SOHC V6 Timing Chain Saga

[2000StreetRod]

Radiator and fan/clutch removed

I'm slowly progressing as shown in the photo below.

The radiator was more trouble than stock because of my two shop vacuum hose cold air intakes. I disconnected the intakes from the lower section of the air filter enclosure and then removed the enclosure. I may decide to add thermostatic air intake control while I'm repairing the chain guide and rear main seal. Eventually I was able to work the lower radiator mount past the lower cold air intake. The fan clutch nut was really tight and I doubt that I would have been able to loosen it without the special Ford fan clutch wrench set. I'll try to loosen the harmonic balancer bolt before removing the engine. I haven't thought of a good way to keep the crank from turning yet.

 

[Carguy3J]

Since you already went through the trouble/aggravation of removing the stock mechanical fan, this would be a perfect time to upgrade to an electric fan.

 

[Runnin'OnEmpty]

The best way to loosen the harmonic balancer bolt is to use
an impact wrench on it, if you have one.
If not, then a good excuse to get another tool.....

 

[2000StreetRod]

electric fan

Since you already went through the trouble/aggravation of removing the stock mechanical fan, this would be a perfect time to upgrade to an electric fan.

I considered purchasing a thermostatically controlled electric fan to improve performance and fuel economy. Then I got this radical idea of driving all of my accessories (water pump, power steering pump and A/C compressor) with a continuous duty electric motor. Until I eliminate the idea as unrealistic I don't want to spend any money on related upgrades. I believe I can find a suitable motor and alternator but getting everything mounted will be a big problem. I'm thinking about a two belt system. One belt for just the harmonic damper and the alternator. The other belt for electric motor and the accessories.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Impact wrench

The best way to loosen the harmonic balancer bolt is to use
an impact wrench on it, if you have one.
If not, then a good excuse to get another tool.....

I already have a poor man's impact wrench that has saved me many times in the past. It's a 1/2 inch drive breaker bar and a 4 pound hand sledge. I apply pressure on the breaker bar with one hand and whack the handle with the sledge hammer using my other hand taking care to miss my fingers. My concern is rotating the crankshaft counterclockwise which is not recommended for the timing chains/guides. Besides, I'll need to find a way to keep the crank from rotating when I'm reassembling the harmonic balancer and torquing the bolt.

 

[svt4cam]

Having done timing belts on Honda's and Acuras they put Gorilla snot on the crankbolt and then tighten it to 47,356 foot pounds. It would be easier to take the Jesus nut off the top of a helicoptor rotor by hand. Home Depot and Lowe's have some pretty impressive compressors and tools for not much more that a trip to the emergency room to get stitches on your knuckles. I persevered a long time without and bought one a couple years back. It was a what the Hell was I thinking for the past 35 years moment. Here's a link to one... http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

 

[jonlax]

Having done timing belts on Honda's and Acuras they put Gorilla snot on the crankbolt and then tighten it to 47,356 foot pounds. It would be easier to take the Jesus nut off the top of a helicoptor rotor by hand. Home Depot and Lowe's have some pretty impressive compressors and tools for not much more that a trip to the emergency room to get stitches on your knuckles. I persevered a long time without and bought one a couple years back. It was a what the Hell was I thinking for the past 35 years moment. Here's a link to one... http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hard...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

When i did my first timing belt on a B series block i was shocked when the honda breaker bar came in, all 4 1/2 feet of it.

 

[Carguy3J]

having done timing belts on honda's and acuras they put gorilla snot on the crankbolt and then tighten it to 47,356 foot pounds. It would be easier to take the jesus nut off the top of a helicoptor rotor by hand. Home depot and lowe's have some pretty impressive compressors and tools for not much more that a trip to the emergency room to get stitches on your knuckles. I persevered a long time without and bought one a couple years back. It was a what the hell was i thinking for the past 35 years moment. Here's a link to one... http://www.homedepot.com/tools-hard...splay?langid=-1&storeid=10051&catalogid=10053

lol!

