Removing the engine

I need some help here. I'm having problems liaison-ing between the shop and the remanufacturer of the engine. Can someone please verify what the engine oil pressure should be for my 1995 3.8L Ford Windstar in the following conditions:

Oil pressure at 750 - 1400rpms hot and cold idle
Oil pressure at 2500rpms hot

Please if someone could go measure this on a Windstar of 95 year that would be great, but 96 - 2003 is fine too. I need this information immediately so I can be armed to talk to the remanufacturer.

Could the screen/pickup have been installed WRONG some kind of way to restrict oil flow?

I am now the f'in liaison between the installer and the remanufacturer as they don't seem to be able to communicate well and we're going on 5 weeks with the van in the shop. The remanufacturer ensists it is NOT the oil pump as the engine was hot tested before it left their facility. If this is actually TRUE then it would make me look at the stuff that was manually done during the install. Like the scree/pickup - I don't know what they dude on the phone was telling me exactly, but something to the effect that the screen could be installed wrong in such a way that it would act like a sponge. Something to do with it not being seated right with the sealant. I dunno. Anybody? Does that make sense at all that the screen could've been installed improperly to cause oil flow restriction in a new engine?

My shop had wondered on an outloud guess that maybe the engine installer had not replaced the valve train. I just can't believe this would be true with such a big name like ATK. But maybe.

Ford Windstar 1995 GL 3.8L engine - 157k miles

I am toying with the idea of having the engine replaced in my vehicle. In your ANSWER ASSUME I have an unlimited BUDGET (seriously) and I'll pick off things that I don't want to do later on. Basically I want to know what things I should have them do because they are going to touch so many things that haven't been disturbed in so long.

Which components of the A/C system are likely to be clogged and should be replaced. Or could they be flushed. Like the condenser? Evaporator? I know I should replace my expansion valve and DRIER, but I don't know if the other components would be dirty and need replacing too. I definitely want to replace the clutch coil, hub, and pulley of the compressor with a new revised Ford one cause it gets rid of the moaning and my clutch currently takes a long while to ENGAGE so I know I need to get that out of the way. Was thinking though by the time I get those 3 parts maybe new compressor would be better to do instead. Though currently my air works WONDERFULLY after it does finally kick on about 10 - 15 seconds after the A/C is turned on.

Steering - I believe I should do all tie rods. What about the control arms, bushings, and ball joints? Anything else? Should I just replace the whole rack? It makes A LOT OF NOISE when turning to the left in PARKED position. Likely cause it hasn't been lubed in too long. I have a new PS Pump, but I don't think they replaced the filter. What else in steering?

Body/Subframe - I read on consumerguideauto. Howstuffworks. Com the following for all 95 and 96 Windstars: Engine noise: A clunk heard and/or felt from the floor on acceleration, deceleration, or turns is caused by movement between the body and subframe, which is corrected by installing revised insulators. (1995-96)

Is REVISED INSULATOR between body and subframe what I CALL it when I call FORD or what is the technical term for these thingies?

What else in general?

THANK YOU !

Also, I got most of my ideas from reading here how it would be to remove/reinstall my engine:

I know it seems like I may have covered everything, but I'm not experienced enough (while I have knowledge) to know if I'm missing something else. The following things have recently been replaced and would transplant to the new engine:

Water pump
Thermostat
Radiator
Tensioner and Pulley
Ilder Pulley
Belt
PS Pump
Alternator ground strap replaced with a cable (same old alternator still going strong though should I replace its pulley?)
Starter
Battery
Brake calipers and rotors (front) (pads with good life left)
Plugs and Wires are fairly new, but plugs will probably be replaced (though due to overheating should I replace the wires anyway?)

Ok, this was/is a complete LONG BLOCK as far as I'm concerned. All that needed to be bought for it was a pilot bushing and the oil pickup which the shop DID BUY NEW and did NOT transfer from the old engine.

The only other things that weren't with the new engine were SENSORS, external parts like alternator, power steering, pulleys, etc. Which is standard for moving over as far as I'm concerned. The only internal stuff was what I mentioned in the paragraph above.

ATK is the name of the company that I bought from and NO it is not the company that my shop uses. They wanted me to get JASPER and while I would've loved to it was another $1300 more. I know the story yada yada. Look at me now having problems and would've been worth it. Yada yada. But ya know what. NO. It wouldn't have been worth it to me to spend another $1300 even though its not running right cause at this point the shop and the engine co are finally working together after nearly 2 f'in weeks to fix the problem.

