Hello! I am so confused. Back in 2015 I blew the head gasket on a 2003 Ford Windstar SE V6 OHV Vin 4 motor. I pulled the entire motor apart. I checked for warped heads, pistons, rods, replaced the piston compression and oil rings. I put a new head gasket on, then a new EGR valve gasket on. I cleaned and re-gasketed all the rockers and springs. I replaced the plenum and regasket that as well. I put on a new master air-flow intake, new radiator, and re gasketed the water pump. I replaced the serpentine belt. I checked the timing chain. There was no slack and was on the TDC. I put a new battery in. I got it to turn over after it cranked and started real hard. It ran well, but when I tried to idle, it would sputter. I would accelerate to increase rpm. It was fine between 800 RPM on up. I turned it off in contentment of it running. When I tored to restart it later, it didnt want to start. Is it it timing. I thought it would have bent a rod due to off timing. No bent rods. It has killed 2 brand new batteries. So... alternator, starter, coil packs, fuses? I am unsure what to do. I am $700 into it with new master airflow, radiator, plenus, gaskets, hoses, belts and batteries. I dont want to throw money at it and not know for sure what I need to do next. Thanks.

 

Hello
Well you seem to be chasing a "Gremlin"
Can I ask where your from?
Next... most cars, 4, 6, 8, 10, etc: idle at about 600 to 800, depending
mostly on either manual or auto trans.
I don't understand about "killed 2" batteries... if you running it and not charging
the battery, have you not done a voltage check... at idle should be around 13.5v
so with out going thru what you have done, how is it running now?
does it start easy, does it idle at all or do you have to increase the rpm.
what year is this "Windstar" forget Ford even made that Van...
What is a "Vin 4" motor?
Best

 

Hello! Thank you, first off, for answering. I am from Tucson, Arizona. There a few things I hope to clear up. The motor had a hard start after the rebuild. It fired onece with a new battery that I got from the dealer. The van started really hard, but once fired, it ran smooth, except did NOT idle. When it would drop below 800 RPM it would stutter. I would give it gas. I climbed it up to the 2500 RPM range and no issues. It came down evenly with no issues, but still would not idle. So, I shut it off. When I tried cranking it, the van would not fire. I discovered a dead battery. I took the battery back. I was given a new battery. I put it in. The car cranked but would not fire. It never started again. At this point, I pulled the fuel and fuel pump. I replaced them and the fuel filter. I cleaned the lines. Still has not fired. So...

The Windstar is 2005. The Vin 4 is just a model of motor. There was vin 1 and vin 2 made early on in the late 1990s then vin 3 was made around 2000 and vin 4 was the yale end of the series of engines. There was a slight change in compression ratios and torque adjustments.

As for me, I am physically diasbled. I have done all the work, but my van is fixed for me to operate. I do not have money to take it to a mechanic and cant run it to a mechanic as it does not run. To get a trailer costs money too. I am trying to do the work. I do not have any tools to check voltage or currents. So, I ask for rides from friends to get about. I am taking the alternator to O' Reilly's to have it checked... anyway, not sure what else. So, until the next time, thanks.

 

Ok, Tucson, I have friends who live in Tucson, might be down that way soon.
So lets see if I can help.
Not trying to be an (***) me, you might have done so much as to mask the
real problem...
So lets try and start at the begining. you have a 2005 V6, engine.
Do you have a correct size and amperage Battery?
This is important, because each engine needs a certain cranking speed
to catch an fire.
Are you getting spark at all the plugs? even one dead wire could cause the
engine to hard start or not start at all.
When we talk about this, a car that will turn over but not start is not a dead
engine. A car that will not turn over is a dead engine...
That could be a bad battery, a bad starter, a bad starter relay, even a bad
ignition switch.
If the engine turns over, then is it slow or fast. It should be fast
Are you getting spark to each plug, are the plugs clean.
No spark at any wire would be the coil, no spark at a few plugs would be the
wires.
Last is gas, are you getting good gas flow, did you check for air leaks at
the base of the carb?
Here are a few checks you can do, IC your a pretty good mechanic even if
your disabled.
do a voltage check on the coil, turn the key on, use your volt meter to
check the voltage across the three terminals. I like to check the voltage
at the lead to the distributor just to be sure, there is voltage there, and
one more thing, don't forget the distributor cap, check it for cracks,
carbon build up on the towers..
One last thing, check for ground... make sure your engine and coil
to make sure they are grounded..
Well that's all I can suggest right now...
Let me know what you find out.