Upsetting News!!!

[prg333]

I had posted a few weeks ago about my 2004 Marauder that has 201,4325 miles. There was the tell tale sound on start up of a chain and tensioners that needed to be done. I followed advise from Marty a member and had the car flat bedded down to Quality Auto in West Nyack NY. Keith was friendly and said he would check the oil and we could go from there.. Sadly he notified me that he found a lot of aluminum in the oil when he drained it, also when he just checked with the dip stick He also detected a misfire
when he started it and it ran a bit rough.. So basically the engine IS FULL of Aluminum. He did not think there were any big pieces of plastic from the tensioners in the oil pan, as he tested that with a magnet.

He things the Aluminum may not all be from the chain's. But he would NOT recommend putting new chains or tensioners. As the only option for the current engine would be to re-build the engine.

But with over 200,000 miles other major things like the transmission may need service.

I also just had the cooling system all redone and the right real axel shaft done with new rear brakes. Which was costly

Getting a engine with lower miles put in could be an option I suppose.

Any advise or thoughts would be appreciated..

Maybe getting another Marauder with lowish miles, if anyone has a nice one
they might want to sell, to a fellow member

I hate to not have a Mighty marauder to enjoy driving.

[mm svt]

Still pull the timing cover because if the guides plastic part is completely gone then that would be the source of the non magnetic metal.

[Ambitious1]

Any advise or thoughts would be appreciated..

Maybe getting another Marauder with lowish miles, if anyone has a nice one
they might want to sell, to a fellow member

I hate to not have a Mighty marauder to enjoy driving.


I would ask what is the condition of the rest of the car? Any rust? Any other major components failing? If the car is not rusted and the frame is solid, it may be worth putting a new engine and going another 200K. I would take a good look at the rest of the car, transmission, exhaust, gears and suspension before making a decision.

[prg333]

Good advice I’ll overlook the rest of the car and see if the other major components you mentioned are in good enough shape to possibly put an engine in. Thank you for your advice

[Agent2006]

Maybe you can swap over a Lincoln Aviator engine with lower miles -might be cheaper than a full rebuild.

[sailsmen]

Buy another MM and part this one out. How are the Floor Mats?

[decipha]

Instead of speculating I would just pull the timing cover and see what you really have.

I have almost 250k miles on my 03 and it runs smoother and better than my friends 04 with only 60k miles. Mileage isn't a determination in itself.

[Turbov6Bryan]

Chain probably wearing into timing cover, I'd clean it up, redo chains and guides tensioners and see how long it lasts

[Marauderjack]

FIND ANOTHER MECHANIC.....sounds like this guy saw ya coming!!

[prg333]

The car is very clean. No leaks fluid from anything like the transmission or from the engine
No rust all of the frame is in good shape. Shocks and struts fine air suspension still works
Paint looks good no leaking from the moon roof. So it might be worth putting a different engine into it. I really hate to just get rid of the car

[prg333]

I’m a little wary of just replacing the chains and tensioners. As there is a lot of aluminum in the oil that I was given from the shop. You can see the light color of the aluminum in the oil
The timing of the engine might be off now some of the valves probably have wear at this high mileage anyway.

[prg333]

How involved is pulling off the timing cover to check.

[376shovel]

I just swapped out my stock engine with 130k on it because I thought it had the head tick. Turns out it was my flexplate. The only thing the engine needs is fresh valve seals. I'm selling it as a long block. PM me for pics if interested.

[prg333]

The passenger side floor mat is pretty good the driver side has some wear. I don’t remember if the rear floor mats are original or I bought them somewhere else

[mm svt]

You really need a shop familiar with these engines. They should be able to remove the timing cover before you go any further. It’s really not like it’s difficult but if they should be familiar with these engines before stating the worst case scenario.