cam chain guides HELP!!

[Jon_Herr]

Oil Starvation

From details in the TSB, what usually happens is damage due to oil starvation.

This occurs because the plastic parts get in the oil pick-up and reduce oil flow to the engine.

The problem is progressive. The more plastic that falls in to the pan and clogs the pick-up the lower the pressure gets until it's low enough to damage the upper engine.

The pressure drops as oil is pumped through the crank and then up to the heads. The heads / camshafts get the least oil pressure and are the first to be damaged.

By the time the chains can be heard, some plastic has already dropped in to the pan.

 

[treywylie]

When my chain guides/tensioners decided to choke, they didn't mess around. I bought the truck new in Oct, 96 as a '97 model. At 20k, I aksed the dealer about the dieseling noise. They said it was normal, but I had them document my concern. Fast forward 4 years... 89k on the truck now and right after starting, BAM, then really rough running. I called the dealership and they said to limp it in, probably needed a tuneup... Tuneup done, no good. They started tearing it apart and found the engine damage due to jumping time... New engine time... After determining the guides had failed, I asked them to cover the cost 100% as I had previously had the truck in for repairs while under warranty and they missed the problem on 2 separate occasions. After some lengthy negotiating, the service mgr was able to get Ford to sign off on a new engine and install at their expense. They shipped my engine back to Ford and the now infamous extended warranty/recall came out about 45 days later. I'm sure I wasn't one of the first, but I feel that because Ford knew it was a problem and was working on the recall, I got shuffled into line on this one. My Service Mgr. was GREAT through all of this. I don't think I would have had as good of results at other dealers without a LOT of B!tching. Good luck and I hope they take care of you.
-twylie

 

[grtexplorer]

Trey - what dealer did you go to? I'd like to know for future reference... just in case. Thanks,
Jim

 

[treywylie]

grtexplorer

Don Rich Ford in Villa Rica. Probably too far a haul for you to get to easily from Roswell, but we live on the west side of town and established a decent relationship with the Service Manager early on. If you want his name, PM me. I'm not saying he will circumvent any process for repairs, but he was extremely fair in dealing with me and handling the regional guys at Ford to make sure I wasn't screwed over.

We bought our Explorer new in late '96 from Beaudry Ford downtown using AutoByTel. The were fair at service when I first took it to them. I decided to try someone outside of the city and the dealership in Villa Rica made sure we were taken care of.

-tw