Full steam ahead!

A 5.4 crankshaft isn't any longer than a 4.6, they share the same bore spacing. 5.4 uses a longer stroke with a taller deck-height, but the heads are actually the same.

Sounds like that shop is about as organized as the one that botched my TR3650 a few years ago (necessitating purchase of a completely different rebuilt TR3650 from a different supplier).

Well BigMerc, I thought the same thing, that the difference between a 4.6 and a 5.4 was the stroke (and thus cylinder) length (height), but that was what this fella told me. I didn't fully buy it, as I was under the impression that the blocks were the same between the two. However I know less about the 5.4 than the 4.6 so I didn't comment further with him. That wouldn't have done any good anyway, right?

Hell I was just glad to get our crankshaft back in one piece!

Yeah I was less than impressed with their explanation, assuming it was accurate. How you could confuse the two crankshafts is a mystery to me. The one they gave me originally was so much larger in all dimensions so as to be readily distinguishable at a mere glance.

Sigh. They were the closest machine shop. I may have to look elsewhere next time...

Prior to discussing tonight's work, I'd like to offer an editorial note. I realize that much of the following posts will be old hat to the more seasoned CVNers out there. Therefore I encourage you to skip ahead in the story line or abandon your read altogether. I post the following tidbits of information mostly for those who might not be familiar with the 4.6 as I once was. The idea being that we can learn about this particular engine together. And, as has become customary with this thread, if the more experienced 4.6ers out there see anything amiss, speak up. End editorial note.

Although time would be limited (as always), I decided that enough was enough; time to install the crankshaft. It was ready to go:


And dropped right in, no issues:


Funny how having the correct crankshaft can make all of the difference in the world.

And we know it's the correct crankshaft because its bolt came back with it:

Now time to prep the caps. The bearings were still soaking in their WD-40 bath from last night:


Thus they were ready to be installed with just a quick clean. The first 4 go in uneventfully. Then I noticed that the new #5 cap bearing, which is flanged, does not have a tang:


In this scenario you don't really need one, but the cap does have place for it, so I must confess to feeling better about the affair if one had been present.

I mean the original #5 bearing had a tang:


And:


So why does this set not replicate that? Again, I realize that I can run without one in this case. However tangs exist for a reason and I would have preferred to see that the replacement had one, as the original did.

However the new #5 bearing is sans tang and the original one is a little more banged up than I want to run:


So I went with the new one:

With that decision the bearings were installed and we're headed back to the block:


Each cap will have its bearing slathered in assembly lube, just as those in the block did:

Then install the jackscrews:


And install into its correct position in the webbing:

Repeat that 4 times and the caps are initially installed:


And:

The first step in the process of securing them in place is to install and torque the main cap bolts. I may have provided this information already; if so forgive the repeat. That said, here is the part number for the "regular" main bolts:


Which look like this:

You'll need 9 of those. The tenth bolt will need to be the "studded bolt", which supports the oil pickup tube. It's part number:


And it looks like this:

As an aside, there is some debate amongst those who care to debate this kind of crap about what to do when installing bolts into a block. Some say to leave the bolts dry, some say to use assembly lube, some say oil, hell I even heard one fella make the argument for thread locker once. If you can believe that. To each their own, I say. Live and let live. Personally, I simply lube the threads on the bolt and in the hole with a little oil prior to threading them in:


I won't knock any approach so long as it works. Well, the thread locker might see some disapproving commentary stemming from my direction, but ...