Vent: my $500 Crown Vic threw a rod on the highway in the rain

I was driving home from work near Columbus last Tuesday, just cruising along at 65, when my 1999 Crown Victoria started making this loud knocking sound. By the time I pulled off at the next exit, the engine was smoking and it seized up completely. Turns out a rod punched through the block, which I guess is common on these old 4.6L motors if you ignore the oil pressure light (which I definitely did). I had to call a tow truck from a gas station, cost me $150 just to get it dropped at my buddy's garage across town. The real kicker is I only paid $500 for the car a month ago, and now I'm looking at a junkyard motor swap that'll probably run me $400 more. Has anyone else here dealt with a blown motor on a cheap project and found a way to salvage it without breaking the bank?

2 comments

2 Comments

sarahsullivan22d ago

and honestly, that $400 for a junkyard motor is about as cheap as it gets for these things, so I'd just roll with it. those 4.6L motors are a dime a dozen in junkyards around Columbus, so you can probably find one with decent miles for even less if you haggle a bit. just make sure you swap the oil pump while you're at it, because that's what usually takes them out in the first place.

jordan65321d ago

honestly it might not even be that bad, a lot of times people hear knocking and think it threw a rod when really it was something minor like a bad lifter or exhaust leak. you sure it actually punched through the block or did the tow truck guy just tell you that to upsell you?