in Texas, and after polishing it up it specs out just fine. So some pictures -
The car is in great shape for a 2001 - giving it to my son when done -
The engine bay without the engine is a roomy place -
Here's the block bolted together with used (but nice) 2000 Jaguar S-type crankshaft bearings installed - we're going to see if it all specs correctly -
Here's the used crankshaft all the way from Texas back from the machine shop for polishing - now to measure and make sure all is still well -
With the crankshaft and used (but re-ringed) pistons - also from Texas in the engine it's time for the first head -
Here's a another view with the intake and exhaust camshafts installed -
... and now the second head goes on -
So this is where we are today -
So now its time to install the timing gears and chains ... hopefully I will not need the specialized tools the manual calls out for this process. If necessary, we will improvise, which seems to be a requirement when re-building these Anglo-American engines!
Stay tuned and get prepared - when it's all back together I'm giving it a retro Lincoln V-8 paint job like this before it goes back in the car. Why paint a 2001 Jaguar/Lincoln/Ford 3.9L V8 the same color as a cast iron 1953 Lincoln? Why the hell not?
Terry's Jaguar Parts is your friend if you ever attempt to do this yourself.
Jaguar Parts, Jaguar Accessories All Jaguars
These Jag enthusiasts have the connecting rod, crankshaft and thrust bearings for the early S-type. The also have connecting rod cap bolts which are torque-to-yield (TTY) and should only be used once. The head bolts are also TTY, but are available from several mainstream engine rebuild parts suppliers - RockAuto being my favorite. Rings are available from Mahle, but good luck with crankshafts, pistons and connecting rods... they will have to come from a dismantler if you need replacements. In my case I actually ended up re-using "used" connecting rod and crankshaft main and thrust bearings from a used Jag 4.0L motor since they were in excellent shape on a low mileage motor... if they spec out, are clean and not full of metal shards as my old ones were, it's safe to re-use provided the spec out when you 1) put them in the block and torque to spec (without the crankshaft) and then 2) measure their diameter carefully. Most of the other bolts in the bottom end of the Ford 3.9L/Jag 4.0L engine aren't TTY - but Jag does suggest they be re-used just once, and should be marked in some way so that they aren't used a third time in a later rebuild.
I did manage to find a Ford 3.9L crankshaft from a dismantler in Texas, and after polishing it up it specs out just fine. So some pictures -
The car is in great shape for a 2001 - giving it to my son when done -
The engine bay without the engine is a roomy place -
Here's the block bolted together with used (but nice) 2000 Jaguar S-type crankshaft bearings installed - we're going to see if it all specs correctly -
Here's the used crankshaft all the way from Texas back from the machine shop for polishing - now to measure and make sure all is still well -
With the crankshaft and used (but re-ringed) pistons - also from Texas in the engine it's time for the first head -
Here's a another view with the intake and exhaust camshafts installed -
... and now the second head goes on -
So this is where we are today -
So now its time to install the timing gears and chains ... hopefully I will not need the specialized tools the manual calls out for this process. If necessary, we will improvise, which seems to be a requirement when re-building these Anglo-American engines!
Stay tuned and get prepared - when it's all back together I'm giving it a retro Lincoln V-8 paint job like this before it goes back in the car. Why paint a 2001 Jaguar/Lincoln/Ford 3.9L V8 the same color as a cast iron 1953 Lincoln? Why the hell not?