Stinger381

You need to hold that cam still while the chains are off. Place vice grip pliers on the cam on a rough section and not a lobe. The cam will move as it is under tension when you go to remove the phaser. If it moves a few degrees that is ok but if it moves a lot it can damage the valves and they will not seal. You can line it back up with the chain marks and phaser marks. I think on mine there were 31 links between the phaser marks and the crank mark. This should be the midway point in the timing chain itself. Take your time getting those chains back on and triple check everything and don't forget to pull those tensioner pins.

carmine d

I read everything I could get my hands on about these cam phasers. After reading and digesting all I could I decided to unplug the connectors to the VCT solenoids. This disables the cam advancing feature on the engine. I drove the truck for about 100 miles highway and city. I no longer had the rough idol and diesel sound when pulling up to a light but there was a noticeable loss of power at about 1500 rpm and up. Also it felt sluggish on long uphill grades.
This gave me the confidence that it was in fact the phasers. With the help of this link i am now halfway through the job.
I found some rubbing marks on the inside of the timing case caused by a loose chain. This could have been made worse by unplugging the VCT solenoids so if you try the same test limit your driving.
Using the advice on this link I am changing everything from the solenoids to the crank timing gear, total so far $900.00+. Including sparkplugs. Thankfully the previous owner took the bath on that job and plugs came out without a fight.
Can't wait to start it up.

schmack

Back in December I followed the instructions in this thread and replaced my timing chains, guides ,tensioners, VCTs, and phasers. I used the parts from RockAuto. Initially everything was good. About a month after I started getting a tick again from the passenger side so I took the valve cover off and looked for any bad lashers. None were found so I decided to drive the truck "as is". This truck is not a daily driver, it is only used for towing my trailer around. Well last week I get "Check Gauges" on the display. I turn the music down and my truck is knocking like crazy and I have no oil pressure on the gauge. I immediately pull over and get the truck towed home.

This weekend I tore it all apart. Broken chain guide on the passenger side, and it looks like there isn't any tension on the chain. Given the situation, I pulled the pan too. Not so easy on a 4x4, but I just had to unbolt the axle, not actually remove it. Glad I took the time to, the oil pump pick-up in plugged. This all happened with about 7K miles on the parts.

So my questions are... What would cause the chain to be this slack? I would assume the low oil pressure issue before I got it shut down, but that doesn't explain the broken chain guide (which I think caused the low pressure). And given all the debris, what if any oil passages should I be checking to ensure they are not plugged? I read earlier in this thread about oil passages in the head that could get clogged.

I am going with OEM oil pump and timing set this time around.

sf-fx4

I recently did the whole phaser rebuild on my 05 fx4 with about 135k miles, changed the phasers, guides, chains, tensioners, tensioner arms, new seals and gaskets along with new spark plugs, truck ran great for about a week and then the phaser tick came back, I was heartbroken, after almost $1000 in parts and I am back to square one, I used all factory Ford parts . Anybody have any idea what couldve happened? I had my uncle do the work bc he is a master mechanic and knew all about these engines. I just want the rattle sound gone.

carmine d

Truck ran 95% better after replacing all timing parts. The diesel sound would occasionally start than stop on it's own. Now its a few days later and i am getting codes on bank 2. I am going to swap the VCT solenoids. If the codes start coming up on bank 1 I know it's the solenoid. If not I will be taking everything apart......again.....can't wait.
I will be looking into the oil pan to see if I can see any debris. Also I plan to check oil pressure.
This sucks need the truck to tow trailer to Florida from NJ for vacation in 2 weeks.
OK thunder storm passed time to swap parts.

masmith1553

I really don't have the time to tackle this myself so I thought about trading the truck in for a car! I know, right?! I found a mechanic that is well recommended that quoted me $1200 to $1400 to do the job! Now I can drive her for another two years before the 2015s come out! I'll update once the truck is out of the shop.

carmine d

After swapping solenoids same codes popped up. I put an oil pressure gauge on the engine and found low pressure at idol (15-18 psi). New oil pump is in. Not easy to drop the pan to get to the pickup tube but i'm glad I did. The screen was partly clogged and pieces of the chain guide, from a prior repair, were in the pan. After I removed the oil pump I opened it up and found deep scoring on the inside. I hope this will fix the phaser problem. Should have it back together tomorrow.

nicecj7

whats normal oil pressure suppose to be on these engines ?

kdeaver

I believe oil pessure should be at least 25 psi at hot idle. And around 65 when cruising on the interstate.

VTX1800N1

Any update?