I Found A MAJOR Engine Issue After Fixing EVERYTHING On My SVT Lightning! Previous Owner Had To Know 

Do you think the previous owner knew and is this Ford's fault or abuse? Click this link bit.ly/3mFdrY8 and use coupon code Legit for 5% off RockAuto!

Alex, legit recommendation: if you pull it to fix the gaskets and helicoil the spark plug holes to make them full thread, add rods and pistons to the upgrade list. The stock PM rods and cast pistons sign off above about 450-475rwhp even when everything is done correctly, but the pistons will lose their ring lands at the first hint of detonation at nearly stock power levels. I had one come into the shop many years ago after the owner’s GF put 87 octane in it and it knocked the ring lands out of the pistons on a truck that had a +2psi pulley, CAI, cat-back exhaust, and a tune on a truck making about 400 to the wheels. These trucks are so much fun, but they were close to their safe limit from the factory. Three years after these ended production, the GT500 saw all the updates the SVT Lightning should have received, let that be your guide. Great video as always, love the direction the channel is taking.

Well, after tearing apart the V12 in the Mercedes, fixing this engine can’t be that hard.

There Is just something so satisfying seeing new parts go on an older vehicle, If I had the money I'd literally go too far and replace everything haha.

"Most importantly....beat on cars before you buy them" - Best advice when purchasing a used vehicle!

Anyone else just smile after watching his videos? What a great guy Alex is, and what a great job he does wrenching on his projects. Hats off to this guy!

Fully port the heads while they are off.

When I saw the first video, saw the colour of that coolant and the leaking cooling system, I thought: head gaskets. I know the pressure cap was bad, but to me, that didn't explain the colour of the coolant, as a leaking cap won't change the colour of the coolant, you need combustion gasses to do that. You might ask, why was I so sure? Same thing happened to me. Sorry about the situation you are in, and all the work you'll need to do. Just think though: what a great subject for a series of videos!

I love the way you do the presentation...I am an asian....every word comes out from your mouth is very very CLEAR. I enjoy your vids man!

I say buy some ARP studs. Remove the head bolts one at a time and install the studs. Even if it doesn’t fix it, you can always re use the studs. As opposed to most head bolts that you have to replace anyway

I really like that you don't gloss over the process and that you include the struggles of replacing parts, especially when working alone. Camera angles and critical focus are also always spent on. Video production is a job in it self, and you add expert auto repair content on top of that. Keep doing what you're doing. It's always a pleasure to watch and learn.

On the sway bar end links, I recommend using anti-seize between sleeve and the bolt

You're lifting the head from getting into boost. I have a 2000 Lightning and am changing my head-gaskets soon. I am leaking out the side of block. These 5.4's are known to leak. I think the factory bolts stretch over time from heating and cooling. You can pull the heads off and change the gaskets in the truck.

If he said he would help with parts.. busted! He knew.

Tear it down, fix it right. It's your dream truck, so I say make it solid and enjoy it to the fullest. Wonderful video, as always!

Best thing is to replace everything when something in the steering gets loose. If one piece is wearing out, the rest is there or not far behind. I picked up a F-350 crew-cab that used to be a forest service truck and the first thing I did was replace everything that moved in the front end. Pricey, but I don't have to worry when I am coming down a little used narrow gravel road with a load of firewood. What made it even better was almost everything new had a grease fitting. Good to see someone else on the Milwaukee team.

This is super helpful, had a mates lightning doing the exact same thing and couldn’t solve it!!! Learn so much from your videos! Looking forward to seeing you resolve this one! 👍🏼

I think it would be cool to try tightening the head bolts to see if that fix's it.

This camera/cut style is so awesome with all the space you have to move around the lift and show different angles for one specific job I love it!!

100% lifted head. Coolant coming out of the overflow under long pulls/boost, but driving fine, is exactly what happened to mine. You need to pull the heads, and fix it properly, don't re-torque or re-use the bolts, they stretch. While your at it, rods are the weak link, and may as well go built. These trucks don't like detonation, and need a really safe, low timing tune. Since you don't know the history, id 100% have it tuned by a reputable LIGHTNING tuner. There's lots of info out there, Lightningrodder is a great forum with tons of info, and O.G. Lightning guys that are very helpful and can help you with any questions.

