2000 Continental head / engine removal - FSM directions?

[the realdocimastic]

Hi! I have searched this forum and Googled, but cannot find any info re head or engine removal. I am hoping someone has a factory shop manual and will either post on this thread, or PM or email me with scans, etc.

1) Can the heads be removed with the engine in the car? (One post said no, because of the timing cover.... but I am thinking the cam gears "just" have to be removed from the cams, and the chains held taught.)

2) What is the procedure for pulling (dropping) the engine? I have read that it comes out the bottom... like a CTS Cadi.

Any specific info will be much appreciated!

 

[Town]

Attached is the basic procedure to remove the engine from a 2000 Continental. According to the manual procedures the removal of the cylinder heads is not listed as an "in-vehicle" repair.

Good luck.

 

[the realdocimastic]

Thanks so much, Town! And Grrrr re "removal of the cylinder heads is not listed as an "in-vehicle" repair. That seems to answer THAT issue!
David

 

[the realdocimastic]

Town... First, thanks again. Just read through the procdure... Oy vay! 63 steps before "Remove the engine assembly." Admittedly,many of the preparation steps are short and simple, but it is still an intimidating procedure. Sure not like pulling engines from cars built through the mid to late 80's!

I found it surprising -and encouraging -that the engine lifts out, rather than drops down. Still not sure this is something I am up to tackling, though!

The file you posted was obviously not a scan, but an original PDF. Where can the manual be had in PDF? I have only ever seen hard copies for sale....

Many thanks.... hope your week is EXCELLENT!

David

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[Town]

You can probably get a disc from e-bay.

If you decide to remove the engine yourself, you will then need to disassemble it, or as much of it as you need to disassemble, so attached is the complete procedure.

What is the problem that you need to remove both heads?

I would think the problem with removing the heads is the #1 bank being close to the firewall. I wonder if you could tilt the engine and trans forward enough for clearance? With the engine mounts loosened there is a fair amount of movement on the 3.8 OHV V6 engine in a Taurus. I think I might talk to a wrecker to see how they might approach the correction of your problem and the cost. If you choose well you can get some smart guys that can save a lot of time. Just a thought.

Good luck.

 

[the realdocimastic]

Town ... Good comments, all, and thanks for the well wishes, AND for the engine disassembly PDF. VERY good idea about tilting the engine!

The 2000 Continental is a car I picked up a few months ago at what I thought was a cheap price. A or A- exterior, B interior. Got sucked in by the appearance ... "How bad could it [the engine] be?" I asked myself. The answer turned out to be "Worse than you could possibly imagine!" LOL

Two reasons I am thinking about pulling the heads: One is that I have some noise from the #1 bank that seems to be valve train noise (not tick-tick-tick; more like a clatter) but I am thinking that it could be chain tensioner/ guide noise. (I am not experienced with Ford modular engine valve train noises. Note also that using a 2 or 3 foot length of garden hose as a stethoscope, the noise appears to be from the front of the engine - around #1 or #2 cylinders - but of course maybe the chains. There does not seem to be any leakage from the exhaust manifold gasket, which I know can mimic valve noise.) I thought the oil restrictor might be plugged so I removed the valve covers and cranked the engine with the appropriate camshaft bearing cap ladders removed; it squirted plenty of oil ... the same as the #2 bank. And no, the camshafts didn't break! LOL When I got it buttoned back up, the noise was gone, but only to re-appear shortly thereafter.

The other reason is that the engine, which had/has been severely overheated (another loooong story!) appears to have a leaking head gasket - likely at #6 cylinder. The leak seems to be sealed for now; I used Bar's Head Gasket Fix - only to have the water pump spring a leak and lose the coolant 3 days later. My low coolant sensor was stuck, so I was unaware of the coolant loss, and of course the engine overheated AGAIN! This time around I used FiberLock Head Gasket and Block Repair. It seems to have done the job, but not as quickly as the Bar's - it took several days or running it 20 or so minutes at a time before the temp would stay normal. These sealers all say they are a permanent fix, but ......

A point of possible interest: When I pulled the #2 bank valve cover, one of the rocker arms was lying down on the head! Got that back in place without issue by backing off all of the cam bearing ladder bolts a bit at a time and allowing the cam to raise up a bit. Talked with a great guy at modularheadshop in Winter Park, FL and asked if he had ever seen this before. "Yes, on my own car." Very, very strange.

The car runs awesome strong - the noise is not audible at road speed - not sure if it goes away or I just can't hear it. It does NOT get louder with increased RPM or load..... but I can't help thinking of trying to find some C-4 plastic explosive....

By way of footnote - I got the low coolant sensor working. I used this easy fix, but had to let mine sit overnight with sudsy water in it, then it broke free right away. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5814yr2p_Y (Search youtube for coolant level sensor repair. It was posted by richpin06a.)

Again, thank you for all of your help. Before I ever posted on lincolforums, I had observed that it is YOU, Town, that typically / frequently provides the most useful information. GOOD JOB.... and, I feel sure, thanks from many of us!

 

[Town]

Thank you.

A good used engine may be an alternative to trying to fix possible warped heads, and 4 timing chains, 2 long ones (to drive one camshaft per bank) with hydraulic tensioners and plastic covered tensioner arms and 2 short ones (to drive the second camshaft) and they have a separate hydraulic tensioner but no arms. All that repair work is going to have a significant cost in parts and machining.

You may want to price a used engine and this link maybe a starting point for used parts: http://www.car-part.com/index.htm wreckers usually have a warranty on their parts even if you install them, and their installation is usually cheaper than others. But you do need a good company.

Good luck.

 

[the realdocimastic]

You are most welcome!

I agree a that a good used engine is a better alternative than a rebuild. I had already looked on car-part.com (but thanks anyway!) ... it is a GREAT site, for sure. Can buy an engine for $300 - $400 dollars (depending on mileage) locally, or $200 if I want to pull it at LKQ "self service" auto parts. The latter is probably not a good choice, both from a labor standpoint (out in the hot sun, no air tools, etc) and risk of an untested engine. Yes, they give a 30 day guarantee, but GAWD I would hate to have to do the job twice!! I can get a shop to replace for $600 (labor only), or possibly as little as $450 ... ...if the shop gets the engine, then the risk of it being bad is on them, or, more accurately and as I was told, it is between them and the junk yard.

To my surprise, none of the junk yards I have called in my area will do an engine swap. Strange to me, as they ALL used to do that kind of work.

Thanks for your thoughts / suggestions!

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[Town]

The engine install procedure is actually a separate procedure, and not the usual "reverse the removal procedure" so I have attached it.

Good luck.

 

[Dahlton Guilbeau]

I don't mean to bump a old thread but this saved me over $2000 in shop labor doing it myself. Thank you thank you!