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Need Advice: Anyone ever pull the head?

BoostedMTBer

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long story short- I was getting a loud, hollow aluminum knock. Pulled the valve cover and took a peek at the cams and everything looked ok. then pulled the oil pan and found a lot of this magnetic thin metal scrap and some non-magnetic scrap (aluminum).
I'm going to try and pull the rod caps and bearings tonight out of the bottom to see if there are any clues, but wanted to check in to see how tough it is to pull the head to get a full picture of the damage?

my manual shows you need all these special tools and it looks like a major pain in the ass. Any of you hardcore guys have any tips/tricks/recommendations?

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Cardude99

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That does not look good. I wish I could offer advice, but I can at least say good luck.
 

Cobra Jet

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Hit up @1320INC - he has done a complete tear down and installation of a S550 EB engine. He’s very knowledgeable and can lend some guidance.

—-

Regarding your images - that is a lot of metal to find in the pan. Is your engine on an aftermarket tune or stock tune? How many miles?
 
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BoostedMTBer

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Hit up @1320INC - he has done a complete tear down and installation of a S550 EB engine. He’s very knowledgeable and can lend some guidance.

—-

Regarding your images - that is a lot of metal to find in the pan. Is your engine on an aftermarket tune or stock tune? How many miles?
thanks for the reply, cobra. i'm at 65k miles, but i bought the car used in 16 and it had previously been a rental car- so I'm sure shoddy maintenance + bad gas + renters getting on it before it was warmed up or the engine was broken in = wear and tear
I've got some basic mods and am protuned by PD.
finally tore down the engine and it spun a rod bearing on cyl 1 and cyl 4 bearing was on it's way. wish i knew the definitive cause of this, but doing a rebuild with some king bearings, rods, & pistons.
luckily the second it started to show symptoms (loud knocking) I had it towed back to my garage or else i'm sure i'd be much worse off
 

Turbong

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OUCH, lots of metal shavings + spun bearing = oil starvation and seeing how it was a rental with lots of neglect and abuse that is guaranteed. Moral of the story never buy rentals. Lucky for you it looks like you're a DIY guy, best of luck on your rebuild.
 

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Cobra Jet

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thanks for the reply, cobra. i'm at 65k miles, but i bought the car used in 16 and it had previously been a rental car- so I'm sure shoddy maintenance + bad gas + renters getting on it before it was warmed up or the engine was broken in = wear and tear
I've got some basic mods and am protuned by PD.
finally tore down the engine and it spun a rod bearing on cyl 1 and cyl 4 bearing was on it's way. wish i knew the definitive cause of this, but doing a rebuild with some king bearings, rods, & pistons.
luckily the second it started to show symptoms (loud knocking) I had it towed back to my garage or else i'm sure i'd be much worse off
Be sure to check out @1320INC thread he posted in the user build/project section. He did a very well write up of his EB rebuild, as he also bought is EB used and it too had internal engine issues. He bought another complete engine and rebuilt his EB in that manner.

Also, in the event you are unaware, be sure to change out the turbo supply line oil filter (it has to be pulled from engine block)! I posted about this a while back and just bumped the thread in here. @1320INC was kind enough to post very good pics of the part in that thread. This is a mandatory replacement per Ford SSM’s and not many folks know that it’s necessary to replace ANY TIME the turbo is R&R’d on the S550 EB.

Be sure to keep us up on your progress too, even if you can post up more pics. It’s beneficial to members in the future who may have similar issues or need for rebuild info.

Where are you getting or sourcing your parts from?
 
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BoostedMTBer

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When you go back together with it all, Snap-On sells the master timing set of tools. I bought them because the Land Rover / Jaguar 2.0 uses the same things, and my shop techs are gorillas with special tools (JLR Tech for a living).

https://store.snapon.com/Non-Catalo...oBoost-Engines-for-Ford-Vehicles-P883989.aspx
thanks, Josh. I've got the cheap ebay set which has been doing the the job, although i'm sure the snap-on set is primo and necessary in the shop

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-2-0-E...sh=item2150975dd8:g:uGwAAOSwKL5cNuif#shpCntId
 
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BoostedMTBer

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Be sure to check out @1320INC thread he posted in the user build/project section. He did a very well write up of his EB rebuild, as he also bought is EB used and it too had internal engine issues. He bought another complete engine and rebuilt his EB in that manner.

