Well, last night I go to start my car--it turns over for about a half a second, almost starts then a nice SMACK sound happens and stops. Turn the key again and the starter just clicks. I hoped it was just a weak battery and the smacking was my imagination..tried to jump it off and the starter started smoking after I clicked it 3-4 times.

So, tow it home.. pull the starter off praying once again that it just jammed or something against the flywheel..starter looks perfect. I use a breaker bar on the crankshaft and turn it..it'll go about 3/4 of a turn both directions then hits something very solid.

Any suggestions before I start pulling the engine apart?

It has 190K miles on it so it was about due for something major to happen lol..damn American cars

8/22/2008 5:10:58 PM

dropped valve? id really doubt it but

8/22/2008 5:15:01 PM

what's the oil looking like? also drain it to see if u got any metal comin out

8/22/2008 5:16:16 PM

timing belt/chain broke and it's hitting a valve(s).



[Edited on August 22, 2008 at 5:32 PM. Reason : could be other things but thats first thought. if i'm right, be glad it happened starting]

8/22/2008 5:29:39 PM

190k, mmmmmm, good luck tearing that bitch apart.

8/22/2008 5:42:41 PM

If you end up having to replace it, get an engine from an '03 or later, something like +30 HP

8/22/2008 5:56:59 PM

Quote :

"timing belt/chain broke and it's hitting a valve(s). "

yup

just got a valve cover off.. i see a broken chain

[Edited on August 22, 2008 at 6:39 PM. Reason : any suggestions on what to do next?]



[Edited on August 22, 2008 at 6:44 PM. Reason : bad pic]

8/22/2008 6:38:49 PM

it's got 190k of wear and tear on the engine...

A) you could check and fix the valves and replace the timing chain, most likely a bent valve or fucked up in some way.

B) Pull the engine, get a new one, or used with decent low miles, depending if the transmission is still in decent shape, hopefully that won't go to soon after you fix it.

C) Rid yourself of the bitch and by a new car, the new Linc. LS's are sexy as hell.

If it was me I would pick C, course everyone likes a new car! right? but there is always that money issue. Easier said than done.

If you drive the car really hard, then B would be my second choice. Go ahead and spend the money to have it replaced, or do it yourself.

A option = cheap way out

[Edited on August 22, 2008 at 7:16 PM. Reason : there is my 2cents. hope it helps]

8/22/2008 7:15:18 PM

well, i'm gonna slap a new secondary chain on it after i figure out how hard that is to actually do.. if it runs like shit (aka bent valve--which is very likely) then i'll sell it as is and buy something else.. if it runs ok.. i'll sell it as is and buy something else

aka.. 190k miles on an american car = shit is about to start fucking up left and right and i dont have time to deal with it.. but i'm not gonna take a huge hit when it might only take a weekend to fix it to get it back going just as good as it was

[Edited on August 22, 2008 at 7:24 PM. Reason : anybody interested in a lincoln LS with a new timing chain? ]

8/22/2008 7:20:10 PM

^ good idea, any car over 125k is bound to be in trouble soon, well American that is. Except for the town car that I have 236k and running strong (knock on wood).

hey lets hope you didn't bend a valve and it will run just great! won't that be the day.

8/22/2008 7:28:01 PM

yeah we had a dodge stealth last to 300K but it started giving trouble near the end..

hmm..anybody have a tutorial on how to put a chain on this damn thing? i'm googling, haven't found anything yet though

8/22/2008 7:30:39 PM

There should be a link with a removable pin I believe. Pop that bitch out put the chain on and then pop the pin back in. It should be just like a bicycle chain if I'm not mistaken, just on a much larger scale. I could be totally wrong though, I have never replaced a timing chain before.

That would be my guess.

8/22/2008 7:35:03 PM

k. guess i'll order one and see what i end up with and go from there..

