Ford F-150 Motor Swap

[earlthegoat2]

Another thing I recently learned is that on some of them trucks the heater hoses leak, and can effect cylinder #4 by getting moisture into there

How does the moisture get into the cylinder from an external hose?

I have seen moisture get down into the spark plug holes which will cause there to be moisture where the spark plug boot contacts the spark plug causing it not to fire. Usually a coil and/or boot will need to be replaced.

 

[gma1320]

How does the moisture get into the cylinder from an external hose?

I have seen moisture get down into the spark plug holes which will cause there to be moisture where the spark plug boot contacts the spark plug causing it not to fire. Usually a coil and/or boot will need to be replaced.

From what I was told, the moisture saturates the coil and gets in the plug hole. Which causes the misfire. It doesn't leak into the cylinder. That is sealed. I reckon my wording looked like I was referring to coolant getting into the cylinder.

 

[DAVE]

I got a 2003 Ford F-150 extended cab 4x4. Long story short, local mechanic, whom I trust, and has worked on it, thinks I have a blown head gasket. He said it would probably be smarter to swap out the motor instead of spending the bucks to replace the head gasket.

Just looking for input and what my options might be.

Thanks.

If you believe your mechanic is competent and you trust him why not take the advice from the guy who has actually checked your truck, instead of strangers on the internet who have absolutely no vested interest in getting your truck repaired. If you don't think your mechanic is competent or trust worthy you need to find another one you trust or you will always be searching for a divine answer from strangers.

 

[Buck70]

Well said

 

[transfixer]

I am losing coolant but not that much. I just topped off the coolant reservoir and it took maybe 16 oz to put where it supposed to be.

What started this was it started running rough, missing, etc. Check engine light check showed #4 cylinder misfiring/fouled. Mechanic replaced all spark plugs and coils. A week or so later, check engine light comes on again. Again, check engine light check shows #4 cylinder misfiring. Mechanic comes back and says he thinks head gasket is bad and what's causing the issue is that coolant is leaking into the cylinder. He says that after running to heat up engine, coolant burns off. He said the check engine light was gonna stay constantly but all should be good as long as engine does not run hot. So I continued to drive it until two days ago when out on the interstate, it was running unbelievably rough and the check engine light was flashing. That's when I figure maybe things had really gone from sorta bad to worse.

I appreciate all the info here. It's really helpful. Please keep it coming.

First off , which motor are we talking about ? 4.6 ? or 5.4 ? if its the 4.6 its worth repairing, the 5.4 ? maybe not so much ,

Secondly, if your mechanic is coming to that conclusion simply based on what you've said ? then you need another mechanic ! The only way to know what is really happening is to do the tests others have mentioned , pressure test the coolant system, do a compression test on the cylinder in question, check the condition of the oil in the engine, etc,etc, you should also have white smoke coming out of your exhaust if the head gasket is blown into the combustion chamber ,

Lots of different ways to determine whether a head gasket is blown or not, if he's making assumptions without testing ? then you need someone else to look at it

 

[ribber]

Like someone else said, those year models are bad about leaking intake gaskets. 4.6 and 5.4. I would go with your mechanic's advice. Drop a fresh motor in and ride. The 2 valve V8s were great engines. I have a 2003 ext cab also, mine is 5.4 with 146,000 on it. I plan to keep it a long time. If the engine fails, I will replace it.