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I'm replacing my old 4.6 need advice

2K views 27 replies 5 participants last post by  kenefise97 
#1 ·
My car is a 2002 Gt and I'm replacing my current 4.6 cause it has high mile as well as the timing chain guides have broke and the engine has lost all oil pressure and is missing on a few cylinders.. So I've been eyeing a new one on Craig's list that is out of a 2004 Saleen. Long block without intake and super charger. The story from the guy is that it had mild hand ported heads and was pulled from the saleen in '05 and swapped for a 5.4 and has only 6000 miles on it from the factory and has been garage kept ever since. So my question is what kind of things should I be concerned about from a motor that has sat for 9 years?
 
#2 ·
With it sitting that long, it will need to be disassembled and cleaned really well. Pistons would probably need to be re-ringed, the cylinders would need to be re-honed. I would buy all new bearings as well.

It would basically need a minor re-build....
 
#3 ·
That's kind of a bummer.. The guy said he's kept it rotated every 5 months or so with new oil in it. So why would all these things need to be done ?
 
#4 ·
In that case, you could either take him for his word (which should be taken with a grain of salt since he is trying to sell it), or you could still inspect it and ensure it is in good working order.

Was it covered during those 9 years of sitting?

I personally would not just slap my heads/intake/etc and drop it in my car. I would look it over and ensure it all looks good...thats just my opinion/advice. It is most likely a good bottom-end but, you don't know that until you look at it...
 
#5 · (Edited)
4.6

I know what you mean about taking his word for it. That's why I'm here lol.. Its a long block with heads and cam covers still in tact.. Just missing intake manifold it has pictures of intake ports taped closed. He says its been well taken care of.. I'm just in a bind with my motor going out on me and looking for the best replacement.. He wanted 1300 for the motor and I'm getting him to take 1000 for it.. He said that was his bottom dollar and wouldn't take a penny less for it.. The only reason I was thinking its a good deal is cause it has 6000 original miles.
 

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#6 ·
From the pictures it looks decent and well cared for. Sitting for that long is still a bit of concern (at least to me) but it does look like a good buy. $1000 is a pretty good price for how many miles are on it...hopefully he is true to his word.

If you end up buying it, let us know what happens. I'm no expert so maybe someone else will chime in for you.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Yea definitely will update when i get the job done.. And thanks for the in put. Since I'm no expert either, but have experience with motor swaps this will be my first modular motor.. I'm thinking maybe building the one I'm removing just not sure which way to go with that project.. I was thinking 5.0 stroker N/A. 350 to 400 HP if I'm lucky. Forced induction is a lot more work then Im willing to mess with right now. Lol
 
#8 ·
And one other question. What's the best way to pull these motors? I'm use to the old school out of the top of the engine bay.. But the k member way also seems to me the best way to drop it all at once?
 
#9 ·
Is there any sort of proof of the mileage? IE are you going to be able to see an immaculate low mile 04 Saleen in his garage with a 5.4 under the hood? Does he have paperwork from when it was swapped? I'm no Saleen expert but I've never heard of them doing 5.4 swaps. Why would they swap a 5.4 on a 1 year old car for almost no power gain, when they could slap a Saleen supercharger on it?
 
#10 ·
In the ad he states this was a 2004 supercharged Saleen motor. But the super charger has been removed and is not included. He probably built the 5.4 and slapped the super charger on it. That's about the most sense I can make of it. He said hes been holding on to the 4.6 as a back up and now has no use for it. He volunteered the info and says he doesn't mind answering any questions I had about the 4.6. I shouldn't neglect to say it was his dads saleen and his dads motor. No I haven't seen any proof of mileage cause I'm almost 4 hours away from his location. But these are all things I have in mind to ask when I see the motor and have a chance to inspect it in person..
 
#11 ·
This is his ad word for word..Here I have a 2004 4.6 motor that was out of a Supercharged Mustang Saleen. This is a Ford engine long block only. The heads have been mildly hand ported. My dad took this motor out of his Saleen to put in a 5.4. The motor has 6,000 miles
 
#12 ·
Why is he selling it not his dad? Easy way to make excuses about not knowing specifics or not having paperwork when it's not "yours". On Craigslist you can't believe **** without proof and I'd assume it to be a mid mileage motor they powerwashed. Haven't you noticed that it seems like every high mileage car on Craigslist claims to have a low mile replacement motor but nobody has receipts? Or the foxbodies that claim to have a new 347 stroker under the filthy stock intake?

You don't need to drive 4 hours for proof. Have him send a pic of said Saleen and odometer; and/or pic of receipt for the work. Did they even make 4.6 to 5.4 intake adapters back in 05?

If you're going through the hassle of swapping intake anyways, you may as well get any other donor engine from a non-mustang for cheaper that you can verify mileage. Hell, that engine may not even be a mustang engine. You can use a Lincoln town car engine, or better yet an aluminum block explorer engine. Check if there is a LKQ recycler location near you.

EDIT: Now that I'm looking on my PC the valve cover is covered in grime, that doesn't happen with 6k miles
 
#14 ·
Well yea I see what your saying.. I also noticed it seems to have a lot taller oil filler neck as well.. But one thing about the idler pulley is when he removed the pulleys he could have just put it on in that place cause its not in the car so its not hurting anything that stuff can be swapped around it is also missing one other idler pulley.. But from what I see every thing else looks the same.. Though I could be wrong just pointing out a possibility..
 