8/22/2008 8:59:08 PM

OHHHH WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER not much fun being right about this one though, sucks... seems like you're gettin some hard times layed on you from all ways, lol. you must be a bad person and as big of an asshole as me, it's KARMA man! where can a guy get some fucking CHI around here??

get up with buttseks, he's got access to alldata and can probably email you the necessary diagrams and instructions. or, post pictures and i can tell you what to do. i've never worked on one of those, so i won't even speculate on anything. generically speaking, it's not to hard to replace one if you've been into engines before though. should have marks on the cam and crank gears to line up at a certain position to ensure correct timing, that's the biggest thing to pay attention to. then there will be a tensioner of some sort. probably worth replacing that too, along with any guides that the chain rides on. put a water pump on while you're at it, and an oil pump if it happens to be one driven by the chain.

other than that, as long as it runs good, doesn't burn oil excessively, mysteriously lose coolant, leak like a sieve, etc. i would just slap a chain on it and roll if you're doing the work yourself. since it broke starting, i would be surprised if it bent a valve or damaged a piston. inspect the valvetrain well, there's the small chance something caused a valve to hang open or the head of one broke off and that's what caused the chain to break, but it's unlikely.

oh, and that dodge stealth was allll mitsubishi. i remember when they came out i was dead set on getting one when i turned 16 because i thought it was a mopar performance car. then i learned. so, i decided to settle for a dodge daytona r/t (the one with the nasty little turbo III) but they were too rare to be found anywhere remotely close.

anyway, there's not such thing as a truly american car anymore, and it's been that way for 30 years. foreign manufacturers aren't any different, though there changes have been more recent in some cases.

8/23/2008 1:37:47 AM

the tensioner actually came apart and wedged itself between the cam sprocket and chain looks to be what caused this whole thing. Looks to be pretty common from all the stories I've found

Ah well, at least I can take this starter back lol

8/23/2008 7:30:08 AM

fock

both exhaust valves bent on #7 judging by the springs that are still compressed even with no cam in there

hmm now what to do.. pull the engine or try to pull the head with the engine in

8/23/2008 12:59:48 PM

pull the head with it in the car.

ghetto fab.

just replace those valves and be on your way yo. fuck those pistons.

8/23/2008 2:43:57 PM

i was more asking if it was even likely i could do the repair with it in the car.. it's a tight fit for sure.. from what I've been able to find so far it looks possible though. i'm gonna call around on monday and see what somebody else would charge to do it just to be sure it's even worth my time to work on it any further

8/23/2008 3:10:57 PM

Quote :

"just replace those valves and guides"

8/23/2008 6:13:29 PM

meh just the valves will do

jk, i'll replace whatever needs to be replaced.

8/23/2008 7:22:56 PM

with all due respect, that car wasnt worth pulling the valve cover in the first place. buy yourself another car, part the LS out on ebay. only logical course of action.

8/23/2008 7:26:24 PM

lol, speaking of you.. just got done watching the transformers movie for the first time

anyways.. i pretty much agree. the only reason i at all want to fix the damn thing, if it's a cheap fix, is so i dont lose as much money selling it. i have no intentions of keeping it and agree 100% if it's gonna be an expensive job it's not worth wasting my time on. unfortunately i have more time than i should lately on the weekends so no point in giving it away if i can come out better by wasting a weekend or two pulling it apart

now, you of all people probably know the answer to my questions: will the engine come out the top? also, will the heads come off while the engine is still in the car? pulling off one head, fixing two valves, replacing one chain and putting it back together to add thousands to the value of the car kind of seems worth it to me.. if it's something i can do myself

8/23/2008 8:03:58 PM

On that motor, if im not mistaken, (same as the 4.0 stype v8 jag motors?) if you managed to bend some valves on a cylinder then you probably fucked up that piston too. there IS no cheap fix here, part the good parts out and put money in your pocket instead of the opposite. those cars are hard to sell running anyhow, esp with high miles.

8/23/2008 10:09:55 PM

i see. what really pisses me off is i just spent $400 on new tires on monday. i guess there's no way to get that money back though in full--unless walmart's return policy works on tires too

if i was selling this thing in pieces any idea how much i'd probably get out of it vs selling it as is and not wasting anymore time on it? i've seen a few listed for about $2K with the same problem--no idea if they'll sell for that though.

