Originally Posted by iFord

Hey, pc, that prolong stuff still available, eh? I use to put it in everything when I first got it, but I haven't seen it lately. Nor the slick 50 stuff. I liked the prolong. I think it works. I guess. I hope.

Originally Posted by sabio

That company got busted by the FTC (federal trade commission) for selling a bogus product.
Basically Snake Oil salesmen, they made claims about their product they could never prove.

....."The FTC has successfully halted false and deceptive advertising by the marketers of Dura Lube, Motor Up, Prolong, Valvoline, Slick 50. STP and other major brands of engine treatment systems......"

Originally Posted by CCallahan

I have an '04 F-150 Lariat w/5.4L with almost 50,000 miles. My mechanic gave me an ear full last week about the cam phaser issue and to sell my truck ASAP while it still runs fine. I've read through this entire thread and have acquired some great info.

My pickup had 6600 miles on it when I purchased it and has had either 5w-20 Mobile 1 and synthetic filter put in it or I think a few times it was Motorcraft 5w-20 syn blend and motorcraft filter. Question is, am I better off continuing to use Mobile 1 or should I switch to Moto oil? From what I have read in this thread it is still up in the air on whether sludge causes the issue but it can't hurt to try and avoid it. Any suggestions for me before I end up having this issue? I can't afford to sell or trade it in for a year or two if I want to get something decent to drive.

Originally Posted by screw04

You guys need to read that thread in the 04-08 section on the final guide to fix this issue. Parts are not 1000 dollars. You can buy a timing kit with chains, guides, tensioners, and gaskets for 180 bucks and you can buy 2 phasers for like 375. This is only a 500-600 dollar parts job and can be done in under 6 hours with a good mechanic. 1000-1200 dollar job tops if done by a shop and 500-600 if you do it yourself. My phasers arnt real bad yet but my timing kit is shot, tensioners and chains are fried and under low rpms my chains clank really bad. So when I finally get to fix that im doing phasers to. Last year I put a new starter and oil pump and pan on the truck as well as exhaust manifolds so after this years fixes I should have a new truck with 112000 miles

Originally Posted by pcdoc2001

I see a lot of techs who do the timing chain job on these engines without pulling the oil pan. The crankshaft is an integral part of the valve timing system, (as well as the rest of the engine). The oil pump and oil pickup screen are also an integral part of the VVT system. The 5.4 has a bad habit of destroying the crankshaft thrust shims allowing the crankshaft to travel horizontally within the engine block and rubbing up against the block, the oil pump, or both. A technician should be very careful not to give clients estimates until they pull the oil pan to give the client a proper estimate. A crankshaft drifting forward and backwards in the block will surely break a tensioner rail. The tech who offers to replace that rail along with chains, tensioners, phazers, a valve job a water pump and a bunch of labor is quickly disappointed when he fires up the cars and hears the noises from the broken crank shims. This is not a bad engine. it is an engine with a lubrication flaw with the crankshaft thrust bearings that causes a lot of problems. Almost every engine the machine shop sees with timing chain problems seems to start at the crankshaft thrust bearings allowing a loss of oil pressure. Fix the crank shims. use motorcraft oil and filters, use a little prolong, and you will get 300,000 miles. Not doing these things will have VERY BAD results. I hope this helps.