2009 April | GotEngines.com Auto Repair Blog

I’ve got Fords and Shelby Mustangs on my mind today…

April 30th, 2009

2008 Mustang GT-500kr

Every morning I take my little lover boy Red for a walk.

Red

It takes about an hour or less and that is when I think about my blog and what to write about. A new Shelby Mustang drove by me this morning and my thoughts went back some 38 years to when I owned a 1966 Shelby GT-350.

It had a 289 Mustang GT engine in it, rated at 271 Horsepower. It was then modified by Shelby with a set of tri-y headers and a more radical camshaft. It has 306 horsepower after that. It also had a larger oil pan for increased engine oil capacity and a tremendous radiator for extra cooling. You could buy a model that had a Paxton supercharger bolted on it too. Tire smoke and shifting gears was all you could focus on when driving a Shelby. Fun, fun, fun.

That was the least of what Carrol Shelby did to the car. He warmed up the suspension with Koni Shocks, front and rear 1.25″ sway bars and brakes that would stop a locomotive.

The 289 cubic inch engine, which is about 4.75 liters, although cubic inches was how they described engine size back then, over the metric equivalent. It was a really hot engine from the factory as it came with solid lifters and an aluminum hi-rise intake manifold. I was a Ford Guy back then..Until I got a hold of a ‘66 Chevrolet Vette with the 427 cubic inch 425 horsepower, 4 bolt mains, forged pistons, 12 to 1 compression, aluminum oval port cylinder heads, and a wild solid lifter camshaft.

As far as I’m concerned, there is no substitute for lots of cubic inches. The raw torque and power is a feeling the kids nowadays can’t get out of their “hi-performance” cars. Needless to say, from what the folks are used to now, you better wear your rubber underwear if you ever get the privilege of riding in a “big block” Chevy, Ford or Chrysler from the ’60’s and ’70’s.

I don’t think the demand for engines of this caliber is very high anymore. I do know however that GotEngines.com had forged many relationships with companies that can provide this type of special engine. I don’t think it is a problem to get a good old fashioned stock 289, 302, 351, 427, 428 or 460 cubic inch Ford engine from them. They have done the homework, finding the most qualified engine rebuilders’ in the country.

Enough trivia for now. GotEngines.com Blog is here to assist you in determining how to choose a replacement engine and help you take care of your car. With the option of making a few simple repairs, hoping to keep some change in your pocket.

Tags: engine, engines, Rebuilt engines, Used Engines Sales
Posted in Engines-Articles | 7 Comments » Engines

I just had a spark plug blow out on my 1999 5.4L engine…

April 29th, 2009

Comment: “I just had a spark plug blow out on my 1999 5.4L which has about 112K on it. From reading more about this subject on various forums about spark plug blow outs, this is obviously a well known, and unfortunately, common event for the 1997-2003 Triton engines. Because the culprit is a poor cylinder head design I am not sure what is the best course for repair.”

Research conducted by GotEngines.com, specifically designed to avoid selling the non-upgraded Ford engines suggests:

The 100K tuneup interval is the root cause of the spark-plug-blowout (among other things). If they were removed and re-torqued and coated with anti-seize and sealed with dielectric grease at 20K intervals the plug blowout problems would probably be mostly gone. Keeping your cooling system fresh is of utmost importance. Of course the problem could be eliminated by installing inserts when the head is built at the factory.

Some of the plug blowouts were caused by leaky heater hose connections and condensation buildup thus damaging the threads, mostly due to the fact the head and spark plug are dissimilar metals. As in aluminum and steel…

None of these situations has anything to do with the head design itself. The actual manufacturing method is the problem. The factory cure, if you want to call it a cure is to add an extra thread to the spark plug for more threaded surface area. I call that a patch repair / update designed to get the darn engines out of warranty.

Using the Time-sert metal inserts is a sure cure for the problem. A Time-sert is installed as per directions in the existing spark plug hole in the aluminum head. This gives the spark plug metal threads instead of aluminum threads to hold it in place. Also available is a similar set-up called a Helicoil. Both are great choices.

