Help requested - cam chain replacement

[SteelQualityMan]

My faithful '03 MM has now accumulated just under 200,000 miles. I bought her in 2007, when she had only about 110,000. I won't lie and say the car has "always been stored in a heated garage ..." the way a lot of For Sale ads read. True, she has spent at least half her life, including the last 8 years, in a series of unheated garages, but for the rest of the time she has waited for me in hot, cold, wet, and snowy weather, and fired right up when needed. She has been a faithful daily driver, with no significant problems in a long time. The engine has never been opened up, the exhaust is all original, and fluids have been replaced on a regular, although badly documented basis. I had just pulled the car into the garage here at home last week when the guides gave up the ghost. It sounded like a bunch of ball bearings whizzing around in a 55 gallon drum. I was able to shut the engine off immediately, and I did not hear or feel anything like a piston-valve interference. :eek:


The time has come to replace the cam chains and guides, and probably the oil pump as well. I’d like to keep the car if I can, but I need some help, OK a lot of help to get her going again. I’m 75 and partially disabled due to multiple back surgeries and a brain bleed that triggered a kind of stroke. I need either someone in the area who knows how to do this work, and would accept some kind of compensation TBD for travel and work performed, or a reliable shop somewhere within a hundred miles that will accept Carshield insurance. The car can’t safely be driven, of course, without inviting disaster, and a hundred miles is the limit for AAA to tow / flatbed a member car. Other than those choices, I am open to any and all suggestions or offers of help. Without the MM, I have no transportation, as my Crown Vic has suffered a series of disasters of her own rendering her unusable, and Warsaw, Indiana has no public transportation. :help:

[blazen71]

I know nothing about this shop, but they look to be a Ford place.

https://www.brenspeed.com/info.html

Brenspeed
8088 East 400 N
Pierceton, IN 46562

[SteelQualityMan]

Yes, thanks, they do hi-po Mustangs and have a yearly "dyno day" event. I will give them a call to see if they will do something as "ordinary " as this. What's the worst they could say, NO?

Anyone have any other suggestions, please?

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[SteelQualityMan]

Yes, thanks, they do hi-po Mustangs and have a yearly "dyno day" event. I will give them a call to see if they will do something as "ordinary " as this. What's the worst they could say, NO?

Anyone have any other suggestions, please?

Sent from my SM-N950U using TapatalkIt's hard to believe there is no solution to my problem (see post #1). At this point I am willing to chuck out the Carshield and pay for the work myself. Besides, as Americans being in debt helps to stave off a recession, right? There has to be a reliable shop or individual who can be trusted to do the job right. If I have to ship the car halfway across the country I will do that. I will not ship it 4 miles to the local Ford stealer.

Am I posting in the wrong forum here?

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[SilverPhoenix]

It's hard to believe there is no solution to my problem (see post #1). At this point I am willing to chuck out the Carshield and pay for the work myself. Besides, as Americans being in debt helps to stave off a recession, right? There has to be a reliable shop or individual who can be trusted to do the job right. If I have to ship the car halfway across the country I will do that. I will not ship it 4 miles to the local Ford stealer.

Am I posting in the wrong forum here?

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You mentioned in original post you were looking for a shop within 100 miles of your location that accepts Carshield. You then mentioned in your next post that you would give the shop that blazen recommended a call and again asked for other suggestions based on previous criteria (within 100 miles and accepts Carshield)...then there was complete radio silence.

3 months later you revive this thread by making some comment about debt and recession, move the goalposts to "if I have to ship the car halfway across the country I will do that" and seem upset that no one was able to help you. Why couldn't YOU find out if there's a shop within 100 miles of YOUR location that accepts Carshield over these past 3 months? Now you say you're willing to pay yourself and ship the car halfway across the country...how are WE supposed to know that prior to you posting it?

If you are willing to ship your car halfway across the country, I recommend Mo's Speed Shop in Dallas, GA (just outside of Atlanta). Good luck...

