Loss of power, no code.

[JonFrancis76]

It took the day off work to finish putting the engine back together. Got it all buttoned up, put some fresh oil in it, primed it and it started right up. It ran really rough with no valve train noise. It would rev but it wouldn't idle very well. It didn't die but almost. Check engine light turned on (never had a cil before). I let it warm up but no improvement. Good oil pressure though.

I think I got the mechanical timing wrong. I didn't have the crankshaft alignment tool. It was $100 on Amazon. So I started taking it apart again. It's amazing at how fast I goes now the second time. I'm going to order the tool, remove all of the roller followers and do it right. Huge bummer but... I'm an amature. this is a learning process.

 

[JonFrancis76]

Interesting thread, sorry about your engine issues. Did you have engine noises on cold starts before this , as mentioned in the thread. New to my Expy too, curious to know what sound to watch out for, does not look like a simple repair.

Not much noise on startup that I noticed. We 18 miles per gallon on an 18 hour drive. We heard some house while running while on vacation. Then on the way home it was down on power the whole trip. 12 mpg the while way home. We thought it was bad gas but it didn't change when we fueled up again. There was obvious loud valve train noise when we got home. I didn't drive it again after that.

Jon, don’t want to start a debate but I’d get rid of that orange can and never look back. These motors don’t like Fram oil filters.....then again there aren’t many that like them lol.....

Their better lines like ultra are built much better but those base filters are pretty bad construction, here’s a good read:

http://www.livjones.com/2014/05/what-oil-filter-is-best-or-why-you.html?m=1

I appreciate the input. I've done some more research and everyone recommends the motorcraft filter so that's what I'll be using from now on. Also 10w30 I'm in FL so I don't need the 5 weight.

I had just put 5w30 Mobil 1 full synthetic before we went on our trip. I want be using Mobile 1 anymore either. I thought the high end oil was good Insurance against this type of thing happening. I switched to Pennzoil. The internet doesn't seem to like Castrol either (those are the 2 brands I always used. What brands do you like?

 

[JonFrancis76]

I see what your saying, it's not like a Ferrari or other 4 cam motor. But it has 2 cams not the one like a pushrod motor. Sorry for the confusion.

Sent from my N9131 using Tapatalk

Sorry I got snippy. I appreciate your feedback. The dialogue is good for this amature Ford tech lol.

 

[1955moose]

Did you ever get your Motor up and running right? Was it a cam timing problem. Sorry Fram orange oil filters aren't going to cause any problems like your having. Possibly a long oil change interval with dirty oil, and possible cold startup might and I say might cause a low oil pressure issue due to the so called drain back valve not working. I've used orange fram filters for over 35 years, and never had a failed engine oiling problem. But like the others, use a Ford filter just in case. At this point I want to hear you got your timing and engine smooth and right. That's what I and the others want to know. Let's figure out what you did wrong, and let's get it right!

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[Motorcity muscle]

Not much noise on startup that I noticed. We 18 miles per gallon on an 18 hour drive. We heard some house while running while on vacation. Then on the way home it was down on power the whole trip. 12 mpg the while way home. We thought it was bad gas but it didn't change when we fueled up again. There was obvious loud valve train noise when we got home. I didn't drive it again after that.

Thanks for your reply, good luck with second attempt.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

I appreciate the input. I've done some more research and everyone recommends the motorcraft filter so that's what I'll be using from now on. Also 10w30 I'm in FL so I don't need the 5 weight.

I had just put 5w30 Mobil 1 full synthetic before we went on our trip. I want be using Mobile 1 anymore either. I thought the high end oil was good Insurance against this type of thing happening. I switched to Pennzoil. The internet doesn't seem to like Castrol either (those are the 2 brands I always used. What brands do you like?

+1 on the Motorcraft filters. They're cheap, have the anti-drainback valve, and there have been quite a few dissections on BITOG showing that they're still performing well at 15K (I change them at 5K though).