May I suggest new head bolts. It’s also a good idea to replace the chain guide and tensioner arm while you are there. Make sure you get all the coolant out of the head bolt holes too. don’t forget to install the crank sensor tone wheel before you install the timing cover or you will be chasing down a no start. The torque spec for the head bolts is 30 ft-lbs in sequence then turn each bolt 90 degrees in sequence twice.

After installing the Time-sert or Helicoil/s, preferably in all the spark plug holes at the same time you have that the heads are off, reinstall the spark plugs with some anti-seize compound and re-torque the spark plugs to 13 ft-lbs. on the nose.

I would recommend 1 drop of Blue Loc-Tite (medium strength) on all bolts except the head bolts and spark plugs ( remember: use anti-seize on them) to keep them tight after you torque the bolts.

FYI- Harley Davidson builds all of their engines now with aluminum heads. They have built the bulk of them with aluminum heads for over 50 years. Harley Davidson figured it out about 20 some years ago, use the Helicoil inserts at the factory when the head is made. Preventive action. Good Idea.

Making sure you don’t buy a used or rebuilt Ford engine with the flaws uncorrected is one reason why GotEngines.com presents this blog. We also have a growing repair guide for the DIYer to make repairs they are comfortable with in the hope of keeping your car longer, due to the economy and making small repairs yourself.

Tags: 4 l problems, 5, 5.4 l ford engine, Ford Engines, Used Engines Sales
Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment » Engines

Why is the Ford car and truck engine a best seller?

April 28th, 2009

There is no definitive answer to that. I know Ford claims to sell more trucks than anyone, but the ratio of engine failures is higher than Chevrolet engines or Dodge engines. This ratio goes up in the Truck category.

I have heard that certain aftermarket engine oil filters can cause engine failures in Ford engines. Other complaints related are to fires spontaneously starting for no apparent reason. Unsolved. Spark plugs blown right out of the head seems to be a common complaint too.

For the most part I think a lot of the problems are maintenance related. Except for the 6.0 liter diesel engine fiasco when that engine was introduced in 2002. Maintenance can’t fix a defect or flaw built into an engine from the factory. Only some research and development can produce reliable fixes for flaws and defects from the factory. (6 Liter diesel).

Got Engines.com is a nationally known company that only deals with the cream of the crop as far as Ford rebuilt engines go. They are very particular what company supplies rebuilt engines for them. They go through a lot of hoops to qualify that the rebuilt engines they sell have the problems built out of them. Their warranties prove it.

Used engines are another story. GotEngines.com has ways of making sure the used Ford engine you get is not one of the flawed ones. Using common tools like Car Max and other more involved methods, they can determine through serial numbers and the VIN (vehicle identification numbers) if this motor was a problem from the git go and if the problems were corrected by the factory. The used engines, particularly Fords are put through a rigorous pre-testing procedure and then certified to be a quality replacement engine, with a confidence building warranty.

If you need more info call 1-877-268-0664…There are plenty more cash saving tips in our GotEngines.com Blog. Have a comment or question. please feel free to do so. Please Enjoy.

Tags: Ford Engines, rebuilt ford engines, Used Engines Sales
Posted in Engine Univ. | No Comments » Engines

Ma’am, can you bring your car closer to the phone please?..

April 26th, 2009

It is an old mechanics joke. When a potential customer calls and says â€œmy car stopped moving I think it is the engine, it is leaking engine oil how much will it costâ€? What can you say if you canâ€™t examine the car? How can you convince your potential client to have the car towed to your shop for an exam without quoting a price or possible price?

Realistically speaking, lets say you thought you had a brain tumor, would you call the doctor and ask how much it would cost to remove it? Of course not, you know the drill, make an appointment and have it diagnosed. Well what makes you think an engine mechanic can diagnose your problem during a phone call and quote an accurate price?

As far as my shop was concerned, we would talk with our potential customer to make sure they were qualified consumers. Ask a few questions like is the check engine light on, did it make any noises, etc. Then we would offer free towing, within a 15 mile radius and a free diagnosis. No obligation to pay for either service if the vehicle is not fixed at our shop. You have to be confident as a business owner to make an offer like that.

Gaining a potential customers confidence is most of the battle. When I would get a call like that, about the only thing I would say pertaining the problem was that since the fluid leaked out, it would stop it from moving. Possibly you donâ€™t have a engine problem, just a leak. But it does not sound good.

