jbettin

Just got done doing some work to my 05 5.4l. And now it runs worse than before. It started with one of my phasers getting stuck full retarted. So in I went with new timing set, new gaskets and a cam phaser lockout kit from forbidden diesel. I know the lockouts are not a popular choice around these parts but I'm thinking the problem is not related to them and more related to something getting messed up while I was working or going back together.
The problems I'm having is low power and misfiring. When the engine is cold it run's just fine, maybe a bit of hesitation, but once the temp gets about 1/3 of the way up its like a switch is flipped and it won't run good at all. At idle or any throttle it's like it's hunting around for its happy place, more and then less power, running rough and then smooth. And occasionally stalling when coming back down to idle, once it's at idle it doesn't seem to stall, just seems like it won't catch itself in time. I'm getting codes P0300- random misfire, along with some P030X codes that move around to different cylinders everything I hook up.
I've checked all my electrical connections, though I think I'm going to try to clean them with some contact cleaner. I'm hoping for a vacuum leak but haven't been able to find one yet. All my rollers looked good when I had the covers off and I'm 100% sure I had the timing set correctly when I went back together.
As I said it was running fine until the phaser got stuck so I'm guessing that it's something I disturbed while doing the work.

redfishtd

Baseline is a good plug job with new boots/springs ,easy on the dielectric grease on ends of boots . .Clean all cop connections .Did you buy the tune kit to fake out the pcm because of lockouts . I hate lockouts .okay got that out of my system phew I feel better now . .
Describe your timing job . Did you pull timing cover or just jam chain to work on phaser .Are all cop and injector connectors locking on .
How many miles on her ..Any codes ??
If you suspect vacuum leak you may want to build you tube smoke machine --I did .Take throttle body off and clean it .Clean maf all with special cleaners . You should be using sp 546 plugs
Did you have broken guides ,if so oil pan and pu screen must be cleaned .That ground up plastic is hell on oil flow. Not to mention it can damage tone ring on crank / Which can also be put back on backwards Fingers should be towards radiator . That's all for now folks .

jbettin

Shes got about 160k on her. Timing job was all new tensioner's, guides, chains and crank sprocket, the old guides were still all together just the tensioner's it seemed were bad, mad sure the mounting surface was clean before putting them on. Plugs were pulled and checked, only have about 8k on the plugs, cleaned and inspected boots and springs and put everything back in the cylinder it came from. Got the tune I've tried it with and without it loaded with no diffrence. The only codes are the random misfire and the cylinder misfire that changes every time I plug in. The crank ring was installed the right way. I can try cleaning the sensors altough like I said it was running fine before the stuck phaser. Just seems to me like it's hunting for its happy place with fuel and spark, and only after it warms up.

redfishtd

Well that is symptom of a failed phaser or vct .thats why i asked about tune .We would have advised you to use old style steel ratcheting tensioners with no seal to blow out plus a hv oil pump . .At this point thats it . I would try torque pro app 5$,android phone ,cheap bluetooth reader amazon . It will give you a lot more info .Where did you get lock outs .

tareed94

You have an engine tune that is taking into account the locked out phasers, right? If the tune isn't made to run with the lockouts, you're going to have a lot of trouble. They'll start trying to pull timing as a result of the computer changing the run parameters (i.e. when the engine warms up) because the computer still thinks it can pull timing. I would check with whoever wrote your tune. Where is your tune from and what handheld tuner do you have?

jbettin

Got the lockouts and tune from forbidden diesel. The VCTs sold be out of the equation now correct? With I would have known about the tensioners I would have gone with those definitely. Reading the codes when I got home again I still have the same ones but 1 and 6 seem to be popping up the most, that's two days now that those are the only ones with a misfire code along with the random. Tomorrow I'm going to try to swap the COPs and see if it follows any of that. Could not find any vacuum leaks but I've read a cracked manifold can be hard to find and I suppose it's possible it may have gotten cracked while I was working. The tune sees to be doing what it's supposed to as far as I can tell. Without it loaded I get a cam over advanced code for both banks, when the tune is loaded I do not get those

tareed94

Are you certain you installed the lock-out in the correct spots? I keep coming back to that being a potential issue.

How did you go about ensuring you had the correct alignment when you installed the new chains, crankshaft sprocket, and phasers? It could be that you are a little out of time

jbettin

lockouts fit inside the phasers themselves, in between the vanes and body to prevent it from rotating. Phasers pins slid into the slots on the cams. Crank sprocket lined up with the keyway, dot facing out. Timing chains had the single marked link on the crank tooth marked with the dot and the two marked links straddling the marked tooth on the phaser, L on the driver side and R on the passenger side. Triple and quadruple check all the marks before reassembly.

tareed94

Alright, I'm assuming you strictly followed what side of the vanes to put them on.

Did you ensure you were at TDC before lining everything else up?

Check this video out and see if there's anything that doesn't match what he did.

redfishtd

I am following your replies on timing and the above poster is correct you should have noted position of the cams on cylinder 1 and 5 at the same time as putting the chains on . you probably did it correctly .Crank dot should have been at six oclock ,that sets the crank at the correct piston point on no 1 near tdc.Your L was up on drivers side,,R was up on pass side so it should be right, cam position on 1 and 5 is a double check on that .

You said you inspected boots that's not really a good Thing, boots go bad with age / oil / Heat / fuel and antifreeze . you can't really see a pinhole that will let 30000 volts jump to the Head . Boots are not that expensive and should be done with each plug job at 60k mile . go easy on the Dielectric grease on boots it is an insulator and its purpose is to keep moisture out of boot and stop boot from seizing to porcelain . Make sure your hands and parts stay clean as it can cause tracking .

Plugs are very fussy on this engine it must be done Hospital clean, it is also best to clean out the carbon in the tip area down in the cylinder with carb cleaner . bad carbon breaks plugs coming out and going in . Correct plug is the sp546 ,sp515's were trouble so ford quietly changed them again . A cracked plug will drive you nuts .
clean all cop connections including the high-voltage terminal real well, all plugs on COPs and injectors should lock on if not replace them, you can clean them with contact cleaner . try to list all the codes here so we can help you further .