[Mr. Man]

Call Carsheild and ask them who their authorized mechanics are in your area or ship it to Mo's. :)

[RubberCtyRauder]

Curless Auto in Grand Rapids,MI. He is a member and has a Marauder.

[a_d_a_m]

MO's or Curless, either one would do a fine job if you're truly willing to ship the car.

or, see if Zack will come out of retirement (he almost certainly won't)

[Brentster]

You have Carshield, how long have you had Carshield and how much do you pay a month this insurance?

[SteelQualityMan]

You have Carshield, how long have you had Carshield and how much do you pay a month this insurance?Since January 2020, cost is $89.00 / month with a $100 deductible.

1 had 180K on the car at that time.

I have not filed any claims yet.

They supposedly help you find a shop nearby that will do the work, but when I inquired they told me 'Oh, any ASE certified shop is fine .' The one shop in town I use for tires and maintenance refused to do the cam chains / guides because it is "too complicated", and the local Ford stealer service manager wants me to leave the car overnight so he can "near how it sounds when we cold start it in the morning. " Uh, no thank you." I I already know what it sounds like. It sounds like a handful of ball bearings rattling around in a large tin can. And there's no way that engine is being started to drive it over there. Fortunately when I first heard that noise, I had just pulled into my garage and it was shut off within the next second.

They seemed kind of confused when I asked them if they accepted Car Shield insurance but after some internal discussion they said "no we don't."

That's probably TMI, but that's what the situation is.

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[SteelQualityMan]

I did contact Carshield. They supposedly help you find a shop nearby that will do the work, but when I inquired the customer service rep told me 'Oh, any ASE certified shop is fine .'

Just FYI, not trying to start an argument.

[Brentster]

You have had Carshield since January of 2020 and you spend $89.00 a month? So you have had this coverage for 32 months and paid $2848.00
Now this Carshield company will not let you go to the dealer for a job with parts and labor that costs maybe $1000.00 or so. I have had my Marauder since maybe 2006 when I bought it from a guy in Long Island New York, so if I do $89.00 a month that comes out to about $23,140.00 or so if I had your coverage since 2006.

I do understand if there is noise like you say, that maybe the oil pan might need to be pulled, and the cost would be more. When I called Carshield after watching 1 of those cheesy informercials, they quoted me a price of like $120.00 a month.

[SteelQualityMan]

I have left two PM's for Curless and a message at his shop. No reply yet. I will try his shop again later today. He would be the best bet for me as we are only about 2 hours apart.

I think JustBob has a shop also but I don't know where it is. Anybody know?

I will be calling local Ford stealers later today as well.

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[RubberCtyRauder]

Curless does not frequent here as often so might not be seen. Shop message is best. Give him time.

[justbob]

I has no shop. I used to do a lot of work for members but then the cars got older and well less fun to work on with oil leaks, rust, and unhealthy high mileage parts..

I have enough headaches running commercial plumbing crews.


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[SteelQualityMan]

Curless does not frequent here as often so might not be seen. Shop message is best. Give him time.Update: I spoke with Curless, and he has just lost his mechanic. He told me that he is trying to find one and has been offering 'stupid money' and has had no luck. So if anyone is interested in being a mechanic, I can give you his number. Or google "Curless Auto".

Curless told me it would be at least three months before he could get to my car, but I asked him to put me in the queue anyway. The car has been sitting for months un-drivable anyway so three months might not be such a long wait.

He also said that he would not be able to properly warrant the work done, because of the high (almost 200K) miles on the engine. He thought the engine should have a complete overhaul. Maybe an engine swap makes more sense than overhauling a 20 year old engine. I doubt that the next owner of this car is going to care that this is a numbers-matching car. If a 7.3 Ford is out of reach, it might be better to use a far more economical LS or even an LT4. Sorry purists.

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[GreekGod]

Zack, a member here, is in St John, Indiana - he is/was doing cam chain replacements for $500 - about 90 miles West of you, and he makes house calls ...

https://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/member.php?404-Zack

[justbob]

Good luck with that. Dude hasn’t been around here in years.


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[GreekGod]

Going on 3 years - Zack's last 3 posts were in May of 2020.