lawntruck

my timing tensioner seal blew out before I bought the truck and was aware of the problem, since then i discovered the cam caps are scored and there is basically nothing to do now but get another motor. I was wondering since the cause of the scoring is lack of oil pressure due to the seal being broken on the timing tensioner if maybe engine oil stop leak would increase oil pressure in the heads and maybe slow the degrading of my cams, at this point in time the engine is still in ok condition and just barely past gone for timing system repair, i have put 14k on the truck since purchase and have had the issue since the beggining, thanks

nrivera04

lawntruck

Im pretty sure it is it has the typical startup rattle and the rough idle and the camshaft scoring, but i was also thinking about running thicker oil, would running a lucas oil additive be best or just a higher viscosity oil?

dukedkt442

The more you run it, the more you'll need a new engine. If it runs now, you don't need a new engine. At worst new heads, maybe, if the cam towers are scored, but not a new engine.

How do you know the cam caps are scored? If you went through the effort of pulling the VCs on the 3v engine, why in the world would you say "huh, that's bad" and just button it back up without replacing anything? If you're worried about having to replace the cams, replace the bad parts before it gets to that level. You can replace the caps, too.

powerstrokeaaron

Yeah if the towers are still good just replace the caps and the cam if you have too. Slight scoring can be ok if it is not too excessive. When you do the timing job put on the melling 360hv oil pump and run 5w30 syn. I have done a few high mileage engines at work with scored cam towers and caps because the customers declined further repairs. All of them are still coming in for regular maintenance with no issues and still nice and quiet.

redfishtd

Steel tensioers do not have a gasket to fail. Clean out oil pan and oil pu . Thats if you don't want a full timing job .

powerstrokeaaron

lawntruck

I was advised to pull off the valve cover and one of the cam caps by a Ford mechanic. This was due to the start up noise and rough idling. The cap had minor scratching, but enough that I could kind of catch my on it. The mechanic said that there was nothing that could be done at this point and it could only get worse and to run it until I could not stand it. Replacing the engine was the advise because the work involved with replacing just the heads would net out the same in cost and with a new engine you get the fixes. (As I probably need to change the timing system) I was asking above for what I could do to prolong the current engine life as long as possible. But if there is something I could do to fix this or majorly extend the life with less cost or effort, I am would like to know. How would you check towers?

dukedkt442

Maybe I missed it... were the tensioner, guides and chains ever replaced? If not, that's where your start up noise is coming from, possibly worn/frozen cam followers too. The truck will have to be out of service for a while, but remove the timing cover, and both valve covers and do a thorough inspection. You may be able to escape for the price of a timing job, rather than a new engine, but if you need a new engine/heads, at least you didn't waste money on all new parts. If it runs currently, you may get lucky.

lawntruck

Nothing has been replaced. I was going to do the timing parts up front but was told to check the cam caps for being wiped as the cause of the rough idle and if the cap showed any scratches it was too late.