 

[BobWiersema]

tools for not much more that a trip to the emergency room to get stitches on your knuckles

Not to change the subject but, I think somewhere I saw a thread for something like "Great forum quote" and I would like to add this one.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Better for the back

I didn't get a lot accomplished today. I supported the front of the vehicle with jack stands after removing the front wheels. The vehicle ended up being several inches lower which was easier on my back and legs when stretching over the engine compartment to disconnect items on the top and front of the engine. I also removed the inner fender flaps to improve visibility and access for disconnecting items on the sides of the engine.

I will leave the vehicle at the lower height until I get everything accessible from above loose. Then I'll raise the front and work on the underside items.
I put my breaker bar on the harmonic balancer nut and applied a few good whacks. As I suspected, the only thing that happened was the crankshaft rotated in the counterclockwise direction. I'll probably have to pull the engine, mount it on the stand and then secure the flex plate some way to break the front nut loose. I wonder how others who don't pull the engine manage to remove the harmonic balancer.

Just found out from a post by EXPLORER04 on the following thread that there is a special tool that attaches to the two balancer bolt holes to keep it from turning while loosening/tightening the crankshaft bolt:
What is the rubber seal in crankshaft?
Maybe I can improvise an equivalent to the tool.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Power steering pump

Today I tackled the power steering pump. My goal was to completely disconnect it from the engine without disconnecting any of the fluid lines. I did not remove the water pump pulley or the power steering pump pulley. There are holes in the power steering pump pulley that allow removal of the pump mounting bolts without removing the pulley. I left one of the three bolts in place until after disconnecting the reservoir mounting bolts. I disconnected the hose positioning bracket below the pump but overlooked the one under the A/C compressor that is visible from the left fender well. The photo below shows the steering pump after I was able to work it past the water pump pulley.

There's a plastic pin on the bottom of the reservoir that fits in the mounting bracket. The reservoir must be raised the length of the pin before the entire assembly can be moved forward and down out of the way. I realized there was still a hose positioning attachment in place when I tried to raise the reservoir. The hose has to slide past the A/C compressor before the steering assembly can be lowered out of the way. It is necessary to disconnect the A/C compressor clutch electrical connector to get the hose past. It took me about 20 minutes to get the connector to release because it's not the squeeze type like I assumed. The photo below shows how neatly the power steering assembly can be tucked out of the way.

 

[McSlug]

Harmonic Balancer Removal

I used a strap wrench and my dad on the balancer and a long breaker bar on the crank bolt and it was quite easy

 

[2000StreetRod]

Excellent idea!

I used a strap wrench and my dad on the balancer and a long breaker bar on the crank bolt and it was quite easy

Thank you for the suggestion! I'll look into what a strap wrench costs. It may be something I can also use to keep the crank from rotating when I eventually get around to timing the camshafts.

 

[manaen]

Thank you for the suggestion! I'll look into what a strap wrench costs. It may be something I can also use to keep the crank from rotating when I eventually get around to timing the camshafts.

I also used a strap wrench when I added my under drive pulley it will work well for that. However It's not going to work to hold the crank stationary while you adjust the timing. It only stops something from rotating in one direction. As soon as pressure is left off of the wrench the crank will basically spin freely. You need to hold the crank from moving in either direction. I would think it would be easy to come up with a configuration of C clamps to hold the crank. But I've never done the timing chains on an SOHC sooo.... ?

 

[2000StreetRod]

Improvised damper holder

I also used a strap wrench when I added my under drive pulley it will work well for that. However It's not going to work to hold the crank stationary while you adjust the timing. It only stops something from rotating in one direction. As soon as pressure is left off of the wrench the crank will basically spin freely. You need to hold the crank from moving in either direction. I would think it would be easy to come up with a configuration of C clamps to hold the crank. But I've never done the timing chains on an SOHC sooo.... ?

