Looks like I'm going to be doing this repair real soon. For those that have done it, is a service repair manual necessary for this? If so, where can that be sourced for a reasonable price? I'm assuming a Haynes manual wouldn't be much of a help for this repair...?


Thanks!

 

Just use the instruction in this thread it is perfect , I believe from a shop manual.
Do yourself a favour and and put the lockouts in!!!!
I wish I did it to begin with I had to change my engine a couple of weeks ago after just trying to replace the parts. Replace all parts with oem parts as rock auto parts are crap and I and many others had issues in a very short time after. And also drop the oil pan and make sure your pick up is clean and no pieces stick in side it !!!

 

You know what amazes me? The fact that all of you Ford owners are taking this very expensive repair in stride. I have been buying new ford trucks since 1980, and every one of them went at least 150K Miles without a hint of a complaint, other than the expected belt, or in one case a water pump. My 2004 F150 now has 106,000 miles on it. I worked my way through the incredibly stupid Triton spark plug design issue, I then went through the "knashing of teeth" IWE issue where the brain trust for enginners had the rain gutter dump right on the IWE solenoid. OK that was a fairly easy fix. I am now faced with this very expensive, and invasive repair which as I understand it, is caused by worn seals on hydraulically controlled cam chain tensioners?????

Apparently the new engineers at Ford never learned the KISS rule "Keep it Simple, Stupid" from the guys that were retiring, and they tried to use every tool in their auto-cad tray, even if most of what they did made absolutely no sense from a mechanical engineering standpoint.

There is something known as "Elegance" in mechanical design. It is something mechanical that when you look at how simply it works and does exactly what it is supposed to do every time, through never ending cycles, it is a thing of beauty.

My 1942 South Bend Metal Lathe has these attributes. My 2004 F-150 does not. Ford has gone backwards, way, way, way, backwards, and I would be willing to bet that none of their current engineers ever built a go-kart.

 

I assure you not everyone takes this repair in stride. The 5.4 crapton is a huge disappointment. And as the government goons continue to ram fuel economy down our throats the engines and transmissions will become less reliable and more complicated to repair.

 

Well that is a hell of a leap to conclusion. Ford has lost my business for my lifetime. I'll repeat...my 2004 F150 issues began with the limited slip in the rear axle (2007), which although the warranty repaired (barely) was a huge red flag of a disappointment. I did not/never did screw around with preventive maintenance it is not part of my practice but that certainly re-enforced that trait. The transmission fails (2010). Next the engine in 2014, I got my truck back a couple weeks ago so far the motor is running fine and the tranny and rear axle repairs held up but that doesn't give me reassurance to go purchase anything new from ford ever again. Matter of fact I think I would need to be pretty stupid to do so. Toyota here I come..


I DO AGREE that a lot of folks repair their ford issue being a rather large engineering/manufacturing failure and still carry an overall tone as though they will continue being ford customers,,,that I DO NOT UNDERSTAND...Well actually I do understand but that requires me to rip a new one in the general population with their lack of critical thinking skills.

 

The issues with this motor are a disappointment. But you are kidding yourself if you think its only a ford problem. Sure you can get a more reliable engine in another 2006 truck....but then you have to consider all the other ways you can hate that vehicle. Just having 3 driver side window motors fail in one year is enough to cuss the engineers and threaten a boycott.

The funny thing is, I found this thread, read it front to back, and then made the decision to buy a used 2006 5.4L with 82K miles. Because now I know most of the dirty little secrets with this engine and will know what to do when they develop. BTW, our next vehicle will probably be a ecoboost F150 for the wife.

P.S. Toyota isn't all peaches either. Wait until you have to pull the top end of the engine along with all 4 cams to reseal the cam towers from puking oil all over your driveway. That only happens at 3000 miles, or 20,000 miles or 70,000 miles or basically whenever though.

 

Thanks for your post, but if you think that the "Pick Your Poison" approach is a reasonable answer, I have to disagree with you. The post that says all of this is to increase fuel economy is total hogwash. My truck gets 14 MPG. Does that sound like an engine engineered for economy to anyone? The point I am trying to make here is that I have owned about eight Ford trucks, 4 pickups, and four Vans since about 1980, and none of those up until this one (2004) have problems that can only be attributed to overly complicated engineering that simply does not work. The Triton Spark Plug issue is absolutely ridiculous. I have been working on internal combustion engines since I was about 10 years old, and if any one component could be considered as reliable it was the simple spark plug. The spark plugs in this engine place the torque imposed to remove them on the ceramic insulator. That is just plain stupidity, nothing more, nothing less. Hydraulically actuated cam chain tensioners? Are you kidding me???? They have these things called torsion springs, you know, like the one that holds tension on your serpentine belt on the front of your engine?

I can do this repair, and I probably will, but from what I am hearing from you all, it will set me back about 600 dollars just for the parts. I would guess that this repair would pass the tipping point for those who have to pay for labor, and would make them swear off fords forever.

In a nutshell is "Well they all have problems" a good answer? No, to me it is not

Oh I forgot, I already replaced one door operator which works on cable tension with plastic clips, I suspect I will be replacing more in the future. My 1994 Ford F-150 has never had any problems like what I am having with my 2004. Ford has gone way way backwards, admit it.

 

I got the dreaded P0012 CEL code and the Lincoln dealer estimated $3,200 to replace Tensioners, Phasers, Arms, Guides, and VCT solenoids. I have a rough idle and lack of power (misfire) above 45 mph. I have short diesel knock on cold start up and no time else. I changed the passenger side VCT solenoid with no results. I read thru most of the replies in this thread.

My question is, can you replace the tensioners, guides, and arms without removing the valve covers? I do see in videos and diagrams that you can access it just thru the timing cover. Can it work that way? I don't want to open up the valve covers and I will leave the Phasers and timing chain alone.

 

I'm not sure I would do that. It may be possible to even get to the components, but I would think resealing the timing cover would be a nightmare. I'm also not sure you can get the timing chain off the phasers without removing the valve covers for access.

 

Guys, bitching about having to do the repair doesn't belong in this already long thread.

Please do everyone a favor and keep the discussion relevant to the technical aspects of performing the repairs.