Timing set and a startup anomaly question

[whtbronco]

Finally got started on the timing set replacement last night. I'm pretty slow so after 7hrs I feel like I got very little accomplished. I need to pull the harmonic damper and the timing cover can be removed. I always find unplanned things to do, I call them "may as wells". Ya know "I may as well to do this since I'm here", and these things add up in time quick. Such as the coolant reservoir. I also tend to clean most parts that will be reinstalled if needed.

I spent about 1hr just cleaning the inside of the coolant reservoir. It had what I thought was like slime in it, but after rinsing it out numerous times and then letting it dry it was just hard chalky crap, like coolant leaves behind when it leaks, and some black flaky stuff. So I put 100 4-40 size nylok nuts in the reservoir, put some water in and shook it for like 30 minutes, 'til my arms were done haha. I got almost all of that crap out though. The water had turned turned a nasty grey. Should be much easier to see the coolant level now.

Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to get the valve covers off. I tried twice to get the stove pipe loose from the egr valve with no luck. I sprayed it with penetrating oil last night and again after the first attempt today. The connection to the manifold is likely to be even worse. If I'm unsuccessful tomorrow I'll cut it off. I'd be able to use my impact then which might get the nuts loose.

The only thing I found today that was unexpected was the rearward DPFE hose was cracked quite a bit at the DPFE sensor and was melted on to the stove pipe. I have new hoses anyway, but clearly these are overdue for replacement.

 

[Hamfisted]

Those reservoirs are less than $30 at Rock Auto. I'd just replace it. You never get all that stain out of there.

Gen2 Coolant Reservoirs at Rock Auto

 

[whtbronco]

Dang, I didn't even think to look for a replacement, I just got to cleaning it. Sometimes, okay most times, I just ain't that bright. It is discolored kinda yellowed, but the crap that was stuck to the inside is gone now. Thankfully this can be replaced any time with little effort. I added this to the list I keep of things to pick up at RockAuto.

 

[kep5niner]

From my engine swap a couple years ago in my ‘03 EB 5.4, I had trouble with the EGR pipe as well. Anticipating destroying it during the removal process, I was able to source a new EGR pipe - allegedly the last one in the country.

Turns out I was able to salvage the original EGR pipe, so I have the brand new one sitting on the shelf. Let me know if you need it.

 

[whtbronco]

From my engine swap a couple years ago in my ‘03 EB 5.4, I had trouble with the EGR pipe as well. Anticipating destroying it during the removal process, I was able to source a new EGR pipe - allegedly the last one in the country.

Turns out I was able to salvage the original EGR pipe, so I have the brand new one sitting on the shelf. Let me know if you need it.

Thank you sir, I'll let ya know. I see the new hotness in your avatar, looks good. I can;t stop looking at those wheels, LOL.

 

[whtbronco]

@kep5niner thank you very much for the offer on the EGR pipe. I managed to get mine off today. Not sure how hot I had it with the propane torch, but after it was loose I thought to check the temp and it was 560 degrees. The lower connection came loose pretty easily, just had to remove the plastic fender liner.

Helping with parts is one of the great things about these forums. I have offered parts several times. Helping others is a good thing.

After 7 more hours today I got the driver side valve cover off, cleaned and ready for install. Surprisingly the valve covers have been leaking some oil, it was so evenly covered I couldn't tell until I grabbed them. I got one of the heater hoses removed, and 1 of the 3 connections on the other heater hose. These are tough and the tool I bought was a mistake. It's a total POS, I spent almost an hour trying to make it work and finally just started cutting the hose connectors. I have replacement hoses anyway, now is a good time to replace the factory hoses. I have no idea how I'll get the hose clamp by the firewall off the heater hose, that'll be fun.

Performance Tool W83108 is the POS I made the mistake of buying.

More Information for PERFORMANCE TOOL W83108

I bought the Gearwrench 8mm flex head wrench. Not impressed, it's entirely a 2 handed tool due to being too easy for the head to pivot. This makes it nearly useless in a hard to reach area. I hope it'll work for the oil pump pickup, but I remember seeing someone using a 2nd tool to hold the wrench which now makes sense. I bought a deep well 8mm socket to remove the valve covers and that worked perfectly. I'd never used a flex head wrench before. I also checked the Husky brand at Home Depot, they are just as floppy. I had been wanting a good set of flex head wrenches, I don't now unless I can find some that are much tighter.

I realized today I forgot to buy valve cover grommets, oops. Oh well I can get the Fel-Pro's locally.

Hoping to get the passenger side valve cover and timing cover off tomorrow.

