Eric B'Hymer

Hello everyone, i am new to joining the forum, but have been reading the many threads with my particular problem and im still not at a solution. First of all, i am no mechanic, i can do basic maintenence and fixes that dont include tearing into the engine. So to get started, i bought this truck brand new in 2005 and it had 125 miles on it which was the delivery milage from another dealer to my local dealer for purchase. I have maintained the vehicle mechanically for the entire time i have owned it...ie.... Motorcraft 5w-20 with Motocraft 820S filter oil changes every 5000 miles as i live in the city and rarely am i in dusty conditions. Fuel filter changed with motocraft filter. Air cleaner i have used fram but i change it when it gets dirty. Only item replaced under original 3yr/36,000 mile warranty was the drivers side window switch ( which i still have intermittent problems with. The brakes were replaced at 78,000 miles. Only other thing i have had to replace was the battery, i have gotten 6 years out of each Motocraft BXT 65 battery (original and 2 others puchased) So, i currenty am sitting at 104,691 miles. My problem started last October coming home from Kansas City Chiefs Game and it had rained almost entire day. I was 7 miles from home and pulled up to a stop sign and it started running rough and a check engine light came on. I forget what the code was, but it was a misfire on Cyl 3&4 if i remember correctly. So i have a friend that recommended a shop near my town and so i called them up and the shop picked it up from my work. I told him the symptoms and also stated i had not had the spark plugs changed yet and to go ahead and do that while diagnosing and fixing my problem. At the time, my truck had 103,000 + miles on it wth no problems prior to this event. So this shop ended up not being good as he broke a spark plug and used the wrong insert kit and also used the Autolite spark plugs, and 3 ignition coils were replaced. So when i got the truck back, it still had a misfire on Cyl 4. One of my coworkers that has a scanner, hooked it up and we figured out that fuel injector on CYL 1 was stuck open. Replaced this fuel injector. Lean code went away but misfire still present. Decided to take it to another shop. When i told them the story of my issue, they were notsurprised as they had fixed several other vehicles that the first shop i took my vehicle to had screwed up and not fixed correctly. So the new shop replaced a broken coil ( one that had been replaced and broken during install), and also replaced al the spark plugs with Motorcraft SP546's and repaired the CYL 4 insert kit with the correct insert and spark plug. After fixing the afformentioned problem, i got the truck back and 2 days later i got a rough idle and another engine code. The new shop scanned it again and found that one of the new spark plug insulator had broken upon installation, this was replaced at no charge to me. So my truck ran decent for about a month but still had some idle issues without engine codes. Now that we are in spring / early summer here in KS the weather is warming up. So one day i am driving to the grocery store in early evening, Temp around 80 outside, i pull into parking lot and my truck just dies, i put it in neutral, restart and then park. I come back out after shopping, start my truck and put in reverse to leave. Then i put in drive without goosing the accelerator, and it dies 2 more times and throws a code ( PO345 and PO349 bank 2). So i start reading through this forum and seeing the fixes that are posted for this similar problem, but most are failures with many more miles than my truck has. I replaced the cam position sensors (both). On 2 nd driving cycle, same issue arose and it idles rough and died when the engine warms up to operating temperature. I also get the Deisel sound between the idle of 500-700 when the engine is warm, but then it smooths out when driving ove 25 mph with rpm above 1200. It runs just fine when cool, or when going down the highway. So next, i disassemble the throttle body and clean it and the MAP sensor and replace the air filter. Drove home the next day same failure. Took it back to the shop and got the same PO 345 and 349 codes. I decided that i would have the oil pressure reading done before purchasing the 2 VCT solenoids and seals.. Here are the results of the oil pressure test done last Friday

Pressures Engine Temp
50# 90
45# 110
30# 165
15# 200

@ 2000 RPM 20-30# Engine Temp 210.

I believe these are all low to Ford Specs. I will get specifics from the shop in the morning when i go pay the bill. In short, after all that i have explained, would there be anything else anyone could think of that i have missed without pulling the front of the motor off and doing a complete Phaser/Timing Chain/ Oil Pump replacement, only to possible end up with same problem due to the oil pressure problem. I currently do not have the 2500 for that job, or the 7K for a Jasper Engine with all of the updated parts that solve the oil pressure/timing issues. Thank you to anyone who answers or refers me to another thread which i may have missed reading.

Jojodapyro

Have you replaced the throttle position sensor? The other item worth looking into is the solenoids that control the cam position. You can actually unplug them and drive it to see if the problem is still there. If it isn't, it is those vct solenoids. Other than that, the timing job and new oil pump are the way to go. We can't stress enough about using Ford parts for the timing. For the oil pump go with a Melling HV360 . I also have a 2005. I just did the whole thing also.

Eric B'Hymer

Changed the VCT solenoids and seals with OEM motor craft solenoids. Ran good for 4 days and today it dropped the same PO345 and PO349 codes. Still running good and hasn't died on breaking. I'm at a loss at what to try next.

Paul E Walnutz

I had similar issues when i bought my 06. The previous owner had done the timing chains but used dorman VCT's. I used a bottle of seafoam in the oil, ran for 500 miles and it cleaned it up very well. I then did an oil change and replaced the dorman VCT's with motorcraft. everything is working fine now