Engine torque

carringb wrote:
Did you already offload the Ford? Why not sell the Chevy and use that $ to replace the motor. Ford has complete remans (with plugs and oil already in!) at reasonable prices. Some shops don't know this, and get hung up when they see long-blocks are not in inventory. But they never think to lookup complete motors.

Last summer I melted a spark plug, when things ran lean on a hot day from a plugged fuel filter (combined with a tuner). The electrode lodge in a valve causing that cyl to lose compression. I had planned on just pulling that head and getting it reconditioned, but the full replacement motor was such a good deal, that with the labor savings, it really only me $1,000 over just reconditioning one head. With labor, it runs ~$5k but comes with a 3-year unlimited mile warranty.

We considered a motor replacement. Not sure what Ford would charge for a crate motor and delivered to Vernon? Ford charges a fortune for even small parts. The truck, even with a running motor, was worth under $10K Can (approx. $6600 US). The additional labor to install a replacement wasn't worth it. The F250 was starting to need to some other maintenance like seals & gaskets on diffs & transfer case, steering box had a leak, there was some rust along the bottom of the doors that needed fixing and a few other things. The F250 was also starting look a bit tired with a few dents, scratches and alloy wheels in need of restoration. Getting it towed home would have been another $1K or so. If I was really in love with the truck, would have had it towed home and dealt with it and have bought a cheap temporary truck to use in the meantime.

I did find a new factory V10 motor nearby still in shrink wrap but the private seller wanted $6K and wasn't sure if it was the earlier one with problem head or if the later one which could have had a few compatibility issues according the mechanic.

Apparently, major engine work involves removing the entire cab, and we had a super cab which makes that harder (I assume). I could have replaced the engine myself over the winter but taking a cab off at home wouldn't be possible. I could also have rebuilt the engine myself but already have a couple of vintage car restorations I want to get finished before I'm 6 feet under.

Another big factor was that we needed a truck right away to keep the camping season alive. Our annual 3-week camping trip is coming up very soon and we just couldn't wait to get a replacement motor and get it installed which might have taken many weeks. The mechanic