TAKING BETS! 75k mile 5.4 3v SEIZED

Idilarry89

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So odd issue has come through my shop this week, and i have yet to dive in. Our local commercial cattle feedlot called and said one of their welding trucks engines was seized. its a 2008 F350 SRW std cab 4x4 5.4 3v with 75000 miles. Clean truck, has had a flatbed with a miller welder mounted on it used to repair their cattle pens. It very rarely leaves the 200 acre property and rarely enters the muddy pens.

Story goes, the driver pulled up in front of the shop for lunch shut the truck off, came back out and it wouldnt turn over. Their mechanic replaced the starter, still wouldn't turn so he tried to bar it over and it was locked. I came over and cut the belt off, that wasn't it so they just dropped it at my shop. it is full of oil and the oil is frequently changed. Will not turn forward or backward

so what happened? will tear it apart in the next day or two, but i'm taking guesses on the cause! what do you guys think?

I will post my findings with carnage pics when i find something!
 

riphip

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Bad about valve or plug breaking off in cylinder. Valve follower can break off also. Check plugs first then pull valve covers to check valves and followers.
 

Idilarry89

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Here’s the victim. That was the first step was pull plugs. Hopefully hydrolock. But doubtful since it won’t roll backwards

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riphip

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Well, you look to be well equipped to take care of it. Our old buddy at the Dobbs Ford dealership had a lift at his home shop to remove cab for most all his engine repairs. About as tall as yours. Most of his work was diesels anyway & not much room in there. At least the 5.4 is slimmer.
 

Booyah45828

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For it to not even bar over a little either way, you have me curious. I've taken apart engines where the crank turned itself into 5 pieces, and I could still get the damper and flywheel to move a 1/4 turn or so.

There's only 2 engines I've worked on that wouldn't bar over at all. One had the timing chain break and wedged itself tight around the crank gear. The other actually had a bellhousing to transmission case bolt work it's way loose and wedge itself between the torque converter and the transmission oil pump.

So it will be interesting to see what you come up with.

I'm going to go with timing chain issue.
 

lotzagoodstuff

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I love to gamble: something in the valvetrain broke, valves are crashed into the piston BTDC. It doesn't explain why it won't go backwards, but that's my wager.

The modular engines seem to have lots of valvetrain/phazer issues. Kind of a tough deal to do any in frame analysis, most folks just pull the motor and tear down on the engine stand, but I'm interested to see how you proceed and what you find.

:popcorn
 

Idilarry89

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UPDATE:

Pulled intake, plugs and valve covers. plugs were worn out but were all there. No physical damage noticed, the valve train is all in pretty good shape, all followers are in place and i notice no valve, cam or phaser damage, and both chains are intact from what little i've seen of them. the major thing i see that i don't like is the coating of goo created from condensation mixing with the oil and coating everything. Which doesn't surprise me considering its life, it rarely gets hot enough long enough to burn that condensation off. And when it does it sits and idles.

Well, you look to be well equipped to take care of it. Our old buddy at the Dobbs Ford dealership had a lift at his home shop to remove cab for most all his engine repairs. About as tall as yours. Most of his work was diesels anyway & not much room in there. At least the 5.4 is slimmer.

Thanks! I love my shop. I have it mostly setup the way i like it. Most of what i work on is heavy truck and farm equipment, and the last few years have gotten known for Powerstroke diesels here locally but lately I've had quite a few 5.4 and a couple 6.8s come through. Although I try and stick to the bigger stuff and Powerstrokes I work on a handful of Duramaxs and Cummins
 

Booyah45828

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Spun bearings maybe?


I wonder if you broke an oil pump? Maybe with it running the pieces stayed together and inline, but once shut off they fell apart and wedged themselves. With that happening, and the pump being driven by the crank snout, it would lock the motor up for sure.

This isn't my picture, but it's what I'm talking about
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riphip

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Does that year have the restrictors in the cam oil feeds at the front?
 

Idilarry89

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Does that year have the restrictors in the cam oil feeds at the front?
I am not sure on that one. I know about the restrictors but I don’t know years or what to look for. I guess I’ll do some research! Haha. I haven’t had a chance to pull the cover on the front yet to inspect the oil pump. Maybe tomorrow that will be my afternoon project. But that was actually my guess other thaan a rolled bearing. It only makes sense the way it locked up. If that’s not it the engine will get pulled and a replacement found.
 

Idilarry89

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Sorry i havent been on to give an update, we had a family emergency that has taken up the last week of my time. The feedlot has decided to order an engine for the truck, after seeing the gunk under the valve covers from condensation created by their driving habits, i believe this is the best option anyways. I will, however, still pull the timing cover and the pan and report my findings!
 

riphip

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Hope all goes well at home. Feel they made the wise decision on that one. Will be back in after 72k miles since all will be forgotten by then:rolleyes:
 

Idilarry89

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This is the carnage, so as you can see the timing chain guides broke apart. This isn't the first time i've seen this, but its the first time iv'e seen the guide get lodged between the chain and sprocket. we haven't been successful in locating a decent used engine for the truck, and remans are difficult to find in stock. So that means that we are putting a timing set in it and hoping for the best. I am also going to install a cam phaser lockout set at the same time for cheap insurance.

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79jasper

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At least these are simple to time.
If you need any pointers, look up fordtechmakuloco on YouTube.

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