The tranny and the rest of the drivetrain is still good, interior is about perfect, all body panels are good.. i dunno, i hate to strip it down if i can sell it whole for close to the same amount.

Suggestions?

8/24/2008 1:21:07 PM

You shouldn't bother to keep your engine locked. It's just going to get stolen anyway.

8/24/2008 1:34:51 PM

lol

true

8/24/2008 1:43:49 PM

I'll give you $400 for it.

8/24/2008 2:07:28 PM

in soviet lincoln, car comes off engine

8/24/2008 2:15:32 PM

Quote :

"unless walmart's return policy works on tires too"

they'll take anything back.

8/24/2008 6:39:36 PM

awesome. i'll try that then.. fuck, might as well if i'm gonna part the thing out

8/24/2008 6:42:35 PM

yeah, i would have to agree if you've found obvious damage to the internals just cut your losses. only way i would bother to fix it is if you happened to find a used motor for cheap and put it in yourself. you won't get enough extra selling it in running condition to make anything else worth it.

8/24/2008 7:50:55 PM

wow. sorry to hear. I had 130k on my '00 LS v8 when the transmission gave up. anyone thinking what I'm thinking though? 4.6L swap? (supercharged? jk)...worked for those ford svt engineers a few years ago when they ran an LS in One Lap.

8/24/2008 8:15:07 PM

Just put a new engine in it.

http://stores.cherry-auto.com/Items/AA-9027

I'd say it would be worth it if the drive train is still good, it would be a fun project.

8/24/2008 10:24:26 PM

not a chance i'm spending that kind of money on this thing.. it's not worth a whole lot more than that engine at this point bc of the mileage

8/25/2008 7:56:43 AM

^ true, I don't know what kind of condition the car is in.

8/25/2008 12:15:29 PM

great condition other than the mileage and well, the obvious engine trouble lol.. but still it isn't worth much, as optimus said.

8/25/2008 12:34:27 PM

if one store doesn't take them back, try another.

people return all sorts of shit.

8/25/2008 1:53:26 PM

hehe, good idea.. will try.

the old guy that i dealt with when buying them was super nice though, pretty sure he'll take them back

8/25/2008 2:45:10 PM

lsx swap... hahaha

[Edited on August 25, 2008 at 3:30 PM. Reason : 1->X]

8/25/2008 3:30:04 PM

You could always sell the wheels with new tires mounted for a pretty good price if you decide to part it out. I'd think you could get the $2k you were talking about out of it pretty quickly. Tires/rims, radiator, catalytic converter, and scrap value of the car is probably close to $1000. The interior, trans, and a few other pieces will get you the other $1k.

[Edited on August 25, 2008 at 3:49 PM. Reason : l]

8/25/2008 3:46:04 PM

yeah if you have the ability to scrap it... i would.. honestly..

8/25/2008 3:52:58 PM

^^^now there's a post i can get on board with.

actually, if i was to endorse something like that it'd have to be a terminator engine to keep the fomoco theme.

^^having parted out several vehicles myself, scrap value for the leftover body/chassis might get $300. probably is that they assume a certain amount of the dash, plastic engine pieces, trim, or whatever else is still in the car. so, you only get like 80% of the market price or something. i've stripped one bare enough to get full value, but never would again. too much of a pain in the ass for $100-200.

your bread and butter is your parts. go through the enthusiast forums, they will eat shit up as fast as you can pull it and more rediculous prices. here's what i do... take the msrp that ford would charge for the part, cut that in half, and there's your price. never sell anything less than $5.00, i don't care how small. they'll pay it 90% of the time. if you have trouble moving certain things, then go to ebay. you might give it a week or two "as is" on craigslist also.

8/26/2008 2:35:50 AM

well just found someone on a forum to send me the factory procedure for pulling the engine/tranny... this is gonna be fun

any suggestions on a forum for these things? the one where i found the service procedure was just automotiveforums.com

8/26/2008 7:56:13 AM