jkoprowski

Hello Guys,

I recently spent the last week tearing apart and building back up this truck of mine. I have a 2008 King Ranch 5.4 with 130k. After having trouble with phaser noise and a very intermittent idle "burp" (best I can explain it), i decided to make some upgrades. Here is what I did:

- Ford Racing Hi Pressure Oil Pump with new pickup tube
- Cloyes Timing set
- Melling Steel Timing Tensioners
- Precision Auto CNC Cam Phasers (after freedom racing said that they had far less failures with these then the Ford ones)
- Ford VCT Solenoids

I took my time and tried to install everything right. The stock timing guide was broken on the driver side. After the install I primed the oiling system and then started it up. It ran PERFECT all the way up to temperature. I did this "start and run to temp" three times in order to make sure the coolant was circulating correctly. After that it was time for a test drive. I backed it out of the driveway with no problems and a ton of power. I got about 1000 feet down the street and the truck started to run real rough. The idle is poor and pretty rough (like it wants to die but won't). I scanned it and returned P0018, and a P0022 codes. I am at a loss and am feeling pretty defeated after this. Any ideas guys?

P0018 - Crankshaft Position - Camshaft Position Correlation (Bank 2 Sensor A)

P0022 - "A" Camshaft Position - Timing Over-Retarded (Bank 2)


Thanks

F150Torqued

D A M N ! I am truly so sorry. After that much work, anything of that nature would be awfully discouraging. But hang in there and take a deep breath. I (and I'm confident some others) will work beside you to work through this. (It's not fair as I blaze past 222,000k mi. --- more than 10,000 miles beyond my cam job with a truck that feels barely broke in).


First I'll get the stupid questions out of the way.

You replaced pickup tube - I assume no chance any junk plastic pieces got left in the pan?


They were not mentioned - did you replace the VCT Solenoids? **EDIT - they were mentioned! Sorry


You mentioned 'your scanner' - what type scanner are we talking about. I'm interested in what capabilities we have available. ie: can we look deeper than just DTC codes?


Next - I suggest the stupid little things that are so simple seasoned mechanic can miss them. Please check / clean with spray electrical contact cleaner - a) the CKP sensor, b) both CPS sensors, c) all three PCM plugs (with battery disconnected ONLY), check/recheck ALL electrical connections - as there were MANY diddled with in the process, and then e) do a complete battery disconnect 'RELEARN' process.


That should get us to first base. (and god permit - a homerun).

redfishtd

Did you clean the vct housing ?
Don't bite me but according to ford makuloco (expert) your timing may be off a tooth or so .I have seen people not keeping chain tight on the right side while installing . People straddling timing gear dot with 2 links instead of the L or r on phasor . If your phasor on passenger side had r up and drivers side had l up you were in the ball park . Self checking is a must on these engines. I never trust myself , I always review and take a second look . Read svares final fix sticky several times .
I know that's not nice to hear but we have seen it before. As well as after market phasors being bad from the get go, one assembled all wrong .
Did you have any damage to the tone ring from broken guides, they tend to fall on it . ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a-2cz4IGNw
My timing point is no 1 at TDC(Passenger side towards radiator ), gear dot at 6 oclock , key way at 11 , cam lobes on no1 and 5 per ford manual (Critical point. . ).
No other orientation will do. Do not get confused with keyway versus gear dot . Do not use crank pulley marks instead of these.

EBC-150

As mentioned, the crank (tone) ring...did you install it correctly? It has a 'front' stamped on it. If the engine was initially running strong, then diminished, perhaps it got torn up a bit from being installed backwards.

jav1

Jkoprowski-

My .02c. The fact that it started and ran perfect until warm suggests your tone ring and base timing are OK. My question is... did you verify warm oil pressure before and after the work? I did all the exact same work you did right down to the new Ford racing pump. I also did the thrust bearings and still ended up with low hot oil pressure at idle and phasers that don't return to base idle when hot.

The simplest test is to disconnect both VCT solenoids and see how she runs hot. Mine runs smooth and quiet with them unhooked.

BadFish523

Jav so you must have some clogged ports? How bad was she gummed up/varnished? Got any plans to fix it?

jav1

The engine wasn't gummed up at all but I did run MMO through it before doing the all the work. I suspect it's more of a wear issue than clogged ports. I didn't check cam bearings ...but I know my rod bearing clearances are a bit high (over 220k Mi). I do plan on addressing it but I just don't have the time at the moment so I've been driving it with the solenoids unhooked. Other than crappy gas mileage, it runs silky smooth and quiet, which should get me through the winter.

jkoprowski

Thanks for the quick reply. Yes I removed the oil pan and all the small little plastic pieces when replacing the pickup tube.

I have a Innova 3100 ABS scanner from walmart. It is basically for reading codes but will also tell you the engine parameters when the code was logged. Of course I stupidly deleted them to see if they would come back so that data is temporarily unavailable.

I just picked up some electrical cleaner spray so I will clean all three of those sensors along with the PCM connectors and let you know if anything changes.

This is the first I've heard of the battery relearn process, maybe that could cause a bad idle...? Not sure if that would throw those codes...? However I disconnected the battery overnight and will try that after cleaning the connectors. I do not want to run the truck long if it is running rough. I have read that the excess gas can kill your cat's, but who knows...

Ill let you know what I come up with. Thanks again

jkoprowski

Hi and thanks for the reply,

I did not clean the act housing. To be quite honest i wasn't sure how to safely do that without spraying cleaner deep into the engine.

I triple checked the timing, but it is possible i guess. My only reply to that would be, why would the engine idle perfect for around an hour if the timing was off? It seems to me that as soon as i actually gave it some rpm's something happened. I interesting enough if i bring the RPMs about 1800 or so it seems to really smooth out???

I agree with your assessment that it is possible that I had gotten a bad phaser. God I hope not, because who knows where the timing would be now, and would likely require me to pull the cover off and actually timing this thing with all the tools.

The tone ring seemed to be in good shape and i am 99% sure it was installed with "front" facing outward. I checked it, but who knows...

To explain how I timed it: before removing the cover the vehicle was running smooth. I locked the cams in place at TDC with vice grips and zip ties. I also marked the cam positions in reference to bearing caps with paint. I also marked the crank the same manner. I took everything off carefully and double checked that nothing moved. I reinstalled the new parts and everything lined up perfectly showing me that nothing had moved. I double checked the paint marks after fully assembled with the vice grips removed to make sure that it was still in timing. Everything checked out, and of course the engine ran smooth at idle for about an hour. I know it's no the factory way but, i didn't have the special tools available.

Let me know what you think

jkoprowski

Hello thanks for the reply,

I am 99% sure that I installed it with "front" facing outward. I checked it but who knows. I would have a hard time believing that it would run right at all with this thing in backwards, but it is possible. It did run at idle close to an hour PERFECTLY.

let me know what you think, thanks