The big thing for me was not to create an unreal expectation just to have a customer let me tow the car in. That is always a problem when you use the type of tactics that build unreal expectations on cost and, what may be wrong with the vehicle just to get it towed to your shop.

First off, after the car arrives we would asap start the diagnosis process by hooking up our Modis scanner. Half the time it was a simple problem we could fix in an expedient manner and send the customer on their way.

Many times the engine was bad and needed a replacement engine. If our customer requested a good used low mileage engine than we called GotEngines.com. We could trust that what we bought from them was pre tested, low mileage and guaranteed.

The point is that a qualified engine shop will always handle a situation in a similar manner. If not, call another shop.

Use your common sense to make a decision. Read our GotEngines.com Blog for more information on choosing the right shop to use over the phone..there is also a bunch of information on the blog on perhaps preventing yourself from experiencing frustrating and inconvenient, not mention possibly expensive engine problems.

Tags: buying an engine, Engine Travel Tips
Posted in Engine Travel Tips | 2 Comments » Engines

GotEngines.com Blog is more than just engines..

April 25th, 2009

I will be brief today. Just because our company name is GotEngines.com does not mean we are not sensitive to the other parts of your car or truck. Yes, we sell engines of any sort, certified pre-tested used low mileage engines, the best upgraded remanufactured engines available and new engines. We also sell at wholesale prices, eliminating the middleman and saving considerable money. Lots of people know it is simply wasting time calling any other engine supplier.

We sell transmissions of any sort as well and fuel injectors too. What I want to get at today is that the blog we present is for automotive repairs also. Our point of view surrounds the safety of our customers and readers. Some of the other systems that must be in good operating order are: Brakes, Front end, Steering components and Tires. I mention this simply because when I was in business from 1981 to 2006 there were actually be times that a person would show with up with a major engine or transmission problem and we would have to turn them away.

Why would we turn anybody who is qualified to have a major repair? Usually it had to do with a lack of brakes, or a front end problem that made the car unsafe to drive. There was no way I was test driving a vehicle that was unsafe to drive. My point is that many drivers neglect every part of their car until it is unsafe to drive. I have seen single moms pull into my driveway with a transmission or engine problem they want fixed, but the car also had obviously unreliable brakes (noticed the second I pushed the brake pedal before I even left the lot) and steered poorly.

As tempting as it was to make a buck, the ethical thing to do was to send that person to a garage that repaired those problems unless the problem was up our alley.

The point of the GotEngines.com Blog today is that you should not neglect safety issues such as your brakes and steering. Number one is to fix these problems as they occur, don’t drive an unsafe car (especially if you have kids), number two is that if you have an accident because of an unsafe system/s we can’t help you select the correct engine when the time comes for an engine replacement. Read our blog, put some though into the condition of your cars other systems and enjoy.

Tags: automotive safety, engine articles
Posted in Engines-Articles | 1 Comment » Engines

What are water injection systems that increase mileage really good for?

April 24th, 2009

I was asked the other day about water injection systems by Brian of GotEngines.com, about how effective they really are. Here is my point of view.

Water injection systems have been around in some form or another for 40 years or so. I remember them when I was kid in the ’60’s. I bought one for my ‘66 Corvette with the 427 cubic inch 4 bolt main 425 horsepower engine. Back then it was about getting more horsepower, not about fuel economy.

The only thing it did was waste my time and money. It did not increase my horsepower and we did not care about fuel mileage since a gallon of HI-Test (Sunoco 260-octane 107) was 30 cents a gallon back then. The only positive effect you will get from a water based injection setup is a good steam cleaning of your valves and piston tops.

Simply put, the water turns into steam as it is heated and combusted, then it steam cleans the entire combustion chamber. It is a real gimmick, you only need to have a combustion chamber cleaning every 50,000 miles, by a professional mechanic. And a can of fuel system and injector cleaner in your tank every 10, 000 miles is sufficient to keep the fuel system in top notch shape.

A quick story. Our Fort Pierce Sheriffs’ department bought about five of the new, expensive, sensationalistic, guaranteed to improve fuel mileage systems to try out last year. After only a few months, the verdict was in: the cars lost some fuel mileage and were less powerful. Needless to say, they kits were removed and deemed not a good upgrade.

