4.6 rebuild
5th Gear Member
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 3,628
From: ohio
The 4.6l block is pretty good. Not sure what horror stories your referring to, but my 93 lincoln has a 4v 32 valve 4.6l with 146k and runs strong... My last 2000 mustang gt with the 4.6l engine had well over 240k on it and ran strong.
The only horror stories I have ever heard about the engine all start with " So I forgot to change my oil "
Seriously though,, the 4.6l engine is a good engine, it suffers from the fact that it requires scheduled oil changes, unlike older engines ,, the oil galleys on the 4.6l engine are much smaller than the older pushrod engines, but its required to achieve a good oil pressure for all the moving parts up top. Sludge is not a recommended lubricant, and will destroy these engines. We stop sludge by maintaining a proper oil schedule, and by using the correct oil and filter.
The only horror stories I have ever heard about the engine all start with " So I forgot to change my oil "
Seriously though,, the 4.6l engine is a good engine, it suffers from the fact that it requires scheduled oil changes, unlike older engines ,, the oil galleys on the 4.6l engine are much smaller than the older pushrod engines, but its required to achieve a good oil pressure for all the moving parts up top. Sludge is not a recommended lubricant, and will destroy these engines. We stop sludge by maintaining a proper oil schedule, and by using the correct oil and filter.
Last edited by dawson1112; Jun 20, 2017 at 06:38 AM.
4th Gear Member
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,826
From: SoCal
+1 to the above. What are you hearing specifically about the block that sounds problematic? These blocks are capable of holding more power than most of us have the $$ or knowledge to build. And in terms of wear on high mileage engines, I've come across several stories over the years of people who have torn down 200K+ engines and the cross-hatch marks from the factory honing are still visible in the bores. Besides using rods and pistons that won't hold up past 400rwhp, Ford pretty much had their crap together on the 2V 4.6 engines.
The only real issue to watch out for is timing chain tensioners that are beginning to fail, which leads to excessive wear on the plastic chain guides and eventually complete engine failure if left unaddressed. But it sounds like you are rebuilding, so assuming you install fresh timing components I don't think you'll have any issues there.
The only real issue to watch out for is timing chain tensioners that are beginning to fail, which leads to excessive wear on the plastic chain guides and eventually complete engine failure if left unaddressed. But it sounds like you are rebuilding, so assuming you install fresh timing components I don't think you'll have any issues there.
Last edited by Z28KLR; Jun 20, 2017 at 11:22 AM.
4th Gear Member
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,826
From: SoCal
Just go find a gently used engine out of a 2001+ CrownVic/Towncar/GrandMarquis. Same engine as was in 1999+ Mustangs. They made them up until 2011 or so. The newer and less miles the better, stay away from anything that was police/taxi/livery use. Can generally be had for under $1000, I suggest running a Carfax report on the donor vehicle VIN as a means of verifying advertised mileage.