I’ve had the same problem with cars in the past. The easy diagnosis is if it over heats while not moving but many are not that easy. Especially with boosted engines. Glad you saw the problem man. There’s a lot of people out there that would have missed it and destroyed that beautiful truck.👍👍👍

That why I watch this channel 💪🏽😤 always challenging different types of projects

I remember learning to do maintenance on my first vehicle, a 1990 Ford Bronco. Found out the hard way you need a special tool to takeoff those fuel filters. No internet or RU-vid back then! This video just brought back some memories.

Good luck Alex, seeing you do the headgasket test brings me back to exactly one year ago when I had the same happening.

Yay! You finished a repair in one video. Its been a while since that has been done. Cheers! keep at it we are all watching. :)

I love how you post really long videos with the whole process. I hate it when youtubers make 20 part series and each video is 10-15 mins long.

It’s like Christmas every time you post. I visibly light up, and click on the video instantly. Thanks so much.

On my 03 Mach 1 I had the spark plug threads upgraded from the 4 to a 9 thread, good piece of mind. I also went back with ARP studs because the factory torque to yield bolts are harder to install (crazy torquing sequence with torque and degree, backing off etc), meant for a one time use and not as strong. For a few hundred dollars the studs make a ton of sense.

Thanks Alex. So many little pro tips in what you are doing. Really helpful.

Sorry to hear about the truck. But I like your attitude, when life give you 🍋 make some lemonade. I suggest you re tourqe the head bolts, nothing to lose there. Great and genuine content as always.

Don't use any head gasket sealants. They never work and cause a mess inside of the cooling system. Its like slapping a bandaid on a flesh wound. The easiest route would be to try and torque the head gasket down. I would be concerned to loosen and tighten them as I'm not sure if they are stretch bolts. Either way, life happens but I'm excited to see you handle it. Best of luck!

You should also remove the supercharger and do a deep clean on your intercooler, I just did mine on my 01 lightning and it was hammered. Check your rotors and change your supercharger oil while at it too. It’s also the perfect time to check your coils and change your plugs with the blower off it turns a 2 hour job into a 20 min job.

thanks for showing us how to use the tools and techniques that you use. I seem to learn something everytime.

I had the same problem on a diesel car, was driving perfectly fine but when I flor it a bunch of times the coolant was coming out, and I decided to do the head gasket job, did the job and the car was the same, then I changed the front radiator and the heater matrix and the problem was solved

Hey Alex. Have you though about installing some sound baffles on the roof to lower the amount of echo you get in the new workshop ? Loving the content mate. Gday from Australia 🇦🇺

This is my favorite automotive RU-vid channel yet it’s the one I get the least content from! Not a knock - I just wish we got more frequent posts. Alex is the best

Great vid bro as always very entertaining and full of information keeping the viewers glued

If it was me i would do: ARP head bolts, ported heads, pulie on the supercharger and tune for e85 that would be sick

For the experiment def check the threads to the spark plugs first and then attempt the torque down. But with all this in mind you may want to just be ready with the preventative - supercharger removal, s/c oil change, rotor inspect, IC cleaning, then remove heads/gaskets for something better along with cams and then put it all back together. For sure longevity.

Great video. Thank you for showing so much of the process!

I kinda want to see you make some upgrades to the transmission a little bit. Albeit it's understandable if the transmission is still operating like it should, but at the same time, it is an older model truck with a few exceptions that have just been replaced brand new and done properly up to this point. Either way, it never hurts to replace a few engine parts vs. spending a lot to do a complete engine swap.

Please don't gum up the cooling system with snake oil =) Re-torqueing the heads seems to be the first step, like you said!

Man a love this channel your so easy to listen to and watch mate keep up the good work and hello from Scotland

The comments and the content here are golden. This is why I love RU-vid. So much knowledge scrolling down which is specific to this truck.

