I'm in BIG trouble and Need a lot of help

[Nik]

I have asked many questions on this site and always got a good answer. Now I need it the most. I know this site is only for XJ's and I have one but this is a question for anyone to answer. I was out messing around with our 96 F250 that just came out of the shop. It is a pretty sick truck with 35's and some serious engine work at almost 10 grand put into the engine. My buddy and I took it out to a mud hole and blasted through it a couple of times. It started raining hard and filled up with water from incoming drainage ditches . . all the more fun right. Next thing I know we are plowing through 4 feet of water on the next pass. I luckly made it out and got up out of the pit and the beast died. We towed it home not knowing what to look for. In the meantime i fried the brand new starter and the thing just wouldn't turn over. THought it had a short or something. It has been two weeks of going and testing the electrical system turns out not a flaw. I took out the air filter for the hell of it and opened the cool air intake bok and foun water .. . oh shit. Took out the hoses to the throttle botty and they are lined with silt and water. THen drained the engine oil to find muddy silty oil. Oh my god. Put 3 new filters in and changed the oil three times same shit. How fawked am i? What do I do next. I have spent more detail time in this truck than I can believe. The new engine had maybe 20 miles on it.


What to do.

ANy suggestions.

It the orignal engine block just bore and modified to pump 640 horses. 7.5 litre V8 454.

NEED help

[Backdraft]

Id hate to be the bearer of bad news man, but it sounds like youve hydrolocked the engine. When blasting thru 4 feet of water then finding silt mud and water in the intake as well as oil. its a good chance that you royally screwed the motor. The only thing I can think of is your are going to have to take the engine apart and clean it very well while crossing your fingers that you didnt tear up the cylinder walls/valvetrain/oil pump/etc. This is what I would do in your situation. And next time try going thru 2 feet of water max.;)

Mike

[Gary E]

I don't understand is it running, I am confused why you would change the filter three times if it wasn't turning over

If its still not turning over odds are its hydro locked (water in cylinders). pull the spark plugs turn it over a few times, change the oil again and reinstall the plugs and hope it starts be prepared to shut it down fast should it start making bad noises.

There is a good chance you may have bent or fubared a rod. It may actually be best to pull the pan first to make sure nothing is not really wrong.

[Nik]

yeah it was dumb of me but the water was filling up fast and we really didn't notice till it started coming over the hood. I got it started to flush the oil out and it sounds like a diesel engine. Hopefully good news will come

[Nik]

How do I clean all the parts on the inside if that silt is in there. I think the cylinder wall are probably at least scored by now and think i might have to reboar. I dont know I cant believe this happened. It got deeper a lot quicker than I though. It wqas pretty sick blastn through it, lol . . now im screwed. Not worth it at all

[Yucca-Man]

You're going to have to tear down the block. Pull pistons, check cylinder walls for scoring, replace bearings, etc....

[vintagespeed]

Yep, time for another rebuild. Boy..........20 miles, sucks. I guess now you know not to try & start it if it dies after a dunking? You should have pulled the air filter & plugs turned it over to pump out the water & then started it. You might've been ok at that point.

[xjjunkie]

so can you tell me when ford put 7.4 liter big block chevys in there f series pickups ?

[Nik]

Maybe instead of trying to prove me wrong you would understand that if I drop 10 grand on an engine that I put in myself years ago, that it probably wasn't the stock engine. I have seen f250's with 540 Donovan Big blocks dropped in. I put it in myself. I also knw that a few trucks did come stock with this engine, especially with a towing package. I have a bud who works at auto clinic and he has the 7.4 L stock in his 250 1995.

[Stoney]

if u stayed out of the mud that wouldn't of happened! plus mud sux anyways! ROCKS ROCK!:D

stoney

[MonsterXJ]

that sucks.....nuff said

[Onkover]

Stock... 2 feet of water. Sounds like the you sucked in to much and locked it up. Sorry to say but acomplete rebuild is needed. That is what is salvagable.

[Hawaiian Style]

Man, even a snorkel won't give you that much protection! Also, how do the diff's look? They're bound to have water in them as well... same with tranny.... and anything else that has vents.