 

[whtbronco]

I found locking flex head ratchet wrenches last night. I'm gonna try those thinking they will address my concerns with the non-locking models. Using a long screwdriver to hold the wrench on a bolt head was rather annoying.

 

[whtbronco]

Well all I can do is laugh. I completed 1 thing today and fought stuff the rest of the day.

@BigRed2004 neither valve spring compressor tool worked as it turns out. The ABN arms to angled inward and thus won't fit over the cam lobe. I tried stretching them, they just snap back. Adding substantial heat might resolve this. The Orion Motor Tech tool is just too much to handle. Being 2 pieces you have to get it on the spring, then fish the cam side in and then attach a ratchet. I also found a little surprise, the springs are hard to see making this even more difficult. I think it might be possible by removing the camshafts and using the bolt on tool, but I won't be finding out this week. This truck has to run again in 7 days.

The coolant hoses on this thing are real challenge. I should have bought the quick release tool for the heater hoses that @Hamfisted suggested, I picked another one and it's useless. I ended up snipping out the part that catches the quick connects. Not too bad to snip them on the rear connections, the heater core were tough. For the heater hose and PCV heater hose behind the engine I think if I'm gonna have any chance I'll have to remove the intake manifold which I am not prepared for, ugh. The heater hose clamp is facing the firewall, it must have been on the engine before it was installed. I'm pondering using my dremel to cut the hose clamp off. I can't get to the lower radiator hose clamp by the oil filter or the lower reservoir hose clamp in the same area. Maybe if I can get the power steering pump off these will be easier.

I forgot the power steering pump had to be removed for the timing cover. No worries, I grabbed my pulley puller only to find that it just does fit quite right and would not stay straight. So I'll try to rent one.

I wanted to flush the coolant and this is complete, replace all the coolant hoses, replace the valve springs and replace the timing components. The valve seals most likely will not be done at this time, pulling the heads would be the best way for sure. Once you pull the heads it makes sense at 300k miles to get the reconditioned.

Time to do some searching for the coolant hoses. If any one has a trick for these please hit me.

 

[whtbronco]

I finally got the heater hose off. Still working on the PCV heater hose. I ordered a set of 90 degree locking pliers that I think will get the clamp off without removing the intake manifold. Otherwise I'll be pulling that too.

I got the ps pulley and pump off, though to 2 threaded parts of the puller are now stuck in the pump shaft, LOL. Maybe those will come out when the pump and pulley are reinstalled. Removing the ps pump allowed me to finally get access to the lower radiator hose and reservoir hose.

This has certainly turned out to be more challenging than I expected.

 

[whtbronco]

I finally got the passenger valve cover and the timing cover off. The top of both valves covers was leaking oil which is rather interesting to me. It was slow enough that it never ran down the engine block, but did coat the timing cover. Tomorrow I'll start reassembly, day 6. Wow I'm slow, though I had several issues that added at least a full day of time. I've also spent significant time cleaning things as I went along.

 

[whtbronco]

Ran into more issues today, it really has just become comical. The Orion Motor Tools(should be Trash) crank shaft alignment tool would not fit on the crank. The keyway for the crank key was not right and had trash under the paint. After 30 or so minutes of messing with it I just decided to use the dot on the crank sprocket at 6 o'clock for alignment.

I bought a new OEM crank bolt and it had a small ding in the threads. After spending maybe 45 minutes on that it does thread into the crank by hand, but not as smooth as the original so I'm gonna use the original once again.

I bought this 7" long 90 degree locking plier from Maxpower. Not a brand I know and would not have purchased had I been able to find any other suitable tool. It worked perfectly to get that dang PCV heater hose clamp off from behind the engine. That thing was a bear, until I had these pliers.



The good news is the oil pump is in, and the timing chains are fully installed. Yep the oil pump pickup bolts are tough. I used the Gearwrench 8mm flex head to break them loose and for the final tightening. I found there was not enough drag for it ratchet back even with my finger on it. I ended using my pick up magnet to turn it with a finger under it, haha.

Interestingly I found no evidence that the tensioners or guides needed to be replaced. The tensioner seals were intact and I found no wear on the guides at all which since they are plastic is truly amazing to me at 305k miles.

Since I gave up on my intent to change the valve seals for now tomorrow I will check the followers closely.

 

[whtbronco]

My concern is that I have misdiagnosed the the occasional chattering I had at start up, though I did verify with my stethoscope that it was up front. We'll find out in the next few days.

