Question:

1999 Ford Mustang w/ 4.6L engine .. one week ago, outside grooved ring of harmonic balancer came off during rapid acceleration .. drove remaining 8 to 10 minutes home w/ no apparent loss of power in engine or transmission but, up until last minute of drive time, there was terrible noise coming from under the hood – like metal being ground up .. never overheated, no steam coming from under hood .. have not attempted to restart car since driving it home that day .. at the moment, my first concerns are: is it wise to attempt restarting the car to drive it to a shop or have it towed; if car restarts & appears to drive ok would it be wise to continue driving car w/out being checked out by mechanic; likelihood damage was done to engine or transmission; if so, what type of damage likely; would the smartest course of action at this time be to have it towed to shop & have them pull valve covers to see if any rods were ground up & need to be replaced

Answer:

The harmonic balancer pulley drives the water pump as well as your
other accessories for your engine.  It also serves an important
purpose of dampening vibrations and preventing bearing wear.
They don’t usually just fly off, so there may have been bearing
problems before this incident, but it’s hard to say.  I would suspect
the metallic noise you heard was a bad bearing.  (Rod or Main Bearing)
I would not start up your Mustang and drive it to a shop.  Towing is recommended.
Here is what could be wrong…

1.  Blown head gasket, since the water pump was not being driven when
the belt flew off, it most likely overheated, even if you did not see
steam.

2.  Warped cylinder heads (See above).  I believe your cylinder heads
are aluminum, and much more prone to warp.

3.  Bad rod or main bearing on the crankshaft.  The metallic noise and
the fact that your harmonic balancer flew off, points to a real bad
case of vibration coming from a bad bearing.  It’s possible the
balancer flying off caused the bearing to fail, but it’s most likely
the other way around… the bad bearing caused the balancer to fly
apart.

I would have the vehicle towed to a shop you trust.  A Ford dealer
would not be my first choice, but if you do not have an independent
shop you trust, then they are better than nothing.  Have them pull the
oil pan and inspect for a blown bearing.  I would also have them do a
compression check and check for signs of a blown head gasket.

If there is a bad bearing, depending on the mileage of the engine, I
would consider a reconditioned or low mileage used engine.  If you
take it to a Ford dealer, they will want to sell you a new one, or a
Ford Remanufactured engine…  if you are at an independent shop, they
would be more willing to install a lower cost alternative.  Also check
out www.GotEngines.com for a quote if it gets to that point.  They
have access to quality used engines as well as rebuilt ones.

I have a 2003 Ford Mustang and it will not crank over.  I took it to shop and they can not tell me any thing either when i turn it off at and in the morning it will not start at all when you spray some quick start it will start but it will not stay running can you advise me?

Answer:

Do you have a check engine light on the dash?  Did the shop scan the ECU for trouble codes?

An engine needs 3 things to run, Air, Fuel and Spark. Given that spraying starter fluid in the engine gets the engine to fire, I would say it’s safe to say you are getting air and spark so it’s time to look at fuel.

The first thing to check is the fuel pump and fuel filter.  Most modern cars also have a shock sensor which will kill the fuel pump in the event of an accident.  A mechanic should be able to trace the fuel pump circuit from the fuse panel, through the relay and down to the pump which is most likely located in the fuel tank itself.

If everything is OK with the fuel pump then it’s possible the fuel filter is clogged.  Once that has been checked, then the fuel injectors need to be checked to be sure they are firing.  A bad engine computer (ECU) will keep the injectors from firing.  If the injectors are firing, then the throttle position sensor or MAF should be checked next.  

I just recently had a new crankshaft and bearings put in my 2007 Ford Mustang 4.6L. Now I have a ticking noise when it starts up and continues when I accelerate. my mechanic said it would work itself out that it probably has some gunk in it. What do you think it is?

Answer:

It depends where the ticking noise is coming from.  An exhaust leak, lifters, valves, bearings and many other things can cause a ticking noise.

I would be concerned that contamination from the worn bearings
and crankshaft may have damaged the cam or lifters, and that is where
the ticking is coming from.  I would insist on knowing where the noise is coming from.  Like mentioned before, it could be as simple as an exhaust leak, but you need to know in case it’s something serious.

"Gunk" in an engine is not a good thing, I would have your mechanic do
an engine flush and track down the real cause of the tick.  If he won’t do it, find a mechanic who will.

I own a 2003 Mustang Convertible.  I went into my mechanic’s shop, whom have been servicing my vehicle for a little over 2 years, to get an oil change.  The moment I left the shop, maybe about 2-3 minutes into driving my car was smoking heavily grayish/white.  My mechanic did not want to take the car back to check it out.  I wound up going to Big Al’s and was told my oil tank had excessive oil in it.  Which overfilled in the crankcase and caused non-fixable damage to my engine.  I now need a new engine. Is this a true recommendation?  I later checked my receipt and saw that my mechanic has been putting 7 quarts of oil into my tank.  Is this far to much oil? If so, what are the consequences?  I have a court date tomorrow, March 24, 2010.  It would be appreciated if you could possible shoot me your opinion as soon as possible.

Answer:

7 quarts is way too much oil.  Your Mustang should only take 4 – 5 quarts at the most.  Overfilling the oil can cause problems with the engine.

Basically the oil can blow past the piston rings, and hydraulically lock the piston causing a bent rod in the worst case.  It can also cause issues with seals, oxygen sensors and spark plugs.

However, I would not automatically assume that you need a new engine.  I would have a mechanic drain the oil, replace the spark plugs and oxygen sensor, and evaluate.  A compression check should give an accurate health of the engine. 

Since you have the receipt, you have proof of overfilling.  What you now need is proof of the capacity for your engine.  I would call your local Ford dealer and ask if they can provide you a written specification for the oil capacity for your car.  They should be able to print it off for you with little trouble and fax to you.  Or you can offer to stop in to the service desk and pick it up. 

I would also go to court with a statement from the second shop stating that the engine damage was caused by the overfilling.  The second shop, depending on what type of computer system they have, may be able to  provide to you the engine oil capacity spec as well.