That engine is cursed!

Is that bore 6?

 

It did take out the valve. Look how bent the valve is.

 

The cylinder wall is fine, shockingly. No scratches at all and the cross hatch is good. I'm now wondering if I should just clean and beat down the face of that piston or swap to one of my 4.0 sets. Honestly, I may just use that piston--I am not leaking ANY oil and that is a rare state of grace (in an otherwise horrible situation). I have good heads (which is amazing, but it is not amazing that I really ruined that one). I really don't understand how I had ANY compression on that cylinder, at all, but I tested each of them and they were all in close range. That cylinder in particular was very hard to test because of my compression test hose (thick and inflexible), and I specifically recall testing it.

That was #7. The valve was definitely screwed up. I did find the bolt. It was unharmed (grade 8)! I really don't know how it got there because it is the replacement bolt for the top of my motor mount, which is one of the very last things I put on.

Shocking.

And doesn't answer the question on 4 and 6.

 

Honestly, I am appalled. I may use old parts sometimes but leaving or dropping or failing to notice a bolt in the engine is shocking. I mean, Im not trying to destroy my own truck.

Thinking back, this had to have happened after I had the bad injector and replaced a piston.

Anyway, I have heard stories about things falling into the intake but never saw a picture of what happened. I dropped a small bolt in the intake once and took hours to get it out.

Now everyone knows what it looks like. Not pretty!

 

Yeah that valve and it's guide are screwed. I could probably use the head anyway with a new valve and guide but there is no point since I have another set. Looks like I'm going to learn about doing valves!

The other head looked fine, and I filled it with water. . There were no leaks. The pictured one would pour the water out.

 

No. The engine is blessed. I am cursed! HAHAHAHA.

I can laugh. It is a maniacal laugh in need of therapy. This is what I get for loving this vehicle too much and not buying a new one, like any sane person would.

It is number 7.

 

you can grind off the sharp edges of damaged piston and put good heads back on it,,,,,,
BUT,,, problem with doing that is how can you be sure that edge of that piston didn't sink a little (due to hammering the bolt against the head), if it has, then top ring groove on at least one side is pressed closer & that can very well cause ring breakage or at least uneven wear of ring & cylinder wall prematurely,, & after all work you have done you don't want to have another problem in near future,, if it was me I would replace that one piston or at least take it out for a close inspection of top ring groove, if it checks out, then you can smooth out the damaged top much better & reinstall same piston (much better if you can source another piston for the damaged one) but if not at least you have a peace of mind that top groove is fine & you can do much better job smoothing out piston On work table than inside a cylinder,,
(Sorry, I know, it's easier for me to say it, because I am not doing the work,, )

 

No that's a very valid point. I was thinking about it last night. First I want to be sure the conrod is okay. I'm going to rotate the engine to see if the piston sits as high as the others at TDC. When I originally did this swap I considered swapping 4.0 pistons in, since I have several. If the piston doesnt sit right I will get a new rod rings and bearings and go ahead with that swap.

Looking at the pictures and in person it looks like the bolt hit the fat part of the piston once, full on, and another time, glancing, on its head. Those are the blows that would be the worst but as long as the rod is okay, the Rings should have sucked into their grooves. It has so little run time since I installed the rings and I cleaned the grooves do thoroughly, they should be good unless something equally shocking to the bolt happened. And after I took the heads off the top of the piston held coolant for several hours.

NOT an ideal situation from the get go. If I had a spare 4.6 piston, rod, and bearing handy, I would definitely swap it. As it is, the jury will be out unless and until I pick the heads up and walk toward the engine. I really want to just drive it at this point.

 

So a little good news. First, the piston rises to precisely the same level as my others. I will assume I have no conrod damage. The sleeve is not scratched all the way down. And the protrusions on the piston face were easy to tackle with a very long socket extension and a small hammer. It doesn't take much. They are softer than they look. I picked off the spare flakes and the piston holds antifreeze.

Good to go.

Bonus good news: a buddy of mine 30 minutes away just gave me some free heads and a head gasket set. Score!

 

Huge score Captain Bright Side!