JExpedition07
That One Member
Yes if the screens in the VCT solenoids get clogged your phasers will tick like crazy and people often misjudge this little job as a bigger problem. Other symptoms of bad VCT solonoids is a jumpy nasty idle.
Maintenance questions on just purchased '12 Expedition w/ 102k miles
- Thread starter texevora
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Yes if the screens in the VCT solenoids get clogged your phasers will tick like crazy and people often misjudge this little job as a bigger problem. Other symptoms of bad VCT solonoids is a jumpy nasty idle.
You do not pull the valve cover on the 5.4. I did both mine in less than 30 min including making the tool. Would have been much faster to spend the $8 for the proper torx long screwdriver. I ended up grinding a torx socket and spot welding it to the 1/4"drive extension. I think the cost was around $100 or less for the pair for Ford OEM. Be sure to buy new seals too, you can't reuse the old ones. Be careful with Lucas and other additives. These engines are oil viscosity sensitive. They want 5w-20 to get the oil fast in all the valve train passages. Also use only an OEM or other high quality oil filter.
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deweysmith
Full Access Members
You don't? Can you pull that gasket and get it out? My Ford service manual for my 2012 says you need to pull the valve cover.
If your engine is like my '06....you just pry out the gasket, use a torx screw driver and pull the solenoid out. Put the new one in, tap in new gasket and attach wire plug. Done. One of the easiest repairs I ever did on the 5.4
Also don't go by the shop manual all the time for example...dealer said it was 8-9 hours the change the blend door motor in the dash on the '04 & '06. Said the whole dash had to come out. Took me 45 minutes on the first one with the learning curve. When I did the next one 30 minutes.
JExpedition07
That One Member
06 was the the last model year you could skip pulling the valve cover, he covers this somewhere that they redesigned the valve covers and solonoids and that the old way no longer pertains to late 06+ 5.4L engines.
ExpeditionAndy
Full Access Members
On these engines, I would strongly, strongly recommend not using any additives. Stick with 5W-30 oil. If you go thicker, oil doesn't get to the top end and the cam phasers don't get proper amount of oil and it will cause problems. The 5.4 uses oil pressure to operate the timing and the passages up top are very small so you need thin oil to get through them.
8-9 hours to get into the dash???? Whole truck interior including every last bolt and piece of plastic tears down and reassembles in far less than half that time with hand tools only.... throw in some power tools and its faster yet
What ********
JExpedition07
That One Member
The whole valve cover is different I’m pretty sure. They reduced the amount of screws in it and beefed it up so it was easier to remove and put on without as many fastening locations.
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