PART 1) 2013 Ford 6.8l No compression! Cam followers fail ruining cam and what else?

This is the engine from the 2013 "donor" truck. It had a miss..so I tore it down to see what happened. The needle bearings in the cam followers failed and stopped rolling. It ground the lobes on the cam. Put metal in the oil and who knows what else is damaged.

[@snot416]

From what I have read, the balance shaft is to compensate for each side only having a bank of straight 5. The last cylinder doesn't have a companion for balance, therefore additional balance is required. And that makes sense to me.

[@nathanzawacki2375]

I believe the balance shaft is used to dampen engine vibration in the V10, the traditional balancing must have been enough in the 5.4. I can definitely believe extra dampening would be needed, any imbalance is very easy to notice and make a truck seem to run “rough” even when it’s running smoothly. Very noticeable even when something as minor as fatigued rubber in a harmonic balancer is the only thing causing an issue

[@oby-1607]

The oil pressure on these engines gets to the passenger side last after feeding through the drivers side, crankshaft and finally over to the passenger side. Same for 4.6 and 5.4 with the oiling issues. There is a new high volume oil pump available now, that is supposed to prevent this.

[@j.c.smithprojects]

i am very familiar with this issue. you can get the pump as a high volume or a high volume high pressure. these pumps increase by 20%. i install these pumps in every 5.4 and v10 i take apart.

[@joshuaharris670]

I just bought a 2015 f550 with 120k miles on it. Would it be a smart thing to change the cam followers as a precautionary measure? Especially not knowing the history of the engines maintenance.

[@johnfaris5376]

yes these are chronic problems with these motors. And don't buy the cheapest ones you can find.

[@josephwheeler209]

I have a 97 F150 with a 4.6L 2 valve and have now had 3 Remaned engines in it (2 from Powertrain and one from Jasper) with it currently in the shop for the 4th one about to go into it from Jasper (warranty of course). Once this happens don't bother wasting your money. I'm now on my 4th remaned engine in 4 - 5 years. If this happens just scrap it. Also all these engines have only had 8,000 to 15,000 miles put on them till the floating rocker arms broke, one of the 3 I had put in broke the rocker arms with it only running for 30 minutes. Again if this happens don't invest the money into the engine. I have sense bought a new truck.

[@j.c.smithprojects]

first of all....i dont buy reman engines. i rebuild my engines. you have no idea what they did or did not replace. you cant blame that engine for rebuilding issues. many of the failures i see with engines are because of cheap parts or lack of maintenance. the 4.6 has been a very good engine for me. this video is of the 6.8 valve v10.

[@kevinhornbuckle]

It seems like the primary cause is the bearings in the cam followers, as you say. That is a high rate of failure. Does Ford have a fix with better bearings?

[@j.c.smithprojects]

they have an updated design that should have already been in this truck from the factory. i believe this engine may have too much damage to be cost effective to repair. if it is repairable, i will use it in a rat rod build of my own i have been planning.

[@spartalives]

This wis exactly what happened to my 5.4 v8!! Trying to decide if it makes sent to repair and clean out or replace with rebuilt motor. I’d appreciate some advice on it.

[@j.c.smithprojects]

you cant answer that question until you know if there is metal that has been pumped throughout the motor via the oil pump...if it has, i would tear it down and do a complete rebuild.

[@derrickodyes1934]

not one of fords better ideas. gimme my big block chevy 4 fitty 4 any day

[@sikorik9964]

More of that Ford quality.

[@cesmith4566]

now I know I don't want one of those,

[@j.c.smithprojects]

keep in mind this was a work truck that probably weighed 17,500lbs everyday of its life and did stop and go city deliveries for over 200,000 miles. the truck still ran (with a miss) and drove. it is unfortunate that the needle bearings failed but it is an acceptable failure at those miles.

[@beboboymann3823]

@@j.c.smithprojects Chevy and Dodge guys on here desperately looking for some kind of weakness in the Ford brand so they can feel better about their choice for buying Chevy and Dodge problem laden brands. Yes, 200,000 miles in a heavy truck on a non-diesel engine is respectable indeed. If it were mine I would not be disappointed in the least.

[@oil1252]

And they say it was reliable

[@danlabelle6210]

U think ford would do better job man