This same thing happened to my friend's car. Short story: the previous owner definitely blew the head gasket and put in head gasket sealant to sell the car making the coolant brown and staining the cooling system. Long story: last year he bought a 2013 Chevy Sonic Turbo. When we went to look at it we knew it had problems but it was a good price, he needed a car, he liked it, and it drove fine you couldn't tell the head was blown even when flooring it. The first sign was his coolant was a dirty brown color and the coolant reservoir was stained so we did coolant flushes to clean it out and changed the coolant. The next sign was it would slowly loose coolant over time. He'd probably still be driving the car and we wouldn't know about the head, but the turbo ended up breaking. We had to take the broken turbine wheel out and put a pod filter on the intake so he could still get to work. The car didn't like that and it kept the fan on full speed which ended up frying the fan and eventually the car overheated making the head worse. Finally we had to fix it the right way leading us to find the head gasket sealant when we took the head off.

Its crazy how the same mechanics issues can haunt us over and over

Always great content. Great advice as well. Looking forward to the head gasket video.

Great job with the new front end components. Things are so much easier with the proper tools.

Be carful of the driver side last head stud, it tends to round very easy as you don’t have enough bite on it.

I am pretty sure I saw a torn boot on the upper control arm bushing on the passenger side. Love the videos.

Watching your 30min vids makes me feel like 10mins. Great content! Greetings from the country where your sonic tools from. 😉

Hey Alex, do the proper job, do not try that nasty cheap apparently solutions. You will have fun and serious good content on your channel, I just did my head gasket in a 2013 Volvo V40 T5 AWD, I know it is not the same…but it was a great project

You need a bungee cord to hold stuff up, it will help your sanity in the long run

My Explorer had same symptoms and it was a thermostat that was half stuck open.... thankfully not head gasket for me ..

Absolutely do NOT use band-aid in a bottle! But I do like the idea of popping the valve covers off & replacing the head bolts with some ARP studs‼️ GOOD LUCK‼️

Your videos are always interesting!!

Brother, you need a but of sound deadening on the walls at the Legit Streetquarters. Doesn't need to be like professional treatment, just something less sound reflective than the concrete walls. Some banners or something would help quite a bit.

You know Alex when I seen all the coolent and the stains underneath head gaskets crossed my mind it will happen to the best of us I definitely love the videos

I found your channel few days ago. I haven't stopped watching. You remind of Stacey David. I used to watching his show every Saturday and Sunday.. Bring back memories.

Great video keep them coming.

Bummer on the hg. I would definitely try retorquing the bolts first. I've seen it do magic on old Cressida engines that Toyota torqued wrong from the factory

Wow, look at how full the garage got already. Outstanding. Some great content coming out of the shop!

I love your videos. I'm also very happy you finally got your own shop. If there is anything you can do about the audio quality, the echo when your inside your shop is brutal and it's even worse with headphones. I'm sure there is no short term solution but food for thought. Thanks.

Great video as always. Can’t help feeling you look lonely in that big shop now. Kinda like the original home feel from the old one more. 👍🇬🇧

I would like to see every type of test that the may need. You could probably do them by episodes since it may take you a lot of time to test all.

Hey Alex, I was thinking of the same thing about checking the head bolt tightness before tearing the engine down. I have found similar issues on diesel generator sets. I had a huge gen set that was run by a Perkins 4 cyl, 4 stroke engine. It was donated to the college I retired from for a student project. The students and I checked it out and one of the problems was loose head bolts. There was no oil/coolant mixture in the radiator or crankcase so we just drained everything and added new oil and coolant. We torqued the head bolts to spec, ran the engine until it got hot, let it cool down and all was OK. We also used a pressure gauge on the radiator and lost no pressure. All was OK after that and it ran perfect. We sold it for a profit on E-bay. One model of the Ford 5.4 3 Valve V8 engine had a problem with the timing system in the engine. Make sure you don't have that engine. Those engines need replaced I have heard. Car Wizard has some low opinions of the Ford engine I'm talking about. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xcN_WcGr4BU.html

Hey Alex , I have a red 03'lightning , was a one owner truck , low k's , loaded , done some professional engine mods , smokes tires all day long ! Haha ! Love the supercharger noises most ! Good luck with your truck ! Look forward to more videos ! Take care , stay safe!

Love your videos you explain everything so well

Would love to see a collab with FordTechMakuLoco - BSG Automotive in Chicago. Nobody knows these Ford trucks better than Brian!

