tosaman
LVC Member
Threw one of the cam followers on my '05 Navigator driving home from Wisconsin last year -- happened just off the interstate in the middle of Illinois. Fortunately, there was a small Ford Lincoln dealer there who towed the car in and quickly found the problem. In any event, it meant that the engine was toast -- too many small metal parts and filings floating around that engine. With almost 170,000 miles on the car, it was a bit of a dilemma trying to figure out what to do -- was it junk or was it worth saving!. Given the overall good condition of the vehicle, I had been thinking about ultimately putting in a rebuilt motor should the need ever arise -- just wasn't planning on having the need just then!
Anyway, the purpose of this post is to report that the local dealer agreed to install a rebuilt motor if I had one shipped to them (the cost of a Ford factory rebuilt was astronomical, and I wasn't going to trust a used motor from a local salvage yard). While at the dealer I got online and ordered a long block rebuilt motor from RockAuto. Using motor freight, it was delivered to the dealer within a week. The cost of the rebuilt was less than $3,200 after the $560 core refund (return freight was free and the dealer took care of the core return). Of course, my cost for labor and ancillary parts (new water pump, plugs, fluids, etc.) at the dealer was about the same as the cost of the rebuilt, but I didn't have a choice in that regard. I'm just glad they were willing to install a motor that I wasn't buying from them. Overall, the total job cost me around $6,500 -- probably what the vehicle was worth before the breakdown -- but then I now had a car with a fresh motor!
I've put almost 10,000 miles on the rebuilt and am very happy with it and should get a lot more life out of the vehicle over the next few years. I highly recommend RockAuto as a parts source. I've purchased a lot of stuff from them over the years without any problems or hassles. They have a very simple return policy -- if you order the wrong thing or end up not needing it, just pay return freight. (No -- neither I or any family member or friend works for them or holds any RockAuto stock!)
Anyway, the purpose of this post is to report that the local dealer agreed to install a rebuilt motor if I had one shipped to them (the cost of a Ford factory rebuilt was astronomical, and I wasn't going to trust a used motor from a local salvage yard). While at the dealer I got online and ordered a long block rebuilt motor from RockAuto. Using motor freight, it was delivered to the dealer within a week. The cost of the rebuilt was less than $3,200 after the $560 core refund (return freight was free and the dealer took care of the core return). Of course, my cost for labor and ancillary parts (new water pump, plugs, fluids, etc.) at the dealer was about the same as the cost of the rebuilt, but I didn't have a choice in that regard. I'm just glad they were willing to install a motor that I wasn't buying from them. Overall, the total job cost me around $6,500 -- probably what the vehicle was worth before the breakdown -- but then I now had a car with a fresh motor!
I've put almost 10,000 miles on the rebuilt and am very happy with it and should get a lot more life out of the vehicle over the next few years. I highly recommend RockAuto as a parts source. I've purchased a lot of stuff from them over the years without any problems or hassles. They have a very simple return policy -- if you order the wrong thing or end up not needing it, just pay return freight. (No -- neither I or any family member or friend works for them or holds any RockAuto stock!)