Going through the same exact thing with my truck (white se7 like yours) but decided to not rebuild the 4.6. Going to go with the LS swap that Ace Engineering is developing.

I think the extra effort will be worth while. More power, better gas efficiency and more aftermarket support. You might want to consider going that route instead.


You anywhere near NW Texas? Once I get these heads off I'll know if this is a good candidate for a rebuild and I'll be looking to get rid of it.

 

Looks like fun!

 

I am in north florida. I wanted to keep costs down and this is a project for my son and I so we're going to continue heading down this path. Thanks though!

 

Ok here we go! I ordered the replacement parts today. Below are the details:

• Purchased a bare block from roverlandparts.com. This is a used block that is cleaned, inspected, pressure tested, decked and honed cylinders. $812 shipped.
• Went with Turner Engineering for new parts. They seemed to be more responsive and provided suggestions on other parts to replace and they were a lot cheaper. Below is the BOM. $898 shipped.
• This weekend I will finish disassembling the engine and get the crank and pistons ready for machining. I'll also pressure wash the engine compartment and replace the O2 sensors.

 

You can't machine your crank and install standard sized bearings.

If your shop has to machine .01 then you go with the larger .01 bearings.

If your shop has to machine all the way to .02 (recommended) then you install .02 bearings for connecting rods and main.

New standard bearings for new camshaft no matter what, though.



Also, I've never heard of anyone having success machining pistons. YMMV.

Typically, you deck the block, heads, and machine the crank.

 

Also, piston rings snap easily when assembling. Best to have a full set of spares handy. To do the job right, you are going to be inserting those bare piston rings in the exact cylinder that they will later be installed in, and using your upside down piston to press the piston ring down into the cylinder evenly. At that point you lift the piston out, leaving the piston ring down in the cylinder.

Then you use a feeler gage to check the appropriate ring gap of that piston ring in that cylinder, and when the gap is too small you will use a cheap hand piston ring grinder to slightly enlarge that gap as needed (within factory specs). This is called "blueprinting" your piston rings.

It's easy and this will greatly reduce your oil burn as well as prevent a piston from locking up in a cylinder due to a piston ring gap that was too small.

 

Thanks No Doubt! As you can guess, I am a noob and this is our first engine rebuild . The machine shop will only be cleaning and inspecting the connecting rods - not machining the pistons.

I will check on the bearings with Turner. Maybe I should delay that part of the order until I hear back from the machine shop?

Your last advice on the piston rings sounds like more than I want to get into. I will look into the shop building out my short block instead of me doing it. Thanks again!

 

@Zuke

Alright well I am the guy who are talking about. I ordered a Turner long block, fully assembled and had a shop put in in for me. Ask me anything...

I didn't really think about resale value at all honestly. I thought about what it would cost and what else I could for that price. A 2004 Disco with as solid of an engine as they come is what I wanted. What does it mater what someone else will pay for the truck? I want it to use.

Just because the cost of the engine and install is more than what someone's unreliable D2 or what someone else might pay for mine when it's all said and done doesn't mean that its not worth it. I now have a vehicle that I feel comfortable taking on 1000 mile plus road trips with and I feel confident putting money into fixing other parts of the vehicle.

If you lived in a cheap house that you loved but was only worth 15k, and it was 20k to get a new roof, would you move out and demolish the house, since "it isn't worth it?"

 

Engine disassembled. Pulled the crank, pistons, water pump, front cover and oil pan and cleaned them up. Covered connections and openings in the engine compartment and cleaned it out. Also received the bare block from roverlandparts.com so I will be taking that, the crank, heads and connecting rods to Precision Crankshaft in Jacksonville on Monday. They are going to clean and inspect everything and give me feedback on bearings and any other parts I need to replace. Once the parts come in from Turner, I'll have Precision Crankshaft build the short block. Tomorrow I will replace the O2 sensors while the engine is out.

Let me know if you all have any comments or suggestions. We're new at this and we didn't expect our first rover project would involve replacing the engine!


Stripping down the block



#3 bearing


Yes that is the coolant!

My buddy prepping the engine compartment for cleaning

Before cleaning

After cleaning

Figured I might as well give it a good washing while I was at it.

 

Dropped off the heads, donor block, piston assembly and crankshaft at Precision Crankshaft this morning. They are going to rework the heads, deck the block and home the cylinders and clean and inspect the crankshaft. Once all the work is done this week they will give me initial specs so I can complete my order for the parts I need from Turner. I’ll post the details once I have them!