Also, in the event you are unaware, be sure to change out the turbo supply line oil filter (it has to be pulled from engine block)! I posted about this a while back and just bumped the thread in here. @1320INC was kind enough to post very good pics of the part in that thread. This is a mandatory replacement per Ford SSM’s and not many folks know that it’s necessary to replace ANY TIME the turbo is R&R’d on the S550 EB.

Be sure to keep us up on your progress too, even if you can post up more pics. It’s beneficial to members in the future who may have similar issues or need for rebuild info.

Where are you getting or sourcing your parts from?
gotta love ECOTURD. Interesting thread though- funny to see we both broke the high pressure fuel pump electrical connector pulling the engine.

Bought a workshop manual which is a must to work on these engines.
it goes into detail on the parts, nuts, bolts, washers, ect. that need to be replaced. as JLowrey mentioned, timing tool kit is necessary for tear down and rebuild. you can find them on eBay for around $60

seems like my damage was mainly to the crankshaft as you can see in the pics. I've got it at a legit engine machine shop, and they will be grinding the journals down to be smoothed out. They will also be servicing the block and head. just trying to figure out how far down the rabbit hole i want to go! Looking into tossing in some darton sleeves to shore up the open deck, but not sure if it's worth it. maybe doing an upgraded valve kit. Seems like +1mm valves seem to be a thing, but not sure what the cost/ benefit is there.

Zach from MAP has been a big help in lining up some performance upgrades for me. Tasca seems to be the go-to place for replacing OEM parts.

since there was so much metal in my oil pan from the bearing, i'll be replacing the oil pump & pick-up tube. also plan on doing a
Balance shaft delete. that thing is 12 lbs on my scale and a big PITA to reinstall. + it was directly exposed to contaminated oil and i'm not going to spend 200 to replace a part all the engine builders remove.

Also, want to mention I am in no way an expert in this area and am open to any advice or performance add on suggestions while I've got this bad girl disassembled!

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kxNRuZOMr951YV84bUDN95YgShJNjUia?usp=sharing
 

CustomS550

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...also plan on doing a
Balance shaft delete. that thing is 12 lbs on my scale and a big PITA to reinstall. + it was directly exposed to contaminated oil and i'm not going to spend 200 to replace a part all the engine builders remove.
I remember reading a post by Adam @ tune+ about keeping the balance shaft case in place without the internals for extra rigidity.
 

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BoostedMTBer

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I remember reading a post by Adam @ tune+ about keeping the balance shaft case in place without the internals for extra rigidity.
Interesting. It would make sense that it add's value to the structural integrity at the bottom of the block. I'll have to see if I can get into its guts. thanks for the info!:thumbsup:
 

1320INC

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Sorry ive been mia. I actually sold the ECOTERD a couple weeks ago. I dont think the balance shaft adds any rigidity imo.it does not add anything except another set of nuts and bolts to tighten down on top of main caps that have already been tightened down. Yes that fuel pump is a piece of crap design. I still have my block and head. Its gonna be scrap aluminum here pretty soon. Before you go off the deep end, take a hard look at what you want your end result to be an be realistic about how much you will have invested. It gets staggering quickly! Good luck with the build!
 
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BoostedMTBer

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Sorry ive been mia. I actually sold the ECOTERD a couple weeks ago. I dont think the balance shaft adds any rigidity imo.it does not add anything except another set of nuts and bolts to tighten down on top of main caps that have already been tightened down. Yes that fuel pump is a piece of crap design. I still have my block and head. Its gonna be scrap aluminum here pretty soon. Before you go off the deep end, take a hard look at what you want your end result to be an be realistic about how much you will have invested. It gets staggering quickly! Good luck with the build!
no joke on the fuel pump. Can't even replace the electrical connector w/o buying a new pump.
Bought mine in 16 & I've always keep it real with this car. Goals have always been to have fun with it. Pretty much had two options after the rod bearing went- throw a salvaged block in & sell or rebuild.
At the end of the day, I figured I can't beat the 1.99% interest rate I got on this thing & resell value is garbage. I'm getting married and looking to buy a house this year, so a new autoloan would just hurt me even more on the future mortgage.
I prefer auto-x or road courses over the strip, so now w/ my built block I should be able to push 500 w/ big turbo and e85 without worrying about going boom. I believe 500-550hp is the sweat spot for these 2.0 builds. If you want anymore than that, I figure you better make the switch to a boosted coyote because the boom risk & $$$ in supporting upgrades aren't worth it
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