just put a new engine in my dads EL picked up a decent one at the wreckers for $350 took about 8hrs to change over including cleaning engine bay and so on. before putting new engine in, changed all hard to get seals for peace of mind. so much easier just to pull the whole thing out its not as big of a job as it seems, once you get stuck into it you will be done in no time.

we did well with dads $350 engine pics below of when we removed the rocker gasket for inspection, car said 220k on it i doubt its the original, a good example of the gold you can find at wrecking yards

so yeah 8-10 hrs and we did more than we needed to. hunt around first for a new engine there are plenty around you dont want to do it all and find it a turd.

all up with hunting around spent just over $500 with oil, new bits and pieces and it feels like a new car many more years to come from it. also EL is much easier, as its just the big plug at the top near the intake. unplug it and put to the side. aswell as said before take A/C and P/S off

 

 

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Yes, I will be doing all the hard maintenance while the new engine is out. I am also going to compression test myself before putting it in. anything else I need to do? The old engine had new rear main seal put in when the box was done but for the sake of $20 can I get it out and put it in the new engine? (tighta$$ hey fellas) I would probably just try doing the main front and rear while the engine is out. So if anyone can think of things to do while the engine is not in the car please suggest.

Cheers?

front seal is a little harder have to take your balancer of. i would just buy a new rear main, check the coil and dizzy, change rocker gasket and have a look in the engine. really nothing else to do, we changed the heater tap while we had the engine out just a little easier and for $25 thought change it anyway. we took the gear box of the engine as we have a pit, had to top it up after as lost some fluid when taken it off.

E-series blocks with out mods are really unbreakable so would be surprised if any engine you look at has low compression, pitty you dont like in adelaide i just took 5 working ED-EL engines to the scrap yard

just picked up the new engine. looks pretty good.
here are the pics, the waterpump is seized and i will look at it after my dr's appointment today.

can anyone tell me specifics on this engine based on the numbers on it. came from a 1998 nl fairlaine. has motorcraft (ford) leads and is also stamped on the tfi module on the dizzy.

can i test the compression without a starter and gearbox? e.g by hand?
i am guessing some extractors would be worth the money too as the exhaust needs to be done anyway for roadworthy.

so what do you guys reckon?
paid $500 exchange









thanks for all your help guys.

its a tickford hybrid engine, to do a compression test you need to crank it with a startermotor, you wont get a reading by hand...

Thanks troyman.

So now all I need is an engine crane, and a free weekend. I have a mate helping me but he's a holden man so he will be doing the grunt work because of my screwed back, while I instruct. I am confident enough to do this and I can see where everything needs to connect to. it looks fairly straightforward. I am going to.start disconnecting the old engine so once the crane is here we can pull it out and put the new one in.

In my mates opinion we should leave the box in and swap instead of pulling the engine and box, swapping the box and reinstalling. I tend to agree.

I would also like to know if it is easier to undo the mounts for the swap or leave them on as the engine has mounts on it already.

Maybe someone can point me to a thread here where someone has photo journaled a swap?
I know I ask a lot of everyone here but I cant afford to take chances with this thing. I was going to just have it squashed but the missus loves it. With this engine I am hoping she will love it even more.

Cheers

Much easier to swap transmission while out of the car.

Not sure if it is the same for EF/EL, but I found that you leave the passenger side mount attached to the block, get it bolted up to the car and leave the driver's side off until you get everything lined up.

Cheers.

Ok so now that I am being a pest here. Should I be on the lookout for a tickford ecu?

The wrecker said the tickford ending has higher comp ratio, different valve sizes and different pistons and rods. Whats correct and whats bs here?

it will run fine on the std ecu,
the tickford engine has the same compression as std, actually the bottom ends are all the same wether its tickford or not, the tickford heads do have bigger valves and a different camshaft though...

Tickford bottom end is common with the garden variety falcon. It is just the head that is different. So specific camshaft, larger valves, slightly higher comp ratio and also there is a higher pressure fuel regulator.

