5.4L 3V Cylinder Head Rebuild
06-25-2015, 08:17 PM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
5.4L 3V Cylinder Head Rebuild
2004 F150 FX4 5.4L-3V 168,000 miles
Had the valve train ticking noise. Local shops would not touch the repair, and Ford wanted way too much, so I jumped in with both feet and decided I would do it myself.
As it turns out, this is what I have found: bad right side cam phaser, broken right side timing chain guide, VCT solenoids completely missing a screen, most of the cam followers (rockers) were starting to wear out, some of the lash adjusters (lifters) were not working properly, both cams are worn out, and it appears that both heads are worn out at the bearings as well.
Actually, there are no bearings, the 'bearing' is the aluminum cam mains and caps.
In reviewing the internet, there are a couple of places that sell refurbished heads. I called them and asked several questions. This is what I found out about their 'refurbished' heads: used springs, used cams, used valves (they do re-grind the valves and seats), new valve stem retainers, no work on the journals, mill surface, comes with cam followers and lash adjusters (not sure if they are new or used).
As you can guess, I was a little shocked. I asked the sales rep how they determined if the heads and cams they were using were good or not, and he said that they inspect them to make sure they are within tolerance (he couldn't tell me what their tolerances were) and no visible pitting or ridges. I find that hard to believe that there would be no ridges when these heads do not have conventional steel bearings. The steel cam rubs against an aluminum journal! My cams and journals look like the normal wear you would see on your brake rotor when changing pads. And, as for the journal tolerances, they could be at the max already!
So, this gets me to my question...What about line boring the heads and installing a set of steel bearings with holes for the oiling ports? The reason I am thinking of installing bearings is so that I can use a stock set of cams in lieu of custom grind cams. If the bearings won't work, I could get custom grind cams with larger journals. Either way, do you think the caps will flex too much? I think I would only have to mill them to about 0.006 over stock to get them smoothed out. Would probably go to 0.010 to get a standard bearing.
Had the valve train ticking noise. Local shops would not touch the repair, and Ford wanted way too much, so I jumped in with both feet and decided I would do it myself.
As it turns out, this is what I have found: bad right side cam phaser, broken right side timing chain guide, VCT solenoids completely missing a screen, most of the cam followers (rockers) were starting to wear out, some of the lash adjusters (lifters) were not working properly, both cams are worn out, and it appears that both heads are worn out at the bearings as well.
Actually, there are no bearings, the 'bearing' is the aluminum cam mains and caps.
In reviewing the internet, there are a couple of places that sell refurbished heads. I called them and asked several questions. This is what I found out about their 'refurbished' heads: used springs, used cams, used valves (they do re-grind the valves and seats), new valve stem retainers, no work on the journals, mill surface, comes with cam followers and lash adjusters (not sure if they are new or used).
As you can guess, I was a little shocked. I asked the sales rep how they determined if the heads and cams they were using were good or not, and he said that they inspect them to make sure they are within tolerance (he couldn't tell me what their tolerances were) and no visible pitting or ridges. I find that hard to believe that there would be no ridges when these heads do not have conventional steel bearings. The steel cam rubs against an aluminum journal! My cams and journals look like the normal wear you would see on your brake rotor when changing pads. And, as for the journal tolerances, they could be at the max already!
So, this gets me to my question...What about line boring the heads and installing a set of steel bearings with holes for the oiling ports? The reason I am thinking of installing bearings is so that I can use a stock set of cams in lieu of custom grind cams. If the bearings won't work, I could get custom grind cams with larger journals. Either way, do you think the caps will flex too much? I think I would only have to mill them to about 0.006 over stock to get them smoothed out. Would probably go to 0.010 to get a standard bearing.
Last edited by Cruise; 06-25-2015 at 08:23 PM.
