Well, it happened... BANG.

[Triathlete]

Sounds like your dealer is taking good care of you! Wish I had a local dealer like that. Keep us informed.

[Anita]

I was told the new engine will only be covered by the origional warranties. So, I'm not getting a new one for this engine. If you had a day left that's all it would be covered for. that sucks.

That does not sound right. I always understood that new parts were guaranteed for a period of time. Anyone else heard this?

[billh23]

my dealer is telling me the new engine + work will be covered for 2 years/24,000.

[t2p]

.... speaking of new engines .........
.
how do you prime the oil pump / system on a 'new' late model engine ? .......... when the engine has no distributor ?
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it was relatively easy when an engine had a distributor - you inserted a 'dummy' distributor shaft attached to a drill and primed the oil pump ...........

[SGT.BATGUANO]

You might try removing the cam sensor and see if it engages the oil pump drive shaft. It replaces the distributor on many newer engines. Only problem is maintaining the correct alignment when you put it back in. You have to bring the engine to true zero degrees TDC and take a resistance reading on the sensor to set it correctly.

[billh23]

Well I got my truck back today! Suprise #1 is they installed a long-block instead of the short-block, so I got almost a complete new engine under the hood. They even had to recharge the a/c when they took it apart, so I'm excited! I need new brakes and tires, then she is probably as good as new or better!

The #2 surprise was, the new engine and work isn't covered by any warranty other then the remainder of the factory warranty. This would be bad news if I hadn't bought the exteneded warranty when I did.

I'm pumped up and happy to start driving the VX again!

Any suggestions on breaking in the engine? I want to run synthetic oil, but is it a good idea to get the first change with it, or should i run regular old oil for the first few? I'm planning on getting the first oil change at 1000 miles. Good idea? Last but not least, the service guy told me this all could have been avoided by changing the PCV valve at every other oil change.

[SGT.BATGUANO]

Some folks say abuse it from the start and sometimes it seems to make the engine quicker, or blow it up.

Personally I'd keep it 55 or under for the first 500, 65 for the next 500 . Let it run for a couple minutes after each startup, before driving.

When does the dealer recommend the 1st oil change?

The engine that came with the truck was supposedly already broken-in, but with this one you want to be sure the rings seat properly, so go with what the mechanic says.

As for the pcv info: Why don't they send that info to us all?

[doubleadesign]

i'm pretty sure i'm getting a "long block". i called to ask about replacing the timing chain and water pump that has 51K on it. he said not to worry about the chain, it ws a "bolt on" engine. So i took that to mean a lot was being replaced. I'm all ears for Bill's advice. I got the same answer about the warranty.


2 days....2 more long days.....

[t2p]

Any suggestions on breaking in the engine? I want to run synthetic oil, but is it a good idea to get the first change with it, or should i run regular old oil for the first few? I'm planning on getting the first oil change at 1000 miles. Good idea? Last but not least, the service guy told me this all could have been avoided by changing the PCV valve at every other oil change.

.
I'm probably un-informed .... ill-informed ..... mis-informed ........
but I would probably 'break in' the engine using conventional or semi-synthetic oil for the first 'so many' miles .. ...... 1000 ...... 3000 ....... 5000 ..... ??? ...... until the switch to full synthetic. It is probably some urban legend or wives tale about not breaking in an engine with full synthetic, but there may be something to it ....... ???
.
The one thing I would avoid with a new engine is sustained speeds at the same (constant) rpm ......... prolonged highway driving is probably not the best way to break in a new engine ....... not the best way to 'seat' the rings ..... or something like that ..... maybe this is also mis-information ........ ???
.
The 'PCV thing' with this engine .......... is ...... perplexing ??? .......
I can not remember an engine that needed PCV valve changes (like this) since the late 60's and 70's .......... ???

[XvX]

My engine blew at 54k miles, and was covered by warranty. They wanted to give me a runaround, but eventually put in a short block. It worked fine after that for the couple months I had it before I traded it off. I never trusted it again. That #1 cylinder is a known issue, and it should never be a hassle to get it fixed, but the dealers and manufacturer just seem to like making the customers jump through the hoops. Mine was a 99, btw.

[doubleadesign]

ok the dealer says oil change at 1,000 miles. keep it under 60. OK to go for synthetic right off the bat. thumbs up all around in the shop. suggested AMSoil if i could afford it buy stick with mobil or castrol. AMSoil runs about $15 a quart but you can do your oil change once a year. highly recomended since he says he races his cars "dry". bo cooling system. but since i need to change it every 3k for warranty purposes it'd be ok to use the others. it will take me about a month to rack up those miles, maybe longer. what a test of fortatude.

[t2p]

I need new brakes and tires, then she is probably as good as new or better!

.
billh23:
.
Tires: If you are on a budget, look into the Mastercraft Courser HTR Plus - 255-55-18. Manufactured by Cooper. Decent tire at a decent price. I have them on my VX. Don't have alot of miles on them, but previous experience with these (and Cooper) has been positive.
.
t2p

[Dallas4u]

Originally posted by doubleadesign
ok the dealer says oil change at 1,000 miles. keep it under 60. OK to go for synthetic right off the bat. thumbs up all around in the shop. suggested AMSoil if i could afford it buy stick with mobil or castrol. AMSoil runs about $15 a quart but you can do your oil change once a year. highly recomended since he says he races his cars "dry". bo cooling system. but since i need to change it every 3k for warranty purposes it'd be ok to use the others. it will take me about a month to rack up those miles, maybe longer. what a test of fortatude.

This is funny... a person in the service department telling someone that just had their engine replaced that, if they use AMSoil, they would usually only need to change their oil once a year? Hilarious and completely and utterly wrong! Would ANYONE seriously go 15k miles on one single oil change?

I know because of new enigne warranty reasons that you have to change it every 3k miles, which is definitely encouraged, but can you imagine someone actually believing this guy... changing their oil once in a year, then bringing it back with a problem?

"Eh, the service manager said if I use AMSoil I only need to change my oil once a year. Yeah, I went around 20k this year and changed it in June... so why do I hear scraping in the engine compartment all the time??? What? You say it's my fault? Well, your service manager SAID I didn't have to change it but once a year... so why do I have to pay ANOTHER $5k for ANOTHER engine?"

[doubleadesign]

he was just telling me about the best stuff you can buy. A friend of his hadn't changed his oil in 3 years using this stuff. Too crazy for me to believe or understand. but, he did end the conversation by stating that if I went this route I'd still have to change it ever 3K miles in order to preserve my warratny. So, I plan on using the stuff at the Oil Lube places every 3K miles, like castrol or mobil. Which are a step below this AMSoil. I wouldn't want to spend nearly $100 every 3K anyway.

[Mr. I-MAN]

where did you take it for the servicing?