New motor or/and transmission for a '94 E350? (351W / E40D)

[E350]

Ok now I really feel bad for you. But like BajaSB said you didn't report an engine boom or a knock, etc.

Is the engine seized by the transmission? Have you posted your symptoms on the ford-trucks forum for your problem?

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum55/

If so, I can't find it. If so, post a link here too.

86K miles is nothing for that engine. My bought new 1993 Bronco with that engine was running strong when I sold it at 200K. My current 1995 Bronco (bought used) at 134K has an intermittent miss/stumble which I am chasing down, but is otherwise running ok.

There may be others on this forum who can recommend a good shop in San Jose, so I hope they will.

But Occam's razor problem-solving principle states that among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected. Other, more complicated solutions may ultimately prove correct, but—in the absence of certainty—the fewer assumptions that are made, the better.

So let's cover the facts as we understand/know them:

1. The seller told you that the transmission was a quart down;
2. You put a quart of unknown type of transmission fluid in the transmission (without first checking fluid level?);
3. The engine froze without making a knock or other sound;
4. The E4OD transmission has a very poor reputation and should only be rebuilt by John Wood Automotive: http://www.jwtt.com/
5. The original E4OD transmission was replaced twice in bought new 1993 Bronco under my Ford OEM extended warranty under 100K.

Hmmm. Might be good to really look hard at your transmission?
Now that said, when the first two E4OD's failed in my Bronco, they failed in a manner that the engine would rev, but the vehicle wouldn't move. So your deal is different. But PM timersteel below.

Dude, if you can't work on your van yourself because you don't have a place to work on it. I get that. But I still wouldn't pay for any work on the engine until you delve further.

Bellarmine grad.

Edit: send a private message ("PM") to timbersteel. He is a helpful guy and he just bought a truck with a siezed engine like yours and is still to find out if it is the transmission or the engine:

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/13...ed-advice.html

[k2orbust]

At your suggestion, started a thread on Ford-Trucks: http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/13602 ... st15053693

A side note, the seller called this van an E350, but when I pull the VIN Ford thinks it's an E250.

[E350]

Good job! Add your engine model. I would be pissed if it was described as an E350. PM timbersteel and read his thread.

[k2orbust]

Duhh thanks for the catch! Fixed. Sounds like timbersteel's engine has not been running for a while before he bought it, but yeah I see the similarities.

The more I think about how the purchase went down, the more I have to be pissed about. Mostly that I didn't bring a mechanic along. I don't plan to tow though, so I'll take the small weight savings of an E250 over E350.

[E350]

It's not just about similarities of current threads/problems with timbersteel and his ilk. He works on these things for fun. He and others of his ilk will have some insight for you. In fact, you may want to PM Conanski as well.

Though this is a Sportsmobile forum (a little more oriented to the Sportsmobile build or home build rv aspects of vans, there are also some knowledgeable guys on this forum, not me, that can fix and even re-design an engine. Hopefully they will chime in to help you as well. Don't be shy. Do your part and others will step up to help if they can.

The 5.8L is a good engine and is common and a replacement can be had (you may be posting a different thread on "Recommendations for 5.8L Crate Engine." And the E4OD can be bullet proofed by John Woods so that you will never have to worry about it again. In fact, John Woods answers his own phone sometimes. It might be worth a call to him to ask him if the torque converter can fail internally and lock up the engine. Also post a different transmission thread on ford-trucks.com to see if you can draw out Mark K. who was an engineer for Ford in the transmission design department.

Suggestion: Copy your post in your new thread on ford-trucks.com and also paste it in another new thread here:

http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum28/

[rallypanam]

Originally Posted by E350

1. _____ told you that the transmission was a quart down

I don't think he was the seller, he just posted the CL link..

[E350]

rallypanam: Oops. Thank you! I have edited my post. Will you please edit my quote in your post?
Thank you.

[E350]

k2orbust: Mark K. is the transmission guru at ford-trucks.com. So it looks like it is your engine. Would be good to know what happened to the engine though. I personally would not have any shop build a motor for me. I would buy a crate motor, but others may disagree and I hope they chime in here.

So, at least for giggles, you may want to post that "What crate motor do you recommend thread?" in the 5.8L forum.

Ford's remanufactured engines are likely where I would start and probably end. But start reading here so that when you make your decision you will have some background:

http://www.fordparts.com/Products/Po...ssemblies.aspx

The only time I have pulled and replaced an engine was when I was a teenager and engines were simpler (but still pretty complicated for me, but the mystery has been lifted somewhat by the internet if you have the time) and I went with an identical International Harvester OEM remanufactured engine.

(Alternatively I would probably rebuild or buy a junkyard engine and just put it in myself and rebuild the existing engine for the experience).

Finally, make friends with your parts guy at the Ford dealership parts department. Tell him right off the bat that you cannot afford to pay the dealer to install an engine for you, so you need to know what his down and dirty cheapest friggin' price for a Ford oem reman 5.8L is for your VIN#. Do it in person and when no one else is standing at the parts counter. And don't wear a suit and tie... Once you get an engine only price, you can consider who you want to put it in. And take pictures and numbers off of your crate engine, or do some custom paint color on the block so you make sure that you actually get your motor put in your vehicle.

[BajaSportsmobile]

Originally Posted by k2orbust

The diagnosis is a seized engine, so a video would be kind of boring. There is still oil in the oil pan so that's not the problem. Distributor does not spin, which might have indicated a broken timing chain. Open to any diagnostic suggestions, and I'll post if/when the cause of death is found.

Engines don't just seize... there needs to be a better assessment than that for you. Broken timing chain is not very common and would not likely "seize" the engine.

Just a few thoughts that come to mind...

If the engine did seize, is it still seized?

Will the starter motor crank the engine over?

If it does not crank, has anyone pulled the spark plugs and tried to rotate the engine by hand?

When you say the distributor does not spin, what does that mean?

Possible interpretations of "Distributor does not spin":
1: If the engine was truly seized, of course the distributor would not spin...
2: When the engine is cranked, the distributor does not spin...

One last question, where did you pour the transmission fluid into?

OK, one more, is there any external fluid leakage or residue?

[JWA]

Originally Posted by BajaSportsmobile

We welcome you to the Sportsmobile world and just don't want to see you get ripped off.

We are anxious to here your results.

Yep, yep and triple yep on this ^^!!

Those of us who've been there, done that on learning through our (greatly depleted) wallets either get smarter real fast or work harder to earn more money so we can keep paying for not learning.

If I can help someone avoid a costly mistake I've made with just a few words then I'll talk until they can't won't listen any longer---my pleasure!

Not sure if Ford still makes this engine available as a reman'd unit but if they do I'd explore that as an option if we're going the replacement option. Between their competitive prices and decent warranty there's no real huge downsides that I've read about---so far anyway.

HTH