3rd motor in 01!!!

[Dwight Cairney]

Unfortunately I just put my 3rd engine in my 01 sport trac 2x4.Apparently when the timing chain goes on this zero clearance engine it takes out the valves too. I have also had the same spark plug fowling on the last 2 motors.ford denies any issues with the first production dated engine they used although they changed it after 6 mos. Has anyone had any issues like mine and if so how did you resolve it?Thanks

 

[Dallas Starr]

whoa... i havent heard of that many problems. No offense but what are your driving habits/maintenance habits?

 

[Gavin Allan]

That stinks, DW.



I've not heard of any issues like yours.

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

There was a timing chain issue in the first and / or second year of production, but with you 3rd engine I would think that you problems should have been resolved. What kind of gas and oil are you using?

 

[Woppy V]

esh... why not try a v8 conversion!

 

[Tom Schindler]

Anyone smell tuna?



One? Maybe the vehicle. Two, possibly the driver. Three, yep, the driver it is.





Tom

 

[Gerald Pierce]

One? Maybe the vehicle. Two, possibly the driver. Three, yep, the driver it is.

I'm with ya Tom. Knock on wood but I am pushing 80k miles and have no issues. Of course, I treat the ST right, so she takes care of me.



Tend to think either the driver or someone he allows to drive the St is the issue, although we have some folks that beat their ST pretty hard and still have no engine issues.

 

[Chase Straw]

i have an 01 job 1 with 100,000 no probs here, im hard on my vehicles but i take care of them so they take care of me

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

d.w., I see this is your first post here. Take what you hear lightly. Post about your driving habits and how well you take care of it. Haven't heard of many on here having to replace the engines more than once. With all the money you spent on doing it three times, you may as well go with a V8 swap. If you are good to the ST, then I would say the place never really did an engine swap. They just rebuilt the same problematic engine you had the first time. Give us alittle more info.

 

[Tom Schindler]

d.w.,



FWIW, the first year production engine used in the 2001 Trac was introduced in 1997 in the Explorer.



Not really a first year engine.



Something else to remember, most engines that have timing chains are zero tolerance engines. Exceptions are engines that have timing belts, and most of them are zero tolerance engines.





Tom

 

[Dwight Cairney]

Thanks for the feedback.I did get an email from a member saying that a while back they did a recall on timing chain tensioners. i bought the last 2 blocks from salvage and maybe the issue was unresolved? I have had vehicles new,used etc. and my driving is better if not the same ,so something's not right. Also I am in Canada and I am not sure all recalls are issued in each country.My wife has a 1994 Mustang convertable that she baby's .The Mustang had a recall and needed a new block also.Really not feeling good about Ford!

 

[Josh Langel]

I smell Caymen..

 

[FlipTrac_511]

I hate to hijack the thread but I had a semi-relevant question I didn't think would merit its own thread. So my question is, what does zero-tolerance mean as far as our motors are concerned?

 

[mookie]

Zero-tolerance means that if the crank and cam are disengaged from each other (belt or chain beaks), the piston will contact the valve and cause havoc (as you might imagine).

 

[Tom Schindler]

Flip,



In other words, if you are driving down the highway and your timing chain/belt breaks, a zero tolerance motor will hit the pistons onto the valves bending the valves and possibly busting a piston or two, depending on what valves are open when the belt/chain breaks.



VW is one that comes to mind. The engine in the 1997 Scrocco with the 1.8L DOHC engine was infamous in breaking the timing belt. When it happens, about 4 valves would get bent and each valve was $15.00. To repair it, you had to remove the head, replace the valves, possibly the lifters, and reassemble everything. Cost for that engine would exceed $1,000. If you called the dealer and told them your belt broke, you were quoted the price over the phone.



From what I have read, Toyota and Honda also make engines that will self destruct when a timing belt breaks. Since then, timing belts are better now than they used to be, but it is still a possibility.



Most, if not all, of Fords OHC engines with timing belts are non-interference engines, which means if a belt breaks, just set your engine to #1 TDC, set your cam timing on the marks and put the belt on and go on with your life.



I used to date a girl with a Mustang 2.3L. The belt was never changed. It finally broke going down the highway at 85 MPH. Her moms boyfriend replaced the belt on the side of the road and she was back in business. That timing belt lasted about 150,000 miles longer that it should have.



I am pretty sure engine with timing chains are all interference engines.





Tom

 

[FlipTrac_511]

Thanks Mookie, Caymen. I sure hope I have a zero-tolerance engine in my ST.