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Since I had fantastic luck changing all 8 of my plugs with zero casualties... I thought my biggest worries were over. Nope.. not so fast.
I managed to wrestle the passenger valve cover off today to take a peek and found at least one chain guide has exploded!
There are pieces of it stuffed up near the passenger phaser, so I can only imagine gravity took care of the rest and dropped it into the pan.
Naturally the pan removal immediately flashed through my head. SH..%*$! ^ Perhaps this is my penance for a flawless plug change?
The passenger phaser seems to have escaped any damage from chain guide shrapnel. Nothing is bent or damaged, but I haven't taken it apart yet for a closer inspection. I'm hoping I can give it a good flush cleaning and call it good. I'd like to simply replace them, but wooo $160 a whack. And I still might need rockers. Now that I confirmed the chain guide is toast, I'm guessing the noise I've been hearing is simply chain slap. Rockers? Maybe. Can't tell yet.
So.. to get this thread started... has anyone come up with a way to clean the pieces out of the oil pan without removing it? Yes, I know.. what about the pickup screen and any pieces in it? Since I'll have the oil pump off already - I'm wondering if I can blow air back through the tube and blast anything out. Maybe even flush it out with something - perhaps some trans fluid. Just a guess.
If it's not possible to clean it without removing the pan, is there an easier way to get the pan off without fussing with the axle? Probably not, but I thought I'd ask anyway. And yes, I watched FordTechMaculoco videos and how he lowered the front axle. He makes it look so easy doesn't he?
Most of us don't have a fancy hydro car lift, so I'm hoping some of you came up with an easier way of doing it? I've already replaced all my suspension some time ago... so I've been up front before. Just never done an oil pan on it. I've done one on my 1976 F150 4x4, but it's lifted and made life a whole lot easier. My 2004 is pretty much bone stock.
Once you take the front of the timing cover off there is a little bit of room to access the pan. Oil pump will also need to be romoved for best access. Other than that point of entry, I don't think you're going to get around not pulling the oil pan.
Whatever you decide to do, DON'T CHEAP OUT and DON'T SKIP STEPS! I would've rather burned the truck to the ground then go back into the motor after the timing job.
He is right that chain has chewed up plastic into fibers and they are sticking in the oil pu screen . There is muck in the bottom of the pan almost gluing down any flat big pieces, they can't come out the drain . Put new hv oil pump on ,use melling ratcheting metal tensioners . use no other internal parts but mc esp the phasors all other brands are junk . A complete timing job including rollers and lashs runs $1400 in parts . watch a lot of ford tech malukoco videos on you tube .
So the carnage begins... not only chewed up guides.. I got my fan blade off and was greeted with a dime-size hole in my timing cover. That confirms where some of the oil was coming from. The hole is just to the left of the fan pulley. Immediate dollar signs flashed across my noggin' of course. How much metal has now been shot through the engine. With any luck it was just aluminum. Although not hard steel - metal is metal and isn't supposed to be rummage through the bearings.
Quick question before I head back out for today's fun and games... in 2004, how WIDE is the spring on the phasers? I try to read up on all this at night and I ran across a post (or video) that showed a wider spring... but I don't recall if that was on updated phasers, or if they were old style?
My phaser springs are thinner. Makes sense if Ford redesigned the phaser with a beefier <wider> spring? I've looked at new phasers and I see mostly the thinner spring?
Pics coming soon. Yes I know.. this topic has been beaten to death, but if it helps anyone... I'm glad to do it and return the favor for everyone here helping me out.
The newer design on the phasers is a narrower spring with more tension on it, compared to the original wider spring.
The valve spring is about an inch wide, but you shouldn't worry about aluminium particles getting up to the valve train. The chunk of metal just drops directly into the oil pan, it might get chewed by the chains, but any small particle will be stopped by the oil filter.
Hmm.. I wonder if someone before me has changed the phasers already? They definitely DO NOT have the wider spring.
There was no documentation on that level of repair as far as I could find. The most I could find is a spark plug change at 123k and before that just all 'service and inspection' all the way back to 2004. I suppose a shop could have done them and didn't do any documentation or a back-yard wrench turner like me.
I'm just about ready to pop the timing cover off. Found a second hole in in just below the first. Had to fight that last valve cover and the all-famous power steering pump. Which was pretty easy actually once the fan blade and oil filter was out. I didn't even have to speak in tongues!
Well today was the 'reveal' as Makuloco likes to call it...
CONFIRMED... The prior owner changed the phasers. And if I'm not mistaken, they are Melling. Very expensive Mellings. Can someone confirm? My guess is they swapped the phasers and didn't do the rest of the timing components. I'm thinking a warranty issue? My maintenance report investigation didn't mention this repair, but that could be for a number of reasons. I'm going to call a few of the shops listed on the report and see if I can find out more info.
Question: Can these be safely cleaned? Not screw with the clock spring, but maybe remove the back and clear anything out? I don't think there's anything wrong with them. Pretty sure all my noise was coming from chain-thru-case-syndrome... And if these are Melling - what's the warranty on them? Even though I didn't buy them myself, but some companies (like Rancho) doesn't care who bought them. They'll replace the part regardless.
The Timing cover is completely wasted. The chain did a number on it after the chain guides let loose. Chewed the hell out of the aluminum webbing and punched 2 holes. And you're right.. the pan HAS to come off. You can see the nasty sludge gunk in the front, so I can only image what the rest looks like.
So here some pictures for your enjoyment...
Last edited by stankyjeans; Jul 14, 2020 at 12:52 AM.
I wonder what I'll discover today... stay tuned for more "5.4 fun-n-games" !!
Mostly cleaning today I think. Then the...oil.... pan... DUN DUN DUN!!! <sinister sounds>
Wow! Check your cam journals very closely for scoring, with that much debris going down into your pan the top of the engine was likely starved for oil. What a mess, good luck! As for the phasers, just swap them out while you're in there, no sense in doing this twice. The entire timing set from Ford is around $800 and that includes new phasers. Do not forget a Melling High volume oil pump while youre in there.
Another timing job thread