[bgcntry72]

A 454 is a 7.4, and made by Chevy.
This was NEVER put into a Ford truck, at least not by Ford. :bs:
Perhaps you got your wires crossed, and I'm sure a smaller Ford block can be bored and stroked to 454, but I don't know the combination.
The Ford big-block is a 7.5, or a 460.
Moving on.
Ripping through mud=high RPMs.
Combine this with a rebuilt motor having only 20 miles of run-time on it and you get a driver with the brainpan of a stagecoach tilter.
Enjoy your rebuild.
:lecture:

[GPRSDLYT]

"now me and the mad scientist got to rip apart the block..............."-fast & furious:)

[sidriptide]

you said you drove it out of the water... so it may not be so bad.. if it just stalled before it locked you might be ok.. a total teardown definately.. all new bearings and mostlikely just a good honing of the cylinders will wipe away any scratches you may have.. sounds like a fun truck and a fun although shortlived ride... brings a whole new meaning to "breaking- in" the new block...
good luck
mike

[pancake]

Good luck! Just don't do something like that again unless you have unlimited income and time. :rolleyes:

[Apanthropy]

Originally posted by bgcntry72

Ripping through mud=high RPMs.
Combine this with a rebuilt motor having only 20 miles of run-time on it and you get a driver with the brainpan of a stagecoach tilter.
Enjoy your rebuild.
:lecture:

You can't be nice 100% of the time but you can be honest 100% of the time. The statement above is right on the mark.

If you're gonna spend $10k+ on an engine and drive in the mud, spend $300 on a snorkel and then spend at minimum 500 to 1000 miles easing the engine in.

[Burley]

Originally posted by bgcntry72
Ripping through mud=high RPMs.
Combine this with a rebuilt motor having only 20 miles of run-time on it and you get a driver with the brainpan of a stagecoach tilter.
Enjoy your rebuild.
:lecture:

What the heck is a 'stagecoach tilter'?:rolleyes:

[Speed_racer]

Originally posted by Burley
What the heck is a 'stagecoach tilter'?:rolleyes:

obviously something bad!!

[Desert Jeepin]

Sucks to be you.

[satan]

Originally posted by Burley
What the heck is a 'stagecoach tilter'?:rolleyes:

A quote from someone (else) that watches too much Simpsons...

[Nik]

thanks for putting in positive help. Most of u guys are gay ill tell yah. All I ever get is gay critisizm, its not even constructive. So what, I made a mistake on with my dads truck and all u can do is bitch at me for. Why dont u help me out instead of put people down.

And those who helped me thankyou.:)

[5-90]

If you got it started after the stall, you may be lucky and only a teardown and refinish may be in order (last hydrolocked engine I saw had good-sized holes in it...)

No matter what, I would be tearing down an engine that got that much water in it - period. No guessing, no trying - get in there and see what blew up!

I also second the idea of a snorkel - make sure you put one on this time!

How difficult was the 454 coversion? I can understand why you'd do it (but I would have bought a Chevvy in the first place - I don't trust a Ford I didn't build!)

5-90

[Markm80521]

Originally posted by Nik
thanks for putting in positive help. Most of u guys are gay ill tell yah. All I ever get is gay critisizm, its not even constructive. So what, I made a mistake on with my dads truck and all u can do is bitch at me for. Why dont u help me out instead of put people down.

And those who helped me thankyou.:)


Gay in my opinion would be bright red bumpers and baby blue paint:D

Once you get a little more experienced you'll learn how silly your actions sound. By the way, if you can't take the ribbing then don't post. No one means real harm by it. I read your posting on Car Domain however where you ripped into someone who said you had a lot of money. CHILL. When you put things out for others to see you'll never win 100% of the public's respect.

[Crunch]

Hey Nik,
This was in your first post:

"I have asked many questions on this site and always got a good answer."

This was in your most previous post:

"Most of u guys are gay ill tell yah. All I ever get is gay critisizm, its not even constructive."

:confused: You got many constructive answers. You also got very minor ribbing. You have posted here enough to know you'll get a little of both.

