[Lt.Dan]

Dan,

Just curious - when you rebuild your engine did you put in different valve springs?

Cj

Nope, reused the stock springs.

I found cyl 7 had the injector pigtail fall out, most likely from me putting the valve cover back on, so that explains why cyl 7 failed.

Unplugging cyl 1 had no change on how it ran, so thats our culprit. All injectors were ejecting oil evenly, and all valves were working properly. I swapped the solenoid with cyl 5, and no difference. So I pulled the injector to put my borescope in there, but everything is so oily from pulling the injector that I can get a good look. I have my little vacuum sucker but I can't get it all.

I can see the valves, and they look fine. But there might be some marks on the piston, I just can't tell for sure with all the oil

 

[Lt.Dan]

Borescope pics. Ruh-roh raggy. Some pretty good contact on cyl 1 there. Both valves! Looks like the intake valve for sure dug into the piston. I cant see any cracks, but like i said earlier, its all too wet. The cylinder walls do not have any marks on them though!

 

[heavydoc]

Nope, reused the stock springs.

I found cyl 7 had the injector pigtail fall out, most likely from me putting the valve cover back on, so that explains why cyl 7 failed.

Unplugging cyl 1 had no change on how it ran, so thats our culprit. All injectors were ejecting oil evenly, and all valves were working properly. I swapped the solenoid with cyl 5, and no difference. So I pulled the injector to put my borescope in there, but everything is so oily from pulling the injector that I can get a good look. I have my little vacuum sucker but I can't get it all.

I can see the valves, and they look fine. But there might be some marks on the piston, I just can't tell for sure with all the oil

Wash the top of the piston with brake cleaner. Then rotate the engine a few times to push the cleaner out. Repeat as necessary. That is how I look in cylinders and when a machine tips over and fills it full of oil. Gotta thin it out somehow

 

[cfherrman]

I was wondering if hitting it with air would blow it out and dry it up

 

[Lt.Dan]

Ill try the brake cleaner technique. Very smart. But anytime I turn over the motor, oil flows out of the injector rail and right into the cylinder again lol.

 

[heavydoc]

Unplug your ipr, not sure if that would kill the oil supply or not. Or disconnect the oil supply line to the head.

 

[Lt.Dan]

Regardless if I get it all cleaned up, if there is valve damage and piston damage, the motor is most likely not salvageable right? There is no way of correcting the fact that the original machine shop removed too much when they decked the heads and block?

 

[heavydoc]

Depends, you could have a lifter problem. Unless you know the machine shop milled it to far. Then you can have the valve seats replaced and recessed a little. I just did this on my 2002 engine. The seats from factory are milled into the head. The replacement seats are of much better material anyways. Think I got them from rock auto

 

[Lt.Dan]

They were for sure milled too far, because they told me I had to buy 0.030" shorter pushrods to prevent piston to valve contact. Looks like they didn't do theyre math right or something?

I just am trying to figure out if I need to start saving for a reman ford long block, or if its feasible to fix myself.

 

[heavydoc]

Wonder why they didn't just face the valves and take .030 off the valva stem top. Not to late to do that. I've seen the work you've done. And is totally fixable, if you have the tooling

 

[Lt.Dan]

Does shortening the valve like that reduce lift and subsequently reduce power?

 

[heavydoc]

Not if the heads were milled to much, the geometry will be the same.

 

[Lt.Dan]

Looks like I'm pulling the motor, and trying to find a decent shop around here to check it out then. If they can recess the valves, and maybe just replace the lifters just in case. Fingers crossed there is no damage to the cylinder bore or anything major.

I'm still half tempted to just buy a Ford reman block just to have the piece of mind...

 

[heavydoc]

I don't think the problem is in the block, except for maybe a piston. Pull the heads and see if the valves have clearance between the valve bottom and the deck surface of the head. But either way a head shop should be able to fix the problem. I do understand the piece of mind thing also.

 

[BBslider001]

Man it seems to never end soemtimes with owning these trucks. It is a very fixable issue though. If it were me, a reman would be what I would do so i know I have a fresh start.

 

[Weatherlite]

Once you find a good machine shop you could see about getting the pistons fly cut to give the valves the clearance they need. IIRC the 7.3 has some stout pistons and could easily handle having a little taken off. It's an option anyway.

 

[Lt.Dan]

Id be hesitant to remove the material from the piston, I already am towing way over my limit. I'd hate to remove a little material and lower its capability to expell/absorb heat.

For now, it'll get put to the side, again, until I have the time and funds to fix it. Sigh...

 

[JustAFenceBuilder]

A thought:

I’ve seen lots of engines on FB marketplace for $500-1000

You might be able to cure your problem by getting one of those, and using the head off it, and a thick head gasket if it’s made.

I’m just spitballing here. It doesn’t cure the problem, but it might buy you enough breathing room to keep rolling down the road.

 

[Lt.Dan]

A used motor locally might be an option, but I run into the gray area of not knowing it's history again.

Its really discouraging and makes me not want to tow the trailer with it anymore. How do you trust it after it breaks every time you touch it???

 

[BBslider001]

A used motor locally might be an option, but I run into the gray area of not knowing it's history again.

Its really discouraging and makes me not want to tow the trailer with it anymore. How do you trust it after it breaks every time you touch it???

I have absolutely experienced this and got rid of the truck as a result. I couldn't seem to keep an auto trans in it for anything...even a John Woods built sucker. I sold her and never looked back. I am not saying to do the same thing, but rather that I understand the sentiment. If it were me, just my 2 cents, but I would find a used STOCK mill that has not been molested/modified. You can check for signs of dusting and such. Most salvage places might even be able to let you hear it run and idle. At least you know you'll have a decent foundation. By the time you go through the fixes and all the time spent, a $1500 used mill would most likely be worth it. The PO did this same thing with my current truck I bought from him. He took a good running mill out of a school bus at 175k miles, put it in my truck (when it was his) and it's been good for 50k miles. I have towed HEAVY with it for lots of miles. Most 7.3s will be more than fine as long as some yayhoo hasn't been putting starting fluid to it or some other ridiculousness. The gamble is worth it, again, in my opinion. Don't give up yet. You have come this far.