Explorer 4.0l Engine rebuilding

Hello all,

I have my 93 Ford Explorer sitting in the driveway, and while it runs, it's engine condition is deteriorating pretty fast. A friend of mine who is a trained and certified mechanic and who works at a Chevy dealership suggested that the engine condition in his opinion is bad enough to warranty a new vehicle or a whole new engine. Being that my business requires me to spend alot of time on the road going to and from customer sites, I'm looking at getting an F150 (2001).

Anyway with all of that said, I wouldn't mind learning how to rebuild the engine in my Explorer doing bits and pieces of work each evening. So I was wondering if there is a guide anywhere online that would do step by step instructions of how to take apart the engine, how to rebuild it and get it working. This would be a personal project of mine. Since I work in computers heavily, I have a very technical mind and am able to understand concepts and princples of mechanical objects very well. I understand the risk involved, but this vehicle wouldn't be of daily use, and would be for me to learn on. If I am able to get it rebuilt, I probably would give it to my sister or something.

While tearing down and rebuilding an engine is fairly simple compared to open heart surgery or even automatic transmission repair, it's not a matter of following online step-by-step instructions. You will need a good book (preferably a few good books) to understand the basics, lots of tools, someone experienced to guide you and probably most important, access to a good machine shop, patient enough to deal with a novice. Go for it if you can afford the time and the money, but don't except the results to be anything spectacular; at least not the first time around. It will also probably cost you more than a brand new engine. You may be a lot better off buying a long block (a rebuilt engine with the head and timing components already installed). There will still be ample opportunities to learn (and to screw up) and to spend more than the job is worth on tools. Make sure you have a compressor, an engine hoist and an engine stand before you even start.