edwardohaskillo said:
Hmm...I don't know the dealer, but I would think if the engine was pulled and replaced under warranty, there is probably something seriously wrong, or the previous owner is a major "squeaky wheel". I can't imagine how much a brand new bullitt motor would cost.
Initially I was thinking, "just swap motors and run her til she falls, then strip the parts and put 'em on your original motor." Even if you gernade the engine, the bullitt intake would probably survive. The heads surviving, I'm not so sure about.
Consider pulling the pan and "plasti-gaging" the journals, and big ends of the rods. Granted, this would tell you nothing about the wrist pins, but it would be a cheap and relatively painfree way of getting info before the decision. however, I would think usually the little end of the rods would be the "knocker"
I still wonder why they would pull an intact motor and replace it with so little miles.
Something about that bullitt motor scares me...
Jim
Well to keep this correct , the engine actually only had 3,843 miles according to a copy of the original repair invoice I have and the total warranty replacement cost was $4800 and some change !!! It also shows the customer (A WOMAN) complained of cold engine knock. You know what they say about a woman scorned !!!
Before I bought this engine I had read in the forums a thread somewhere about this problem called the "death knock" or whatever that let me know more about this problem so I was not really surprised when I saw the reason it was replaced.
I too was surprised at this scenario but this was also probably from someone that was a real PITA and Ford did it to make them (her) happy. I am sure after paying sticker price or above for the Bullitt she sure didn't want someone going into the engine at 3000 mi, which I can also relate to.
Anyway I thought just to save a little aggrivation I would just swap the parts from the heads up. Also I was waiting until Ford got the new Mach 1 in production so I could gt the correct brackets for the throttle cables and stuff to use on an automatic car like mine and not the stick like in all the Bullitt cars.
I sure would love to get this swap done as I can hardly wait to feel the higher HP. It should really be a kick with the other mods I have already done which include, 4.10 gears, pullies ( cant use them on this engine, it came with those anyway) O/R H-pipe, Flowmasters,and a
K&N filter. I figure with my gears this car will really be kick to drive !!
I agree with your suggestion on checking the bottom end but I sure hate to pull the heads and stuff to remove a few rods to check for this problem on the wrist pin ends too. According to the invoice date of 12/01 this problem may really not be much of anything , as a lot of cars have a slight knock in winter colder temps on startup until the oil temp rises. I had a 02 Trans Am ( LOL ! ) that did that too and was not even noticable and as soon as it warmed up a min or two.
I may just risk it and install the entire engine assy and see what happens. I really don't think it would hurt anything unless it actually really has a bad hard knock and from what everyone has told me it is really easier to replace the engine assy than to try and install the heads in the car anyway. I guess at the worst case scenario I may lose some labor time doing the swap if it doesn't pan out.
Anyway thanks for the reply and if anyone knows more about this cold engine knock problem or what causes it please let me know. Thanks Kars