After they put a gauge on the thing and tested it out it turns out that at idle after you've warmed up the oil quite a bit on the interstate and then coming to a stop in town traffic the pressure is going down to 10 psi and then the engine starts tapping. BUT on the interstate or regular highway its getting up to freaking 90 PSI. The SHOP and the ENGINE CO agree that this is the symptoms of a bad front timing cover which also includes the OIL PUMP and/or possible debris caught in the cover. MY shop PROBED the engine co and found out they DO NOT REPLACE that cover, but they do SPEC IT OUT (i guess that means measure stuff and make sure its up to spec and/or clean it well too, but apparently they didn't). So the plan now is to remove the front timing cover and oil pump assembly and replace it with a new one from Ford at the ENGINE CO's expense. Had they done their damn job properly to begin with this would of course be unnecessary.

I do have to agree with what someone said in this page though. That how could they have HOT TESTED the engine if they didn't have the pan and if they did why wouldn't they just send it along? WEIRD. Unless they just have a TEST PAN that they keep on hand for such use.

What gets me though is that the SHOP ever released the van to me in this condition and I think the main reason why is because it is hard to get a pressure tester in that oil sending unit area just to read the pressure.

As for the other issues, the churping, scraping a/c clutch, pulling to the left, etc. They haven't said anything I HOPE only because the engine issue is the main issue to finish first.

We shall see. I will post back.

For those of you who've been following my horrible life since I broke down in my Windstar in October 2007 it has now finally gotten as bad as it can get. The engine co. Is being very shady.

I need help with keywords or the TYPE of lawyer that would handle a suit for a case upwards from $3000 regarding this engine matter.

Basically ATK that authorized the oil pump and housing repair because they said they'd pay for it nows claims they WILL NOT pay for it because it did not resolve the pressure issue in the engine. This means I am out ALL of the R&R expense for the engine and an additional $500 for the oil pump/housing repair and other analysis including Discharging the damn A/C system which I was going to avoid. But was unavoidable cause of the pressure test needed with the master gauge at the oil sending unit location.

So if anyone knows. Please. What type of lawyer am I looking for here. I am in Southern Louisiana (New ORleans area) so if anyone knows anyone specific down here that would handle this for me I'd really appreciate it.

Someone please respond. This is the part where I need help the most as the remanufacturer is denying the engine is defective.

Here is the failure analysis report I got back from ATK just a couple days ago after sending them back the engine along with MUCH documentation and a DVD of the engine running in DEFECTIVE state. I have removed personal information on both sides (just fyi):

Jan 29 11:40 2008 ATK North America, Page 1

Atk North America Claim#
Product Failure Analysis Report

Thank you for submitting you ATK Product for inspection. Below
Please find the failure analysis report for your warranty claim.

*** ALL PRODUCT WILL BE HELD FOR 60 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THIS REPORT ***

Administrator:

Claim#:
Part#: DFM7
Miles: 20
Months: 1
Engine#: Z703246

- -

Inspection Date: 01/28/08
Claim Status: Not Approved

Reported Failure:
Oil light on veh is flickering at warm idle. Shop replaced oil sending unit
. Attempted to reach shop/tech. Too busy. Left message on retail cell# v. Mai

Inspectors Findings
Received engine with timing cover and oil pump.

All bearings not worn, clearances within limits. All lifters checked okay
with proper bleed down rate, all gallery plugs present.
Piston/cyl. Wall.0023", cam bearings.0023", balance shaft bearings
.0015", main bearings.0023", crank end-play.004", rod bearings.0022",
rod side clearance.0085", oil pump gear to housing.003", gear to gear
.009", gear body.003".

No defect found to cause reported problem.

Someone please respond. This is the part where I need help the most as the remanufacturer is denying the engine is defective.

I have compared the reported measurements from ATK (above) to the FORD OEM specs from the FORD OEM service manual. The following shows the comparison. Please comment on it and give opinions to how you think the engine would run given the following reported findings against the OEM specs.