I don't really know what effect running your ticky engine on a standard ecu would have. Minimal?

Guess we will see how the ecu likes the tickford head.... I will keep my feelers out for an el tickford ecu. Already have the futura bem to go in later..... May spend more $$$ at a later date on the missuses request as the ball and chain holds the wallet unfortunately.

iv never had any issue with just unbolting the gear box, starter motor and torque converter and just pushing the gearbox back out of the way. get new engine in place then slide it back up. use about 3 extension bars for top to bolts but all others are easy, get someone to hold the crank still to make it easier to do the torque converter bolts.

engine looks good $500 for a Ticky is good. hope it all works out nicley, did they give you a warranty?

So all will work out well hopefully. I pulled the waterpump and freed it up but will get a new one for piece of mind. Pulled the rocker cover off and it looked beautiful and clean. Should I flush the cooling system with high pressure before putting it in the car?

Should i.renew the thermostat too?

The wrecker couldnt find any extractors today but he reckons $50 if he can find some.

My understanding is that it will run fine on the gli ecu but when I get a tickford ecu it will go even better?

we used high pressure to clean the new engine, but we were not carefull enough and stuffed the ISC and TPS they dont like any water apparently, if you take the thermostat out that will give you a good indication if its needs flushing judging by the condition of the inside of the head

Update:

checked a few things this afternoon, put on an ISC too, fitted new thermostat and a good housing (no corrosion). pulled the water pump and freed it up. i am thinking about replacing this with a new one but the pump from the original engine looks brand new (no rust or corrosion) can i re-use this one? do you use RTV on it or just the metal gasket built onto it? my question is how can i reinstall a good working 2nd hand water pump?

i popped the rocker cover and it all looks sweet. the rocker gear is not silver but looks bronze, not a hint of sludge anywhere, everything looks nice and clean. the tiny amount of oil in the sump that was in there looked like brand new oil. (forgot to take photos)

ignition leads - red motorcraft items. i am unsure if these are original or not but i think replacing them now while the engine is out as they're a pain to do when the engine is in the car. i will buy a new set and install them. any brand recommendations?

spark plugs - ngk item ZGR6B-11 the condition of the plugs tell me the engine was running fine but the plugs are old, the insulators are cracked, brittle and the electrodes are worn too. a new set of the same plugs will cost a little under $30 so i will be doing this

dizzy - motorcraft item (stamped on the tfi on the side of it), i have new (12-18 month old) aftermarket cap and button i will put on it. i will check the shaft for play and rebuild it if necessary. I have an entire aftermarket unit and i WILL NOT be putting the gear in unless i take the helical cut gear off the original and install it on the aftermarket one so they will be matched. i don't need the aux shaft failing again ffs.

o2 sensor - pulled it out of the old engine as the one on the new engine has damaged wires, it is soaking in vinegar tonight and i will reuse it.

the throttle body looks good but i will clean it up anyway.

fuel pressure regulator - so heres a good one..... it's a 300kpa unit, the wreckers destroyed it- the fuel feed line bolt is broken off. the one i have on the original engine is a 270kpa unit (i think) will this be an issue? i can get a new or 2nd hand one but they are a bit pricey. should i just bash the good one i have in with a socket like i have read about or using will the original one make no difference? i will visit the wreckers again tomorrow and look for a 300kpa one, should only be a few dollars from them (i hope).

in regards to the ecu - is it worth the $$$ looking for a tickford ecu to suit or maybe a chip solution like an interceptor chip (J3? or something?)

i am going to clear the engine bay completely , and also de-grease everything. after that i will begin installing the engine accessories power steer pump, belt tensioner, alternator (110 amp unit YAY!!!)

so hats my rant/pestering finished. its late im tired and have ranted way too long
please anything i have missed or more advice on things to check is always valued and appreciated
so far so good, this seems like a pretty good engine so far!
you folks have been so helpful, if it wasn't for this forum the car would most likely be a cube by mow
Cheers Guys!