Is it possible tightening up the head bolts could make it seal better even if it's just for a temporary fix

All i have is respect for u and this channel,ur class at what u do👍

Sorry about your luck Alex, but this is why I think you have the best automotive content channel on RU-vid. You’re an average Joe like the rest of us. Sometimes you get a great deal and sometimes you get hosed, but you make the best of it. Keep up the great work!

Hey look at it this way, you got the car for a deal and it will make for some great content. Win win!

Sometimes when I watch these Lightning videos I really miss owning one....and sometimes when I watch, I really don't miss owning one. If you are taking it apart, fix the spark plug threads (if they haven't been done yet) lose that stock supercharger and get a Kenne Bell. Those Lightning forums were a godsend when I owned mine.

What would be a disaster for someone else is a golden opportunity for Alex and LSC to produce a video with lots of views.

Good trouble shoot this weird problem, yea I would test the torque just to confirm a starting point the spark plug thread chase would be a good thing to know too. Thanks for the share look forward to the next reveal.

I had a shut gun sparkplug on my 03 4.6 F150. It has 231k. I would re- torque the head bolts. I have heard of different heads that fix the spark plug problem.

Alex, you're putting out the BEST DAMN videos on RU-vid! I can't applauder you enough for your content and presentation...keep up the good work!!

As always, great content Alex!

Alex love the video. I'm a Ford guy and love the content. Strange situation ...maybe put stock pulley back on to see if it gets rid of blowby?

The downside to rockauto is the shipping when purchasing a ton of stuff. Always ships from multiple warehouses, and they charge separately

Hi Alex! How is the “Keep” hair stuff working out for you? 😂

Very informative boss thank you.

Great video and work😃

ive seen a similar issue on a ford v6 (sierra xr4i) and i fixed it by the thing you suggested towards the end of the vid, re torque the head bolts. hope that fixes your issue alex.

Brilliant

I have the exact same problem with a 2009 Hyundai i30 1.5 tdi. When I checked the coolant cap it literally fell apart, so I replaced that then I replaced the thermostat as that was faulty. The coolant would bubble and over flow on revs over 2500rpm. I then realised that somebody had tried to flush the engine using dish washer tablets. So I flushed it out and put the correct coolant/antifreeze in it. I haven’t done the coolant check yet as i do not have the special tool. Thanks for the video it has hopefully helped me. I’m a vehicle mechanic of 20 years and I have never seen this problem before.

its a 5.4 I rebuilt a regular one after I did my 302, I can't wait for future videos you got this!

I can't wait for Sat morning and Legit. My wife thinks I'm having an affair.

I love Alex’s torque specs 👍🏼 Always remember him doing up a spark plug and just saying “click....click” 😄👌🏼

So funny I was taught to count threads but when I do it on my channel everyone screams I need to measure. Counting is easy and what I know. Great video as always

I had a 97 F150 4.6L 2V that had a blown head gasket, and similarly to yours, it wouldn’t trip the testing fluid when you did the test per Napa’s instructions. No overheating, no smoke, no chocolate milk, etc. the only “symptom” was blowing the radiator every six months. The nice thing I found out about the job is that you DO NOT need the special timing chain tools to pull the heads. It wasn’t a bad job, but I’ll never pull heads in a F150 with the engine in the bay again. It’s possible to do but you’ll be fighting it the entire way.

Lay a plastic sheet on your table to keep it nice and when it becomes a mess all you need do is pull it off, put on a new plastic sheet, and boom! Nice table again!

I would recommend adding some anti-seize on the front tie rod / suspension parts as you assemble them. Your future self will thank you.

Great teaching LegitStreetCars :D !@!!

Definitely worth a shot at torquing the head bolts. I've used Bars Leak Head Gasket repair with great results just, to prolong it before an actual repair could be done.

Perfect time to send the blower to jokerz for porting. Hes local in Chicago.

Hello there

Sorry to hear about the heads on your Ford, I had a similar problem with a Camaro I used to own. After doing a power flush I had to machine the heads...

Headgasket sealer worth a look is the small little blue bottle the size of a 2stroke mini bottle. I think the product is called "K2" or "K12" but it gave me an extra 20,000mi on my 5.4 Triton. And also know the spark plug problem! I've installed 3 of the repair kits for the known issue. Good luck! And I know how much you enjoy that lightning, I drove one around for a week and probably took 10 years off it's life. But he said he built it for that. 😂