Lighten up a little and enjoy the rebuild,

Crunch

[rixXJphx]

Why, Oh why,....

Won't this two-month old flame thread just DIE its natural death?

I only post this because after 5 days' dormancy somebody btt'd the thread. Even though the advice is sound, IMO nobody cares anymore.

-Rick

[bgcntry72]

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[rixXJphx]

Originally posted by bgcntry72
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D
a$$hat. :banghead:

:D :D :D :D :D

Thanks for letting me vent. Done forever.

[Nik]

Hey fellas im sorry about this. I originally posted cuz I was scrambling on what to try to fix the truck the best I could. I was trying to figure out what was wrong and didn't want to hear about what a stupid moove I pulled. I already knew i was a dumb$#!t for doin that. I didn't mean to offend anyone and I just wanted to figure out what was wrong not hear about screwn up.:)

My bad for coming off wrong:)

I also solved the problem, it turned out the engine fubared a rod and it was letting the water and oil mix somehow and that water didn't hydro lock the engine. The fuse box shorted not letting the engine turn over and it fried the wiring harness. So all in all it wasn't as ba as i thought it was going to be bt it took me 2 months of work to pay for it.

Lesson learned for a stupid moove, . . but i gotta admit it was fun:)

And to the baby blue and red. . . .

The jeep isn't red anymore is primer gray with a clearcoat painted for a couple hundred bucks at Earl shibs:)

The red i painted and i like it so i will take the blame for making it look too nice i guess. Its just a 6 dollar can of paint and a cheap brush that did it. Works for me too.

Thanks for the correction

[Nik]

and crunch thanks for the advise

[SnowyXJ]

Sadly.. I had a 76 Ford F-250 that I had a 71 Ford 429 in and I did it up real nice from the time I was 14 till I turned 16.. I did everything to it.. I put aluminum super cobrajet heads on it, a radical cam, headers, dual exhaust with 18" glasspacks, a 512 stroker crank, crowler rods, JE .60 over pistons, I had the block sleeved and I had an engine builder place in Buffalo, NY.. umm. I think J&L automotive do some extensive engine work and put 4 bolt caps on the mains and did all the clearancing checks and such and it was a hellatious motor.. Probably had roughly $5,000 in hardware over 2 years, and probably 4 months of solid build time.. and.. of course.. unwise in my youth.. I took her out the day I got my license with only 20-30 miles on the rebuild, and took her out 4 wheeling.. Didn't do any waterholes or anything like that, but.. idling all over the place for roughly 4 - 5 hours ended up stalling her out and when I went to start it back up it made a loud thud.. I towed it home with a friends chevy (I'll let you know that was the only time a chevy ever towed that vehicle out).. and then called around looking for help.. and. I was told that it was because that was improper break in.. You're not supposed to idle the motor a lot and you're not supposed to turn more than 2500 rpms.. So.. upon tearing it down again, just to figure out what was wrong.. I had broken a ring, and seized a piston and snapped a rod.. Roughly another $1200 in parts and labor and I had J&L automotive do the complete reassembly on a bench and then they sent it back to me, and I installed it, put about 3,000 miles on it, with very light driving, usually 15-20 miles a trip for the first year, and then had it dynoed the next spring.. She wasn't huge, but she was putting out 612hp and 793ft/lbs.. I was more than happy. I was shooting for like 525hp and 600 ft/lbs.. I used her as a plow truck and for quite some time. as a daily driver.. She ended up getting sold this past summer with roughly 210,000 miles on the rebuild, and still running strong.. I just couldn't afford having such a gas guzzler..

So.. as far as the water part.. I doubt it was the water at all.. I have driven through ponds in that truck, and have came out of there with distributor caps cracked and such, but as soon as they were replaced.. she'd sputter for about 2-3 minutes, and then she'd be back to normal..

I should have never sold the truck .. The guy who bought the truck, took out the 429, and shoe horned it into a 1965 Ford Mustang Ragtop and then put a straight six in the pickup.. What a waste..

Oh Well.

It's things like these that will make you realize later on it life, why people say it's never too late to learn.