GotEngines.com Blog is looking out for you. Watch out for the “snake oil” salesman. There are no magical ways to improve your fuel mileage other than a good old fashioned tune up and modifying your driving habits to accelerate slower and cruise to the stop light.

Tags: Engine News Tips, Engine upgrades
Posted in Engine News Tips | No Comments » Engines

Car stranded, bring it closer to the phone.. maybe I can diagnose it…

April 23rd, 2009

It is an old mechanics joke. When a potential customer calls and says â€œmy car stopped running, I think it is the ‘muffler bearing’“? The dipstick has no oil on it. How much will it cost to fix? What can you say if you canâ€™t examine the car? How can you convince your potential client to have the car towed to your shop for an exam without quoting a price or possible price?

Realistically speaking, lets say you thought you had a heart fib problem, would you call the doctor and ask how much it would cost to fix it? Of course not, you know the drill, make an appointment and have it diagnosed. Well what makes you think an engine mechanic can diagnose your problem during a phone call and quote an accurate price?

As far as we were concerned, we would talk with our potential customer to make sure they were qualified consumers. Ask a few questions like is the check engine light on, did it make any noises, etc. Then we would offer free towing, within a 15 mile radius and a free diagnosis. No obligation to pay for either service if the vehicle is not fixed at our shop. You have to be confident as a business owner to make an offer like that.

Gaining a potential customers confidence is most of the battle. When I would get a call like that, about the only thing I would say pertaining the problem was that because you have a bad leak, lets tow it in. Possibly you donâ€™t have a major engine problem, just a leak.

First off, after the car arrives we would asap start the diagnosis process. Half the time it was a simple problem we could fix in an expedient manner and send the customer on their way.

Many times the engine failed and needed a used replacement engine. If our customer requested a good used low mileage engine, than we called GotEngines.com. We could trust that what we bought from them was pre tested, low mileage and guaranteed.

The point is that a qualified engine shop will always handle a situation in a similar manner. If not, call another shop.

Tags: choose the right shop, Repair tips
Posted in Engine News Tips | No Comments » Engines

The art of locating a good used engine…

April 22nd, 2009

Finding a good used engine with low mileage is an art form. Many factors equate into choosing a reliable affordable engine supplier. The point is not all used engines are the same. It is not sensible to arbitrarily buy a used engine without doing your research first.

Before you develop an engine replacement strategy, it is very helpful to contact a qualified engine supply source such as GotEngines,com. I’m quite familiar with them and know some of the techniques they use to outperform the other engine suppliers. One of the things that I would consider important is not really a technique, but a quality. They are a nationwide engine source. Why is this important?

Companies that are national instead of local have the ability to deal with more sources therefore giving them more choices to serve you with. Another quality is that being a nationally available company, you have the option of an extended nationwide guarantee. It seems like a no-brainer to me. Essentially, if you pay a competent shop to install your engine properly, then if you were to have a warranty problem, the warranty company will cover a defective engine in full, including the labor. Pretty nice.

Essentially if the shop does a good job and checks the radiator-cooling system, engine mounts and all related components so as to eliminate a reason for re-failure, you are set up for a long successful relationship with your fresh engine. A long relationship means you have to maintain your new engine accordingly and regularly.

Good low mileage used engines usually come from a car with low mileage that was wrecked bad enough to be called a total. What that means is that the car may be totaled, but there are many good used parts to sell to people who like quality used parts they can count on. It takes a lot of footwork and talking to find the best sources on a national basis.

With the advent of Car Max and other services that can check the history of a car it is a viable tool for GotEngines.com to use as a reference to check the history of the car and engine. You don’t want an engine that came out of a flooded car, or an engine that needed a bunch of warranty work to make it run properly. They don’t think it is a joke.

In the case of a nationally formed company you don’t have a middle-man, so you save some money by not having to pay a middle-man. In fact, the middle-man companies buy from GotEngines.com. The other beauty is that all of the footwork and homework is already done for you and all of these engines are pre-tested on an engine dynamometer to insure they run perfectly right off the bat. Thus making it an easy process to call 1-877-268-0664 and talk to an expert that will listen to you in depth and help develop the strategy that fits you bill.

