REALLY REALLY bad day today.

[rmk57]

That sounds encouraging. Keep us posted and I hope it all works out.

[RICH MUISE]

Not sure if you saw my previous post about only having 50#compression in the one bank I checked. didn't sound encouraging to me unless I'm missing something.
Going out of town for a day..........I'll check back Saturday......need a roadtrip.

[Tom S]

Sorry, Rich. This is a real bummer. Wonder if compression would come up when warm should you get it to start.  Pretty sure that  compression tests are to be done with a fully warmed up engine.

[CobraJoe]

Sorry to hear Rich, that really sucks.

Not to be the bearer of bad news, but I think even if you do get it to run, you'll probably won't get enough oil fed to the cams. As said before, steel cams riding on a machined aluminum surface that doesn't have bearings. I've done tons of cam phasers on 5.4 3 valve mod motors and have seen the heads pretty well scored just from guys not changing their oil regularly which causes them to bleed off oil pressure.

Here is a picture of a cam from one I did for a guy who changed his oil every 5000 miles. I thought I had a pic of the head, but I can't find it. This motor ended up being junk.

[lalessi1]

Rich, I have been busy of late and haven't logged in for a couple of days. I would walk away for a while, I have always felt like whatever the problem is it diminishes in scale with a little separation. You have my sympathy. 

[Ford Blue blood]

Hey Bill, I was hoping you'd see this thread as you're one of the few here that have exper. with the mod motors that I'm aware of.
I think the compression test I just did is verifying I have major problems. Never have done a compression test before, borrowed a Mac's Tools tester from my friend.
I disabled the fuel pump, pulled the 4 coils and plugs from one bank. Exactly 50 lbs. in all 4. According to a you tube video, the test should be done with throttle all the way to the floor. That's what I did, even though I believe the reason for that is that it disables the injectors, which didn't matter since I disabled the fuel pump. I cranked it for about 8-10 seconds per cylinder. Even had my wife crank it once to make sure the gage was holding at the high point, and it was.

That is partially good news.  It says the valves are opening and closing. Squirt some oil in each cylinder and re-check the compression.  The oil will help seal the rings to the cylinder walls and should raise the psi in each cylinder.  The bad cylinder in my 351C did not respond to the oil, it stayed at no compression.  Ideally compression should be checked hot but cold checks can give hints to a problem as well. 

[RICH MUISE]

Got back from the Goodguys show late last night. Yesterday the show was about 1/2 what is normally there. I'm sure it was because of the rain forcasted for the weekend. The swap meet area was less than 1/2 normal as well, one of the reasons I went.hoping one of those guys with a trailer full of engines would be there. nope.
I'll add oil to the cylinders and do another test today. I'm also going to pull a valve cover for a look. May pull the caps of one of the cams to see if the bearing surfaces are scored like the pic Joe posted.

[CobraJoe]

.... I'm also going to pull a valve cover for a look. May pull the caps of one of the cams to see if the bearing surfaces are scored like the pic Joe posted.

Rich, take a good look at the caps themselves, that is where you should see the heavy scoring. Remember, pull the caps one at a time so you don't loose the cam or any of the followers. Don't quote me on it, but if I remember, the torque spec is 7.5-8 foot lbs.
Good luck.

[RICH MUISE]

found this hardcopy of a pic I took when I changed the valve covers to the COPs while I was installing the engine. Had to scan it, so not sure of quality. Clean as a whistle at 52k miles", the pic was just as it was when I pulled the old cover, no cleaning whatsoever.

[Ecode70D]

Rich
     I'm still here as a silent observer.  Like I stated previously, I don't know much about that modern stuff, and have no idea  how you got it all hooked up and running in the first place. 
     
     It just ain't right that you of all people are in a jam like this .

     I have faith and wish you the best, that you can somehow easily save the engine, get the computer working again and can  be back happily driving again.
    Jay
 

[Thor]

Rich,
       I just got on the form after a month. WOW... I'm so sorry to hear about your engine. It really broke my heart to hear what happened with all the work you've done. Hopefully you won't have much damage at all...but I'm not holding my breath. Back in 1983 (when I was a young aircraft mechanic) I had to inspect a Cessna 150 engine that was ran without oil for less than 1-2 minutes. (Our flight line service guy forgot to add oil in after an oil change...no oil pressure at startup...shut down fairly quickly...at least that was his story.) It completely trashed all the rod and main bearings.
      You didn't say... did you cut open the oil filter? See any metal? I would start buy putting on a cheep oil filter, adding oil and starting the car for a minute or so and removing the filter / cutting it open. If you cut it open and see much metal at all I bet your rod/main bearings are trashed for sure. If you need me too, I can look around here for another engine and see if I can find a low mile 93 - 95 Lincoln engine. Best of luck Rich!     

[RICH MUISE]

I did not cut apart the oil filter, mainly because I figured by the time damage starting being done, there wasn't any oil to carry the particles to the filter. I figured I'd cut apart the one I put back on after running the engine for a short while........I guess I was being over optimistic with that thinking, lol.

OK, just did a wet compression test. I went down and got a pump oil can, some rubber tubing, and a bottle of Marvel Mystery Oil. LOL.......right next to it on the shelf at O'Reilly's was a can of "engine fix all". Wouldn't that be nice.
Couldn't find the cylinder numbering chart, so right bank front to back:
1 went from 50 dry to 73 wet
2 went from 50 to 62
3 went from 50 to 65
4 went from 50 to 65
Joe....the torque on the camshaft caps is 8-12 n-m   (metric?) 71-106 lb-in
I don't have an inch lbs torque wrench.

[Thor]

Rich,
      If push comes to shove....This might work.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Lincoln-4-6-MKVIII-DOHC-engine-complete-engine-never-run-Kit-Car-Hot-Rod/273736520365?hash=item3fbbf7d2ad:g:j~EAAOSwxLFcUhGP

[Wirenut]

Rich, what year model is your set up, I found a 2009 Mercury LS today with 80k miles this morning. It had some front and rear damage but was minimal and in driving condition . The lady just messaged me it sold. She was asking 2000.00 complete car. Ill keep looking for a descent deal but not sure what years fall into the criteria you need. Hopefully you can save yours but until the verdict is in I'll keep looking.

[RICH MUISE]

It has to be 93-95 or I'll end up redoing the wiring harness @ a thousand bucks!. Only the Mark VIIIs and Mercury Marauders had the dohc for that vintage in rear wheel drive. Other 4.6's were sohc or front wheel drive.
60-70k max miles on a donor car is what I'd be looking for, preferably less. Monday I'll check with Jasper engines on a rebuild.
Thor, I've been in contact with that Ebay seller. I have several unknowns/concerns about it.  First, it is a prototype pre-production engine. Not sure if that means there might be differences from a production engine that might cause some major headaches because you'd always be dealing with an unknown. Also where did the engine come from? He says his customer he's selling it for bought it to install in a '56 Ford then changed his mind. This guy is an ebay seller, not somebody I or we know, so a definite buyer beware situation. A friend here told me the big manufacturers frequently donated engines to trade schools, so there is a big chance this engine was in a school shop being assembled/disassembled many many times over the course of a few decades. Would still fall under that "never run new engine description.
A few years ago Rich Kuberski was offered a '95 4.6 Mark VIII never run test engine. Whole different ballgame there. Rich knew the guy that owned the company that had it and why. No surprises there. He's sure the engine is gone now, but he's going to check into it for me.