As for oil, everything I've read on this topic indicates that it doesn't really matter provided you change the oil regularly. Honestly, I haven't even read anything to suggest that full synthetic vs. conventional is really going to make much difference until you get up into the really high mileage vehicles (eg 400K). I run my vehicles into the ground and thus far, something else major has always given out long before anything that could even potentially be blamed on the use of conventional oil. I run conventional in my truck now and buy pretty much whatever I can get a good deal on via rebates. I've used Pennzoil, Castrol, Quaker State, Valvoline, Chevron, and Havoline in the 3 years that I've had this truck. If I was going to spend the coin on full synthetic though, I would go with Royal Purple.

 

[JExpedition07]

There is nothing wrong with conventional oil, I use the Motorcraft synthetic blend oil and FL-820S filter every time. As long as you change the conventional often it’s fine and keeps the inside of the engine clean. People run these synthetics so long and it gets so dirty.....not good for the engine. In fact I’d argue an engine meticulously maintained with conventional oil will outlast an engine that had synthetic oil and lazy maintenance. Lots of people get lazy because they think the synthetics are the cats meow.

 

[1955moose]

Up until my 2000 expedition I ran Castrol 20/50 wt oil in all 3 of my 5.0 liter mustangs , 2 Lincoln mark7's 5.0's, and 2 Datsun 240/280z' cars. All of my vehicles topped 185k before moving on. Granted I live just outside San Francisco, so thinner weight was never an issue, as 20/50 flows down to 32 degrees. I even ran car oil in my motorcycle, which wasn't right due to gearbox sharing, but it worked fine. I've always dropped oil/filter at 3k, rarely any more. These days I run 5w30 Mobil 1 in the Expy. I drop oil and filter at 5-6k, way before any recommendations. Clean is always good. Especially if you have 2005 or newer. It's really important to keep clean oil on newer models.

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[JonFrancis76]

Sorry for the late update. I got it done yesterday and she's all washed inside and out now. It's good to have my "truck" back.

I had to do it twice... I started it up last Thursday and it wouldn't idle and ran rough. Definitely got the timing wrong. I know why too. I never took the rockers out of the left bank. I removed them from the right bank because I had the cam out. I thought I could count the links and not move the cam. Nope.

I'm able to take it all down to the cams and chains in about an hour and a half now. I got the spark plugs out too. I was dreading taking all 24 rockers out one at a time. I spent all day Sunday removing the rockers, getting the timing DEAD ON and putting the rockers back in. 7 hours. Then Monday and Tuesday I thrashed to get it all back together before the rain from hurricane Michael (the rain never came to Jacksonville). Rock Auto won't get the spark plugs here till this Saturday so I put the old ones back in. 2 were bad so I got those locally.

She started right up and ran perfectly. No valve train noise. Nice and quiet. The only thing you can hear is the injectors.

I'll replace the spark plugs when they show up and I'm going to run it for about 1000 miles and change the oil and filter again.

A few things I learned that aren't so easy to find on the internet...
*I had to unbolt the power steering pump to get the front cover off.
*All of the rockers have to come out to time it properly.
*Don't forget the tone ring on the crank before you put the covers on (I did and had to take the covers off again)
*You can easily reset the Melling tensioners with a vise to clamp the plunger. Then twist the stud and push it in and put the pin back in.
*A standard compression tester won't screw into the spark plug holes because there is a 1/4 inch shoulder blocking the tester.

This was a huge learning experience. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again if I had to. I'm hoping the upgraded oil pump and tensioners will be a permanent fix to this oiling problem.

 

[jeff kushner]

Nice write up!


Most modern bikes have 4 vlv heads so we do the same kind of stuff for timing alignment. They've come a long way since the T and F marks! Two stroke on the other hand are timed by measuring the piston's distance from TDC in hundredths of millimeters.

Math is FUNdamental, right?

jeff