Provoking you to think like this is why we have our GotEngines.com blog. We want all of your engine decisions to be good ones. It sure saves a lot of wasted time and frustration not having to deal with a crummy troublesome used engine that came from who knows where.

Tags: Engine News Tips, engine supplier
Posted in Engine News Tips | 2 Comments » Engines

What is a drive-ability problem as opposed to a tuneup?

April 21st, 2009

Drive-ability is the new term to replace tune up. Car and truck engines are so advanced now that the term tune up is too vague and does not apply as it did 15 years ago. There are so many more reasons now that a car can drive poorly, it was an easy change in terminology for most of us.

The term tune up usually means that the spark plugs, points and condenser (it has to be 30 years old though to have points), distributor cap, plug wires and assorted filters were changed. The timing is then adjusted and the carburetor is tuning in to idle smooth.

Newer cars have progressively stopped using many of the parts we still refer to when we talk “tune up”. We use the word drive-ability because many cars don’t have distributors now, they may have separate coils for every cylinder. The computer controls timing so there is no need to do anything more than check to make sure the timing is working properly, or replace the bad part. Fuel injectors cause drive-ability problems and fuel system problems are notorious now. Computers can drive a mechanic crazy sometimes. Everything is computer controlled now, in most of the modern cars there is probably more than one computer, thus causing more difficulty in diagnosing problems.

The point is that modern cars are dramatically more technologically advanced, Diagnosing the problem is the first and most important thing to be done. If the engine light is on and you have a hand held code reader it is easy to find out what code you are dealing with. It may not be so easy to fix though.

I think you get the point. Everything nowadays is computerized and complicated. GotEngines.com Blog is one way to demystify many unknown automotive issues for you. Feel free to comment or ask a question. It is my pleasure to serve you.

Tags: consumer tips, driveability problems, engine diagnosis
Posted in Engines-Articles | 5 Comments » Engines

“Snake Oil” salesmen claim to improve fuel mileage…

April 19th, 2009

When gas costs go up, all of a sudden all sorts of “gas saving” devices start to come out of the woodwork. They promise all sorts of incredible fuel savings using “snake oil salesmen” tactics to achieve the unrealistic savings they promise you will get.

Here are just a few of the items I was reading about while studying for today’s GotEngines.com post. The items tested included:

1. a couple of fuel-line magnets,

2. a pair of vortex generators,

3. an $80 piece of wire thatâ€™s supposed to ionize the fuel mixture,

4. a gasoline vapor injector and a water injector. The tests were conducted on the Universal Technical Instituteâ€™s chassis dynamometer, they apparently ran a set of pickup trucks through their paces, and as expected, none of these gadgets worked. Specifically, none of them increased fuel mileage, and most of them reduced the horsepower.

You know the story..if there was any way to increase fuel economy for the twenty or thirty dollars that some of these devices cost, it wouldÂ be on every car made today. The facts on fuel injection are very clear, as much as 99 percent of the fuel injected into your engine is burned. Even if you increased the combustion efficiency to 100 percent, the potential for improved mileage is only about 1 percent. No fuel saver can increase mileage by the 20% to 50% percent or more its manufacturers might claim.

One of the gadgets with another hard to believe claim was taken off the market between the original story and when the testing started. It’s a plastic button the size of a quarter with some self-stick tape on one side, and goes for $150 or so. Youâ€™re stick this to the bottom of the fuel tank of your vehicle, where it will make the molecules of fuel vibrate at a special frequency, and ionize or gain energy or some other wacky thing.

Realistically speaking, the only way to get improvement in your fuel mileage is A. Have your vehicle maintained regularly and tuned up at the specified intervals. B. Modify your driving habits in terms of accelerating slower and driving less aggressively, Heck, your car may last longer.

Don’t be fooled by those rediculous claims. Read the GotEngines.com Blog for real world information on getting the best fuel economy out of your car to making simple repairs at home and leaving more cash in your pocket.

Tags: "Green" Auto Solutions, save fuel
Posted in Hybrid & Green Technology | No Comments » Engines


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