I still have quite a bit of time before I need to loosen the damper bolt. I'll have to use it to rotate the flexplate when I unbolt the torque converter. I'll probably bolt something to the flexplate after pulling the engine and mounting it on the stand. The strap wrenches I found on the internet looked like they used a fiber band to keep from scratching the surface. I have a pipe wrench large enough to use but the idea repulses me.

 

[2000StreetRod]

A/C compressor

I managed to get the A/C compressor disconnected and out of the way today without disconnecting any of the hoses. I secured the compressor with ropes. Then I accessed the bottom two bolts from the fender well and removed them with a socket and drive. There was not enough room to get a socket and drive on the upper two stud nuts so I removed them with a box wrench. Then I slid the compressor on the studs away from the mounting bracket a short distance as shown below.

Next I removed the four bolts attaching the compressor mounting bracket to the head. I pulled it forward enough to clear the water pump pulley as shown below.

Then I slid the compressor mounting bracket away from the compressor and removed it from the engine compartment as shown below.

There's a vacuum line that runs across the top of the water pump and under the compressor to the fuel vapor management valve located below and forward of the battery compartment. Disconnecting the vacuum line allows movement of the refrigerant line and the compressor away from the engine. The green arrow in the photo below identifies one of the motor mount nuts.

The red arrow identifies the disconnected vacuum line that the refrigerant line has now cleared and moved forward. The blue arrows identify a wiring loom that is attached to the bottom of the engine with a bracket. It must be unbolted from below.

 

[drothgeb]

You said in a different thread that changing the upper tensioners/guides are as easy as the rear spark plugs and that they are usually the ones that go first. I don't have anything to pull an engine and have a limited budget, so I think I can only tackle the uppers first. Any suggestions on how this is done before I go all in?
Thanks

 

[2000StreetRod]

Changing upper tensioners

You said in a different thread that changing the upper tensioners/guides are as easy as the rear spark plugs and that they are usually the ones that go first. I don't have anything to pull an engine and have a limited budget, so I think I can only tackle the uppers first. Any suggestions on how this is done before I go all in?
Thanks

I believe you misunderstood what I said. Changing any of the guides is a big job. Changing the rear upper tensioner is about as easy as replacing the spark plug in the same area.

To change the upper rear tensioner you jack up the right front, support with jackstand, remove wheel, remove inner fender flap, unscrew tensioner with socket and drive. You can't even see it from above the engine but it is very visible from below. The photo below shows it - the black hex in the side of the head near the rear and aft of the last spark plug.

The photo below shows what it looks like in the vehicle looking up thru the fender opening after removing the flap.

There's a lot more work to replace the upper front tensioner because you have to remove the upper intake manifold. If you've never replaced your upper and lower intake manifold gaskets then you should purchase what used to be called the 00M12 kit. See the link to performing this task in My Helpful Threads in my signature.

 

[drothgeb]

Do the front guides or rears usually wear out first..? Mine has the rattle during startup (began this winter) and has had the rattle around 2500-2900 RPM for a while. The kit comes with all 4 chain/guide replacements I think but I'm trying to be the most economical with my lack of money while trying to preserve my engine. Pulling the engine will obviously cost more (have to buy more tools), but if replacing the rear guides at the same time is best then I guess it'll have to get done.

 

[jonlax]

Do the front guides or rears usually wear out first..? Mine has the rattle during startup (began this winter) and has had the rattle around 2500-2900 RPM for a while. The kit comes with all 4 chain/guide replacements I think but I'm trying to be the most economical with my lack of money while trying to preserve my engine. Pulling the engine will obviously cost more (have to buy more tools), but if replacing the rear guides at the same time is best then I guess it'll have to get done.

The front is what seems to wear out first. I have not had a problem yet with the rear but with others may have. If anyone wants to chime in on the rear its a good time now. I do not want to change the rear for the fact that no problems and no noise comes from it.

Jon