I purchased an '09 FX4 with a 4.0L SOHC engine and standard transmission a year ago. I paid $8K CDN. It had 188,000 kms on it when I got it and it just turned over 199,000 kms now. The body was in fair shape with a few dings and a bit of rust. Mechanically it is was in really good shape. It had been inspected and serviced, new fluids in transmission and both differentials, new brakes, and new plugs and wires. The interior was in good shape; no tears in seats, etc, and the A/C and power windows worked.

Last week the engine started making a horrible ticking/knocking sound. I towed it to the local garage, and they suspect it's the timing chain guides. They told me they wouldn't fix it because they'd done one before and it went sideways on them. No more details given. I went to the Ford Dealer and they quoted me $1400 for parts and $3500 for labour. I know they've got to pull the engine, etc., but damn that's a lot of money. I've done lots of work on cars, but this is beyond my capabilities to do myself.

I've been very happy with the truck, but I don't know if it's worth it to sink another $5000 into it. Thoughts anyone?

 

Ouch!
Make sure what the problem is. The local garage treated it like radioactive material.
199Kk isn't 125K miles. I've read that the tensioners should be replaced at 100K but c'mon.
Did the Ford dealership actually diagnose the problem? $3,500 for labor seems high. You'll get 25 hours of labor at $140/hour.
Definitely try another shop. Dealerships are not know for heavy engine work.

When you bought this 12 year old vehicle did it come with any service history or pedigree?

 

Yes, that's a pretty hefty cost

See if you can find a mechanic/shop that would be open to swapping out the engine with a used one, no warranty because engine is used
Just the labor to remove and install plus fluids
You buy the engine and have it delivered, some used engine come with a warranty, but that doesn't include any labor to pull it out and reinstall it again

The 4.0l SOHC engine is what you have, and it was used in these Ford vehicles
2001–2012 Ford Ranger
2001–2010 Mazda B4000
1997–2010 Ford Explorer/Mercury Mountaineer
2005–2010 Ford Mustang

You would want a 2005-2011 with lower miles, and you WOULD want to put your new tensioners in it

The "knocking noise" is not good, the timing chains will make a "rattling" noise no KNOCK, so just wondering if another engine might not be better

The 4.0l SOHC was a reliable engine, with just this one issue with the 2 long chain tensioners

Any year is a direct swap assuming your intake is moved over to the other engine, and intake has to come off to install the engine anyway

The cost of any repair should be put into "use" terms, not value of vehicle
If you think this vehicle will last 5 more years as is then thats 60 months
If repairs total $4,000 then it will cost you $66 a month to drive it 5 more years, not many used vehicles are available for $66 a month
So cost of the repair should be thought of in terms of use, "is it worth $66/month" to drive it, and what else could you get for the same cost

You can take your estimated sale price of the vehicle as it sits now, and add $4,000 to that, then see whats available for that amount in your area

 

All good advise above, but I'd first confirm that the TimingCassettes are trashed, before spending big on a rebuild or new motor.
Drain oil, drop pan, inspect for broken plastic pieces from Cassettes in the Pan\OilPumpScreen\UpperGirdle.
Remove both ValveCovers, inspect Cassettes directly.
Slight chance you only have OilPressurized TimingTensioners that are GummedUp\WornOut & just not keeping the Cassettes+Chains tight,
or you may be unlucky & already have broken Cassettes + Valve damage.
I suspect previous owner never\rarely changed the Oil+Filter in 10yrs, causing this problem.

 

Thanks for all your replies. That's a great point about the cost per month to drive it for another 5 years. The cost doesn't look so bad then.

The dealer I got it from originally didn't have any service records for it. All I got was a copy of the work order for the work they did on it to make it ready for sale. The local garage did offer to take the valve covers off and confirm whether the timing chains were loose, but that was going to be almost $300, and they'd already said they wouldn't tackle the job to replace the cassettes. It might seem like a lame excuse, but I just don't have the time to do that myself right now. I'm in the middle of building our house and I still have a full-time job.

I live in a rural area, and there is only one Ford Dealer close, and not too many garages. I did go back to the Ford dealer and get a price for a reman engine... $4600 for engine and $2300 for labour.

Also, thanks for the list of compatible years and models for an engine swap out. I may just keep my eye open for a used engine and park my truck for another year until the house is done, then tackle the engine swap then.

 

Dilemma solved..
Sold to a guy that's already housed and more time on his hands.
Looking forward to this project
Tested the Vacuum and it read steady at 18 in/hg
Pulled plugs and had pressure test readings of 145, 147, 147, 160, 150, 160, 162.
Lots of work to do as the clutch needs to be done as well as the transfer case rear seal and an exhaust.
FYI the drivers valve cover has a large crack above #4 directly above the cam gear
Dealership in this area is 185@hr (ridiculous )
Detailed the interior and it looks quite presentable.
Haven't owned a ranger since for over 20 years and I'm looking forward to this "challenge" that will include a set of headers on the re-install.
Is a cross-over worth it or just straight to the muffs?

PS ...Thanks Marlon
C....

 

Either you typed the "147" twice or you have the very rare 7 cylinder V-6.

 

Wishful thinking!
Actually it was 160 twice.
Does anyone know how these numbers measure up to a new motor (or used ) as I cannot find factory spec info.
Most just state no large differences between them all. (or two low adjacent reading)
One site said Ford specifies plus or minus 25% was acceptable.
This seems excessive to me.
My understanding is one should use the average of the 4 intermediate readings for a baseline
It looks like mine would be 150/151 with all readings falling within 10% of that average.
Is there any point on doing a wet test?
I'm inclined to replace cassettes and drive it but also wonder if it's worth going further (seeing as how it's being pulled anyways) and doing a complete rebuild, as how it already has 200K on it.
I dont have money to burn but I also believe in not half-assing something to save time and a bit of coin.
Is replacing only one cassette foolish? ( the front one may be the only immediate problem) or is contamination of the oil galleries etc as much a factor.
Can this block be bored out safely and is this a good way achieve extra HP or should one consider this only to sleeve back to OE specs for bore size.
Is the v8 envy range worth the effort out of the 4.0l ?
Is this engine really as anemic as im reading on some reviews?
Thank you

 

If you are replacing any timing components it should all get replaced. Once you pull the engine it's much easier to do it all at once rather than hoping the old casettes last a little longer. I redid the top end on my 4.0l, this included having the heads lapped and decked, checked for cracks, cleaned and all new valves/springs/seals/lifters installed. Make sure the machine shop knows what they are doing, these heads are easy to screw up and are ~$450 each new. I had to point out numerous things, including the oil restrictor in the driver side head that the shop was unaware of.

Your shopping list should also include new head bolts, new torque to yield bolts on the jackshaft, new timing cassette mounting bolts(you can just replace the o-rings but I had new bolts available), new oil pan girdle bolts(the 2 outside the oil pan, they seal the girdle) new oil pump, new engine mounts and new gaskets on everything. I'd consider this a bare minimum to-do list if the engine is coming out at 200k.

My cylinder walls looked good, and like yours the compression was good, so I left the bottom end alone. The crank journals and piston rings commonly go 300k + without issue so it's not much of a gamble. I had a thread for the project, I'll link it here if you'd like to look through. It was a learning experience for me and I definitely made a few mistakes that slowed me down, but I've got 20k on the rebuild so far and it's running great.

https://www.ranger-forums.com/4-0l-ohv-sohc-v6-tech-33/4-0-rebuild-begins-161325/

 

Thanks a bunch!
Any help and advice is greatly appreciated