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Timing Chain Rattle - OOM12 upgrade

fossilfool

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May 8, 2008
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City, State
Lurgan
Year, Model & Trim Level
2000 North Face
Hi folks.
Apologies in advance if this issue has been done to death but I would be grateful of any guidance you could offer before I tear into this engine.
My symptoms are as follows.
Starting from cold, there's a 3 second rattle - then silent. Revs about 1300 rpm (i see from other threads that the new gaskets in the kit may sort this)
Chains silent at this point until I engage Drive/Reverse. Noise was first thought to be rattling from the cat but not so sure now.
Havent noticed the 2500rpm rattle.
Once warmed up, the rattling is pretty constant. Its not very loud and is most noticable if you listen from underneath or through the inner wing (fender) liner.
Revs when warm seem a bit low at 600rpm. Once revs are increased a little, noise dissapears.
I was wondering if this might be the LH chain tensioner not performing when the oil gets warm and if the OOM12 kit might cure this.

Not really sure where to go from here so any advice much appreciated.

Thanks
Barry
Explorer North Face 4.0 year 2000 UK spec RHD 86k miles
 



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SAME Problem

Hey there,
I have the same exact problem, 2000 ford explorer, when it is cold it rattles a bit, I engage reverse, then it rattles louder until it warms up. Once it warms up it is less noticable. Mechanic said it is power steering bearing going out, but sounds like timing chain to me, anyone have any experience with this?
 






Mate, look under this thread TSB 02-7-6 4.00L SOHC Timing Chain Rattle Cheers Foxy
 






Fossil Fuel, what did you end up doing?
 






So far haven't done anything. Have been riding the rage roller coaster wandering if I've bought a donkey or if it could be something simple. I'm going to try the OOM12 upgrade and see if that works. Fingers crossed and I'll report back with an update.

Thanks to everyone who replied

Barry:thumbsup:
 






Exactly the same

my symptoms are exactly the same, get a sort of slight rattle in the morning, then when I engage in reverse, it gets louder, it sort of dies out when the car warms up, at least it is less noticable. I took mine to a local mechanic, he said it is certain it is the power steering, but I dont belive it is; another thing, when i remove the oil cap, i can hear the rattle very loud through there....have you had yours diagnosed by a ford mechanic? wonder if they have a better handle on what the problem is?
 






Bump for an old thread.

I have the same issue on my 03 SOHC with 135k, been going on for several months. The noise is there with the belt off. The harmonic balancer looks to be in good shape. The engine runs fine, no noticeable loss of performance. I just drove from NY to FL and back, got 20+ mpg, ran great except for this rattle. It does appear to be getting a little worse. If I let it sit for 20 minutes or so it will rattle real bad for a few minutes, then quiet down and will only be heard at idle with the transmission in gear. If I shut it down and start it back up right away, it does not rattle without being in gear. Sounds like tensioners\guides to me, but I get no noise at all above 1,000 rpm or so, engine feels tight at high RPM, with NO noise at 2,500-3,000 RPM. Has anyone had an issue with the timing chain tensioners\guides that only made noise at idle?
 






I had a rattle that ended up being the tensioner pulley, so I replaced the whole tensioner unit and the idler pulley while the belt was off. Inexpensive parts, quick and easy swap and it fixed my idle rattle.
 






i have a rattle at startup for maybe a half second, but at no other times, hoping its not the timing chains until i have the cash for a 5.0 swap...
 






I had a rattle that ended up being the tensioner pulley, so I replaced the whole tensioner unit and the idler pulley while the belt was off. Inexpensive parts, quick and easy swap and it fixed my idle rattle.

Yeah, It sounds EXACTLY like a bad tensioner. I replaced the tensioner, pulley, and belt. When the noise didn't go away, I ran the engine without the belt and it's still there. It just bugs me that this thing is dead quiet above idle and runs perfect. I'd hate to tear into it and it not be the timing chain. I just hope it doesn't grenade while I figure it out.
 






I know zero about the '03 model, but on my vehicle the oil brand/type and oil age can make a difference with the startup rattle. You might want to try fresh oil and verify correct viscosity. Also, assuming the '03 is similar to the earlier models, you can replace the EXTERIOR front AND rear timing chain tensioners (hydraulic screw-in pieces). They do wear out over time and some folks suggest ~70k replacement interval. Those things could be very easily/cheaply done before tearing into the motor.

BK
 






well here is my story. 01 87,000 miles has the same noise at idle and no noise above idle. the local ford dealer had my ex for three weeks. i have a warranty so that is why the dealer is working on it. they replaced the tensioner and the idler pulley. well the noise is still there with no change. i am carrying it back tomorrow and i will let you know what happens
 






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