#15 ·
Yeah maybe I over reacted. I was thinking that too about the idler maybe on there temporary, but the bolt for the PS res bracket is a lot smaller than the idler bolt so I don't know if it would even fit temporary. I've been trying to look up other timing covers to see which would have an idler there as well as the mustang style 1 bolt tensioner and I'm not seeing any other match. All the truck covers I'm seeing are way different.

The water pump pulley doesn't look like what I'm seeing on other pics either.

I still say it's dirty, and you can't believe anything on CL without proof. Sounds like a fishy story IMO.
 
#16 ·
Metalman has some good points. You can find an 01+ Crown Vic/Town Car/Grand Marquis motor for half that price with verified miles, plus they wouldn't have had a supercharger on it for any length of its life.

If you are stuck on this engine, just be sure to get all the information you can out of this guy.
 
#17 ·
Something of interest is the fact that the chain is bolted right to where the idler bolts to so maybe that's why it is where its at.. I just noticed that.
 
#18 ·
Well I sent him a long text addressing all the questions proof of mileage and if it is really from a mustang and or Saleen were my exact words.. Still gives the same run down about it being out of his dads Saleen and removed in '05.. He said yes they still have the "car with the 5.4 that it came out of" he said car not Saleen.. But I will say he may have been insulted by the barrage of questions all at once cause I sent the message at 4:30 in the morning lol. He also said if I'm concerned, someone else will buy it no problem..
 
#19 ·
Well I sent him a long text addressing all the questions proof of mileage and if it is really from a mustang and or Saleen were my exact words.. Still gives the same run down about it being out of his dads Saleen and removed in '05.. He said yes they still have the "car with the 5.4 that it came out of" he said car not Saleen.. But I will say he may have been insulted by the barrage of questions all at once cause I sent the message at 4:30 in the morning lol. He also said if I'm concerned, someone else will buy it no problem..
Uh huh and that's why he hasn't sold it in the 2 months the ad has been up? If he wants the $1,000 in his pocket he should be trying to help in any way; not getting defensive.

Just tell him plain and simple you need proof by seeing the car and the 5.4 and odo, or receipts or at least ANY sort of paperwork hell even Discount Tire would give you a receipt showing with the vehicle make and mileage. A 4 hours drive each way is way too far unless you have proof first. He can snap a quick pic from his cell and send it to yours.

If you really wanted to be thorough you'd ask him if he minds if you bring an air tank to do a leakdown test lol oh and a bore scope inspection too lol.
 
#21 · (Edited)
Well this isnt my first rodeo with Craigslist.. I needed a 3650 trans for my other 2002 gt. Bought a trans from a guy saying he had one out of an 01 bullit.. I already knew ford changed from t45 to 3650 in mid 01. Well I bought it without doing my homework on the visual differences in the transmissions and I didn't ask a lot of questions just took his word for it.. Dumb move on my part.. Got it home and compared it with my 3650 and it was a t45.. I told the guy.. But I figured he didn't know any better. I knew I could use it anyways.. So I installed it and took the car for a test drive and guess what?... Bad synchronizers... The guy said there was nothing wrong with it and asked if I changed the oil in it and then quit answering me all together.. He got me for $600...
 
#22 ·
Well I passed up buying this motor after visual inspection. There was lots of things that were incomplete.. Basically it was a project that was just left aside from what I could see. That my conclusion not the kid who was selling it for his daddy that was in jail which he told me was at work but grandpa ratted him out.. And there were quite a few missing parts, timing chains, the heads were just set on the motor with no gaskets and only 2 finger tight head bolts the rest of the head bolts were gone.. No dipstick so I had the kid get me his dipstick out his 2004 termi swapped mach 1... There was probably 3 quarts of water in the oil pan and no substantial Amount of oil to be seen so I dropped the pan to inspect the bottom end there was minor rust until I saw the cylinder walls on number 8 and 4 were riddled with rust. Missing timing cover bolts.. The heads did appear very clean as he said they were mildly ported.. But from the looks only the intake looked clean and exhaust side still had some carbon build up but nothing to serious.. I pulled the valve covers and noticed the timing chains were gone and I could tell the kid was very nervous at that point. But yea just a little update...
 
#24 ·
I'm glad you didn't buy it after all that! I would look for a 01+ crown vic, grand marquis, town car engine (avoid Police Interceptor EngineS). They are normally not driven as hard as Mustang engines and if you buy through a reputable supplier the mileage will be verified plus it may come with a warranty. There are millions of these 4.6ls laying around so you shouldn't have a problem finding one :)
 
#25 ·
I'm glad you didn't buy it after all that! I would look for a 01+ crown vic, grand marquis, town car engine (avoid Police Interceptor EngineS). They are normally not driven as hard as Mustang engines and if you buy through a reputable supplier the mileage will be verified plus it may come with a warranty. There are millions of these 4.6ls laying around so you shouldn't have a problem finding one :)
This. The Lincolns are usually owned by old people who drive like old people and keep up on their regular maintenance.
 
#26 ·
Thank you guys for the advice.. I took all your advice.. Even though I wasted the trip out there.. But I would have never known these things had I not taken the time to actually pull the valve covers and oil pan.. Guess he thought I would not look over it like I did. He probably thought I was just gonna give him $1000 and leave.. Lol
 
#27 ·
I've learned a whole since this post. I've replaced the motor and trans and rebuilt the rear end with no help. I've done lots of fixes on the car and I never need to ask anyone what or how to do anything anymore, I just tackle whatever job I need to do to it.
 
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