 

[whtbronco]

The driver side is all back together. However, due to another parts issue I have stopped, unfortunately I won't be able to get it running for work Monday. My passenger side Fel-Pro gasket was too long between bolt holes at the rear of the valve cover. I was able to stuff it in and get it glued in. Anytime it touched anything it popped out though. After the 5th reinstall it was clear it would not seal. So I spent an hour cleaning glue out of the gasket groove. I verified I ordered the correct gasket knowing there was a change in May of 2004

I have been unable to find a way to get the passenger side valve cover installed though. Even with the gasket removed I had to bump the cover with my hand to get past the A/C lines which would have ripped the gasket right out.

I'll get another gasket next week and resume the fight. I am beyond frustrated at this point.

 

[whtbronco]

I figured out how to get the valve cover back on. It's a 2 person job. I rotated the A/C line lock/connector and cut the foam off the pipe by the firewall. I also used bundling strap to pull the A/C line at the front of the head forward about 1.5" toward the radiator support. That gave me enough room to get the valve in place vertical. Then to lay it over onto the head I needed someone else to push the main wire harness bundle back about 1/2" into the firewall.

Tomorrow I will order a Ford valve cover gasket from the local dealer. No interest in trying another Fel-Pro in this case since it likely came from the same mold. Hopefully next weekend it will be running again. For this week I will drive my daughters torture mobile to work. 2003 Monte Carlo that hurts to get into, hurts to be in and hurts to get out of I can hardly wait, haha.

 

[whtbronco]

The Ford passenger side valve cover gasket fits over the slot perfectly. That said it's tough to get into the slot as it is noticeably thicker. This is the first time I can recall ever having an issue with a Fel-Pro gasket.

 

[whtbronco]

I woke this morning to a puddle of trans fluid on the garage floor from the power steering. So I swapped the o-rings for the high and low pressure lines at the rack. I will say with the fan and fan shroud removed they can be reached from the top and that's sooooooo much easier. It's certainly not fun from under the truch.

I should be able to wrap it up this weekend. Almost everything is connected, installed etc. The fan and shroud are not installed and won't be until after I fire it up. The only unresolved fight from today is the A/C compressor connector simply will not latch. Maybe Saturday I'll be able to get it.

 

[whtbronco]

It's finally running again. Wow did it scare my wife and I at first. It was running very rough for a few seconds and smoothed out slowly, after about 60 seconds it was fine. It's smoother and quieter than it was. The transmission is shifting at unusual shift points, maybe it's just from the battery being disconnected for 15 days. I took it for a 5 mile ride and it got progressively better.

45 seconds of cranking wasn't enough to build oil pressure. I hit it a second time a few minutes later and at 10 seconds the gauge jumped. I ran the starter for another 10 seconds.

On closer inspection the timing chain guides have about a 1/32" groove worn in them. I found no visible wear on the tensioners and the gaskets were intact. Maybe the springs weren't as strong as the new ones, no way to know with the new ones installed.

I replaced 2 rockers on the passenger side. They were the only 2 I could move without much effort. I would have preferred to replace all of them, but I couldn't justify the cost when the others seemed fine. I used a trim tool to pop them off, an 1/8" sheet of plastic to protect the cam lobe and a flat head screwdriver to pull the new rockers on. It was crazy easy this way, after 2 of the proper spring compressor tools failed to work.

Now I can get to my sons Ranger(drive shaft slip yoke and wheel bearings) and my daughters Monte Carlo(steering rack). The joys of driving high mileage vehicles.

 

[whtbronco]

I had a rather minor vibration in the throttle pedal for about 200k miles now. It was only noticeable in 4th gear with the torque converter locked. It drove me nuts, but no else ever noticed it. I drive without shoes so I could feel it. Anyway, it's gone now. I'm not certain what the cause was, clearly it was either 1 of the rockers I swapped or the timing components. I suppose it could have been the oil pump, but that seems unlikely.

500 miles since the maintenance and it's running and shifting well. It certainly is running smoother and a bit quieter.

 

[whtbronco]

1 last thing I kept forgetting to mention. I picked up Continental brand upper and lower radiator hoses from RockAuto. I simply chose those since they were available without additional shipping charges. Neither fit quite right. I cut a 1/4" off the lower radiator hose to get really close, the bend near the block inlet is still a little tighter than I'd like. The upper radiator hose is simply too short and putting strain on the radiator. I even pulled both ends off about 1/4-3/8" to get it to fit at all. So I have a replacement enroute. I ordered a Dayco upper hose as I've had decent luck with Dayco in the past and the price was good. If that's not right either I'll order upper/lower from FPG and call it a day.

 

[acampinoob]

I'll be undertaking this job. A few questions. What did you use for the front main seal installation? The tools I found are all super expensive. Also did the O'Reilley 67006 harmonic damper installer work for you?