ATK inspection results | FORD OEM Specs/Wording

Piston/cyl. Wall.0023" | Piston-to-bore Clearance (0.0014 - 0.0032 In.)

cam bearings.0023" | Journal to bearing clearance (0.001-0.003 In.)

balance shaft bearings.0015" | *Couldn't find it*

main bearings.0023" | Main bearings - Clearance to crankshaft - Desired: (0.001 - 0.0014 In.) Allowable: (0.0005 - 0.0023 In.)

crank end-play.004" | Crankshaft end play (0.004 - 0.008 In.)

rod bearings.0022" | Connecting rod bearings - Clearance to Crankshaft - Desired: (0.001 - 0.014 In.) Allowable: (0.00086 - 0.0027 In.)

rod side clearance.0085" | Side Clearance (assembled to Crank) - Standard: (0.0047 - 0.0114 In.) - Service Limit: (0.0.14 In Max)

oil pump gear to housing.003" | Drive shaft to housing Clearance (0.0030 - 0.0015 In.)

gear to gear.009" | Idler Shaft to Idler Gear Clearance (0.0017 - 0.0005 In.)

gear body.003" | Oil Pump Gear Radial Clearance (Idler and Drive) (0.0055 - 0.002 In.)

Did I match up my findings and the ATK results properly? If so it leads me to the following thoughts:

Cam bearing clearance is within 0.0007" of being out of spec, but at.0023" is within spec of (0.001-0.003 In.)

Rod bearing clearance is at the upper end of ALLOWABLE spec, but not in DESIRED spec and you'd think that if you remanufacture an engine that you'd have everything in the DESIRED spec range wouldn't you? Do ya'll think that would contribute to the problem I've been having with the extremely low oil pressure (10 - 14psi and tapping) at idle after engine has run for 30 minutes?

Main bearings were at.0023" | Clearance to crankshaft - Desired: (0.001 - 0.0014 In.) Allowable: (0.0005 - 0.0023 In.); This clearly shows the main bearing clearance being at the upper end of allowable on the verge of being out of spec allowing NO ROOM FOR HEAT EXPANSION. Would this not in part cause the oil pressure problem? Did they use the wrong bearings? Tolerances wrong? My shop seems to think that this is the main problem in the engine.

Rod side clearance was.0085" | Side Clearance (assembled to Crank) - Standard: (0.0047 - 0.0114 In.) - Service Limit: (0.014 In Max) - at.0085" its 0.0029 from being at the upper STANDARD limit though I don't know if this means anything or not. Might just be within a good range.

Gear body.003" | Oil Pump Gear Radial Clearance (Idler and Drive) (0.0055 - 0.002 In.) - If I've matched this one up right it seems to be out of spec by 0.001" too small. Wouldn't this affect the cycle/revolutions of the oil pump?

Oil pump gear to housing.003" | Drive shaft to housing Clearance (0.0030 - 0.0015 In.) - Seems this is at the upper limit of the spec, but maybe doesn't matter?

Gear to gear.009" | Idler Shaft to Idler Gear Clearance (0.0017 - 0.0005 In.) - If I have matched this up properly this would seem out of spec the most of the other measurements by 0.0073" too much. I think I have matched this up properly as there are no other descriptions/numbers that seem to match or come as close. If this is indicating spacing between gears wouldn't this extra space cause the oil pump to NOT turn as fast or spin at the right revolutions for a given engine RPM as well?

FYI - If anyone wants to compare or look up the values I've found if I've matched things up wrong and if someone can find the Balance shaft bearing clearance specification

Thanks a million Dave! I'll be waiting/watching.

Answering your questions:
The pressure condition can be shown here at the following links. If you download the video and watch it along with the supporting photos you'll see exactly what it was doing:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/mitchell1eautorepair-car-repair-manuals

The oil filter was of course brand spanking new and is of a brand the shop uses all the time with warranty support. To my knowledge since it was already new a new filter was not tried.

The main bearings were at the TOP of the allowable clearance range? You don't think that would be enough to cause the restriction?

Wouldn't the pump clearance being off cause it not to spin at the right revolutions?

Take a look at the video and photos. I'd suggest downloading first to your pc from the links above and then looking at them.

Thanks,
Rolland

RESOLUTION! At the threat of a lawsuit after I asked them who is their "Agent for Service of Process" (who do I serve papers to?) ATK came back at me a day or so later from that question and after I'd told them there is no way anyone could watch that DVD that I'd provided and say that engine is functioning properly I was made an offer to settle. As part of the offer I had to sign a legal release form stating the matter was closed and that I wouldn't sue'em later etc. I recovered $3511 in damages all on my own for what the entire debacle involved. I swear I could be an attorney. Lol - The entire mess is now corrected/offset and I begin anew with a Jasper Engine which will arrive in the shop on Valentine's Day Feb 14th, 2008. LOL - Is this a sign? Is this engine gonna be so sweet I'll want to kiss it? From everything I've read/heard about Jasper I'm thinking so.

Thanks to all who read up on it and if you want to comment I'm still interested to know if my specs seemed off enough to cause unbalanced oil pressure to anyone who knows how to interpret the data.