troypeterson1992

Thank you all so much! I think I will stick with the plastic tensioner arms. I do not beat on the truck as it is just my winter commuter truck. I will, however, buy a couple ratcheting tensioners for the added reliability.

I do not think I am skilled enough to do the work myself. The biggest job I have ever done was new injectors in my 7.3 powerstroke. Huge pain in the butt that took me almost 2 full days to do (truck is on 38" tires and 8" lift.... got so sick of laying on the front grill/batteries/alternator that I bought an over the top creeper just for that job HAHA Highly recommend it). Even though it took me a long time it was more or less plug n play with the tuner they supplied. I do have a friend who is a very good ASE master tech who would be more than happy to take my money. With that being said, would it be a much larger expense to have him do the lifters/roller-followers as well? Is this something that is a common failure point in these trucks or just something to throw money at?

Thanks again everyone. Obviously this community rocks!

F150Torqued

If you have the notorious 'TICK' that you hear echo off the wall in a drive through - it is either one or more lash adjusters or roller followers. Roller can be checked for slack in the roller, and replace any loose ones. but I shudder to think how many million revolutions those little 1" rollers have made around the camshaft in 100,000 miles. (a full set will run around $175.00)

On the other hand, I know of no reliable way to check lash adjusters. If the engine stops with a valve open (always one somewhere will be), and the lash adjuster leaks down under valve spring pressure - (and the oil residue / gunk cools and dries inside it.) they get where they won't pump up and and remove all the slack between roller / cam lobe - and 'tick' - 'tick' - 'tick'. (a full set is ~ $175.00).

That's all a judgment call - but not necessarily throwing money at it. I'm glad I did all of both on mine. It is as quiet as a Rolls Royce at 241,000 and will run like a scalded dog.

redfishtd

Dang ,I learn something every time even when I try not to .

F150Torqued

^^^ BULL S*@%t ^^^^ Down here in these parts, we call it "El Toro PoPo".

dukedkt442

As far as labor... not really. The hard part has been done, and it doesn't take too much longer to remove the cams to replace the lash adjusters and followers. My adjusters and followers were perfectly fine on the visual, kinesthetic inspection, but after 150k, somewhat oil-starved miles (blown out tensioner seal and knocking phasers), their end-of-life date was definitely reduced, and after doing all the work to get in there, there was no way I was going to put those 150k mile parts back in. For as much as the entire job cost in parts, the additional expense of followers and adjusters is like pennies on the dollar, and if you want it to be 100% go ahead and do them. The followers themselves have been updated with a smaller, re-angled oiling orifice anyway, for increased oil pressure, and probably better oiling of the cam lobes and adjusters. As mentioned above, the # of rotations those little needle-bearing rollers have rolled in the engine's lifetime is painful to comprehend, probably requiring scientific notation to fully define. It isn't a bad idea to pull the cams to inspect for wear at the journals and towers anyway.

redfishtd

But mine were bad at 130k ,I could have done more/better oil changes . But yes the labor is rough on the timing job . My new oem rollers and lashs were only $265 @ oem select ebay but since one was thrown to the side and badly worn /damaged, it was a done deal.. Lashs hard to test , both are improved from my year don't know about 07 design . They can be done from the top pulling cams so the only risk is losing timing . Not removing cam phaser would save the cost of the throw away bolts .
Yes I prefer having timing cover off at that time .Plus you have to buy chain jamming tool and carefully mark cam .

troypeterson1992

Thank you all so much! I think I will just do everything while I'm at it. I will post an update when it's all done. Thank you all very much!

dukedkt442

Nerves have gotten the better of me, and despite not finding any broken guide pieces in the pan by "Feeling" around with a wire and looking with a boroscope, the pan will be coming off on Wednesday afternoon to be 100% certain. With $2k in parts and the amount of time involved, I'm not going to constantly wonder if it was all for nothing. As mentioned above somewhere, I'd suggest doing the same. I think I mentioned it above, I bought Ford cam followers at Advance Auto, ordered online at the time to get the 25% discount they were offering, and used another $20 Speedperks coupon. Online, they're currently offering a 20% discount... order online, drive to store to pick up.

troypeterson1992

Yeah maybe I'll drop the pan just to make sure. Wouldn't hurt!

kettarra

Any idea if the spark plugs are original? Removing the plugs is ideal when performing timing work to free up tension when turning the crankshaft. Assuming at 79k they are original, it would make sense to switch them out with updated plugs. This can be a pain if you do the work yourself, especially with cold plugs (I dealt with this the hard way)!!