Welp, I’ve decided to try doing the timing in my 4.6 as I had to replace my manifolds, and one of the bolts was seized into the head. I went and took the timing apart without bringing motor to TDC and locking the cams into place and now when I have the timing lined up after assembly I can’t get the motor to turn over. Any advice?

 

Next time... get the crank in position before removing the chains
This time... you need to put the chains back on (correctly) to rotate the crankshaft
Or
You could rotate each can and then the crank (very little) until you are lined up (still might bend valves) (what I'd do at this point)
Good luck

 

Would you happen to know what it would mean if I still can’t get the motor to turn over, I’ve tried about everything and this thing ran way too good before I tore it apart to give up on. I’ve tried everything I could think of from lining up all the timing marks as they should be to even trying to turn the motor over with the heads 180 degrees out. In all honesty I’m pretty stumped so any advice would be helpful

 

You can lock the cams in place by using a thick piece of leather wrapped on the cams and two lock vise grips. Does not take much to hold them. That's what I did vs buying the actual tools. If I was you I would not try to turn anything. Just start disassembling and start over again. There's lot of YouTube videos to help you.
Do you have a FORD manual?
You know that the chain guide for the DRIVERS side has a half moon tab on it??
Get it wrong and it may jack it up.

 

Is anyone familiar with the spot that the oistons need to be in for the cams to be able to rotate ***** nilly anywhere you want (with no chains on them). I mean, is it 60 degrees past TDC, 80 degrees, 100 degrees? I know theres a spot where they're ALL in the hole
This would allow the cams to put into postition, locked, rotate crank back into TDC, then install chains and guides.
You would then KNOW id anything became tangled feeling, it would be because of a bent valve.

 

I’ve got all timing components disassembled and the valve followers removed and somehow I’ve still got interference, could it possibly be my head gaskets that I replaced? They came from JC Whitney. I’m just seriously stumped here because no valves are down and something is stopping it from turning over. The only visible difference in the head gaskets was that the ones I pulled out were 3 ply and the replacements were 4 ply. Any input would be highly appreciated I just wanna drive this thing after all the money I’ve tied into it

 

30 degrees after TDC (30 ATDC) will bring ALL the pistons down far enough to rotate the cams
Same with 30 degrees BTDC, All the pistons will be down far enough to rotate the cams
That's how Mercedes does it, you rotate the crank backwards (CCW) 40 degrees and set the cams, then bring the pistons back up and install the chains

 

If I tried that I bet I would be rebuilding the engine....but that's me, I'm not a professional.
I'm sure most pros can do that no problem.
Hope OP knows.

 

Well, you're right
A bunch of people lock their motors up doing their timing jobs
Buddy of mine was doing his 4 valve Cobra Mustang when the cams snapped real hard when he removed the chains
There is always a spot where all the pistons are down an inch
That's the safest way, even for pros
That's how I do, it if dealing with a new Porsche, or something I'm not familiar with

 

That's why before I work on ANYTHING mechanical/electrical I purchase the OEM manuals that shows me all the specs available.
Bought this three book set back in 1997 for around $300 that I thought at the time was a LOT of money....at least to me.
I've saved thousands because of these books and I've always been successful repairing the truck.
Worth every penny.
About the only place I see them for sale is eBay. Don't think HELM sells them anymore. Paperback that is.
Hate those cd's