Ok... where to start?

I was coming home from Cairns on the weekend and driving up the range when my car started to run rough and couldn't get past 3000rpm (this is bad on the kuranda range). Knowing that it was bad I continued to drive it of the range slowly and keeping revs at 2000 and nurse it home. It wasn't too bad to drive home, it just had a minor shaking of the tacho indicating either coil or at worse distributor. When almost home the car started to heave and shudder and stall. The tacho went ballistic from 0rpm to 4000rpm and back again a few times then just died.

Now it is at the mechanics getting the engine pulled out because the distributor is shattered and the timing housing it sits in is chewed too bits.

Has anybody had this happen to them before or know of it?

Any info would be well received.

But on a good note... Now that I finally have the engine out I now have the option to do some work to it. Thinking new cam, shaved head and port and polish and maybe slightly higher compression pistons. Any ball park costs would be good to.

Jeebus... that's horrible. Any chance of getting pics of the damage?

Maybe look into an ITS performance rebuild...?

Reminds me of the time i busted a piston in two in the old xk

No pics at this time as I just got back from the mechanics and they only had it on the hoist and taking the engine out now. Won't be able to see it fully till tomorrow morning when they strip it down.
An ITS engine would be nice especially a stage 3PS. But I want to keep the same engine and can't be bothered sending the engine down to them for a month. Can only rely on the G/F festiva a few times.

HA HA my g/f... i mean wife.. has a festy too, enjoy the highriding

LOL

It is the worst... but it is red and has a spoiler so it can't be all bad

that use to happen in xd xe xf 6's if the oil was to low or not changed it would wear out my dad use to check mine all the time cos the good ould D use to chew oil at a ratio of 2:1 with fuel lol

almost a 2 troke

It wasn't due to low oil levels as I only done a service on it 1500km ago and regulary check it... Mechanics think that something got caught between the timing gear and distributor a while ago. What's leftt of the teeth on the distributor had been worn away be as thin as a knifes edge and just as sharp until it let go and shredded everything.

But now in process of getting ITS Performance to rebuild the engine.

Well I've put aside my thoughts on getting an ITS Performance engine and got my local mechanics to just fix it.... Or not

After being in the workshop for over a week with the motor out and the head off and new distributor and timing gears, gaskets, guides... etc etc, I finally got told it was ready to go today. I went and picked it up and took it for a easy test drive and enjoy having my car back. But things went bad again when I was coming back into to town when with out warning the engine surges again and stalls AGAIN!!! Much to my disbelief that it broke down out of town again. I was lucky to have a mate come by right at that moment and gave me a lift back to the mechanics where I smiled when they asked how was it and gave them the keys and told them where to find it and pick it up

They thought that it might just have been a loose wire or something when I told them the same problem. That was untill they pulled out the distributor and inspected it and felt the gears... chewed!

So after all this and some choaking of necks and minor mafia threats at Ford they confess that the problem is "common" when the oil pump stuffs up. But they didn't bother to suggest a new oil pump when they order the parts before hand. [edited long list of names called under the sun]

So now I go another week while the engine is rebuilt again....

that is real bad luck mate! having an oil pump let go, and not get told about it? you should replace those when you rebuild an engine anyway.. bad luck, and I hope its all fixed and running good the next time. Did you do any damamge to engine internals? like the bearing scratching into the crank or anything?


Cheers

Thanks mate.

Last time the bearings showed no sign of damage and hope so again this time. The engine didn't undergo a full rebuild just had to have the head and front off. Plus the car has only done 86k...

Just not very happy with ford for not recommending the pump be replaced on the off chance.

yeah, definately. And the thing is you might aswell while its all apart. Its not like they are THAT expensive (~$100), compared to some other stuff when rebuilding. And its definately a peace of mind.


Cheers

Yeah. With all parts and labour the cost is already up near the $1000 figures, what's another $100 on top? Luckily I don't have to pay for it the 2nd time round and they are throwing the new oil pump in for free.

lol, I think chucking it in for free is the least they can do. When and if you get the old oil pump just have a look at why it failed. Cos an oil pump failing at 86K isn't normal. Something mustve got in there, or they put it back together wrong, i dunno.


Cheers

I figure the oil pressure valve that drives the distributer probably siezed for a moment the last time. But I am interested what caused it to as well. Like I mentioned in the thread earlier, I only put new oil in it 1500km ago and that was with a 10Lt of extra oil to flush the system out and remove most crap to prevent this from happening.

Typical murphy's law at its best this time.