What do mechanics do when you want to rebuild your 5.0 motor?

My 1995 5.0 motor is about had it and I think it needs a rebuild. It has 70,000 miles and to some people it's considered low, but it's 70,000 abused miles. The car feels sluggish and weak. There are leaks everywhere. The oil pan, transmission, and radiator all leaks. It's an automatic and when the car shifts it stumbles and and feels rough. What should I do? Thinking about a rebuild but not sure how much it'll cost and what consist of a rebuild. Please help.
 
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Do a compression or leak down test yourself FIRST to check the condition of the Motor before pulling it out or having a mechanic tear it apart.

And like MAtts89LX5.0 said, there might be something wrong with the transmission.


5.0 Could take a lot of beating!!
Unless it was ran with low oil for a long time and run in the red zone everyday!
76,0000 aint Sh** for miles for a 5.0!
 
Compression test/leakdown test. Complete tune up? Fuel Filter? Does it smoke out the tail pipe. My first 5.0 had 140,000 hard miles,with N2O use for a couple of years, and it still ran strong.

If you decide on a rebuild,get a complete detailed written estimate as to what you will recieve for your money. Any legit mechanic/rebuilder will have no problem doing that.
 
Okay tell me this. Is it the engine or the transmission that messing up. First of all, the transmission oil has never been changed EVER!!! AT 70K the oil is blacker than black. When we went to go change it (complete flush), the next day the oil became black again. It dosen't smell like it's burning or anything. Maybe there was so much sludge and oil buildup that the complete system flush was not able to completely remove it all. Anyways, the car takes a long time when shifting automatically. And when it does shift, it shifts slow and sluggish. Not nice and firm like my 2000 GT. I'm thinking maybe it's the transmission and not the engine. What consist of a transmission rebuild. How much am I looking at and what to look for.
 
Ok, first thing's first.

As far as the radiator leaking, new or even used radiators can be had for dirt cheap. Get that taken car of as soon as you can, though I would say the engine and transmission deserve more immediate attention.

As far as the transmission goes, as far as I understand things, if an automatic has not has its fluid changed in xx,xxx miles (I believe it's 75-100K), then it may not be the best idea to change it. The way it was explained to me was that the fluid after xx,xxx miles becomes something of a varnish on the internal working parts of your transmission. Changing the fluid after this has happened causes the varnish to come loose and can damage internal transmission parts. I've personally never had this happen, anyone able to back this up? Again, this is just what I heard. Most oil/lube shops won't change your tranny fluid after those miles if it hasn't been done before.

As a couple others have said, the 5.0 can take a ton of abuse (Ford's best engine, IMHO). 70,000 sounds REALLY low for a rebuild, I personally have about 110K and the engine is the last thing I worry about. If you were slack with maintenance, then *maybe*. My bet is with your transmission.

If you need to have it rebuilt for whatever reason, I have seen rebuild kits in the area of $300-$1300 depending on the metals used and whatnot. And labor is what will probably drain your wallet the most. For a straight-up rebuild, I would guess $500-$1500 depending on the quality of the shop. Get an estimate ahead of time, as always.