How to: - SOHC V6 Rear Cassette Replacement | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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How to: SOHC V6 Rear Cassette Replacement

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2000StreetRod

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00 Sport FI, 03 Ltd V8
This procedure describes how to replace the rear (right) cassette on the SOHC V6. Since Ford did not strengthen the traction side of the guide assembly with metal in the upgraded part it is anticipated that the guide will eventually fail due to fatigue. This procedure assumes utilization of some OTC-6488 timing tool kit components.

Remove engine from vehicle.
EngPull.jpg

Mount engine on stand.
PaintL.jpg

This is how the engine looks after being cleaned and painted.

Rotate engine on stand to position right camshaft axis vertically above jackshaft cover.
JackTool.jpg

The left head should be lowered more than shown for the correct position.
The engine with the heads is very top heavy. Be very careful when rotating the engine to be off balance (left head nearly horizontal). Since I work alone I used the crane to support the off balance weight as I gradually lowered the left head while the stand holding pin was removed.
 



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Position crankshaft to TDC

Using breaker bar with 19mm socket installed on balancer bolt position #1 piston at TDC on compression stroke by aligning balancer mark with pointer.
TDCPntr.jpg

When #1 piston is on compression stroke pressure can be felt with finger over spark plug hole as piston rises toward TDC and neither #1 valve will be depressed. Always rotate crankshaft clockwise.


Install OTC-6488 timing kit crankshaft holding tool (PN 6479) item 8 shown below.
toolkit.JPG


Remove upper intake manifold

Remove right valve cover
 






Remove jackshaft rear cover

Hammer the plug on one side near the edge with a punch being careful not to score the plug bore. As the one side is driven inward the other side rotates slightly outward as shown below.
JPlug1.jpg

It is very important to only hammer in one side so that the plug does not go into the opening. Next hammer the protruding lip with a large screw driver from the side to force the plug enough outward (see photo below) that it can be grasped with locking pliers.
JPlug2.jpg


OldS1A.jpg


OldS1B.jpg
 






Install OTC-6488 camshaft sprocket holding tool

Install OTC-6488 timing kit camshaft sprocket holding tool (PN 6478) and camshaft sprocket holding tool adapter (PN 6482) items 4 and 7 respectively shown below.
toolkit.JPG

The photo below by shelbygt shows the camshaft sprocket holding tool (green arrow) and the camshaft sprocket holding tool adapter (red arrow) installed on the left camshaft.
ToolsLft.jpg

The blue arrow identifies the camshaft position sensor nub in the proper location when #1 piston is at TDC on it's compression stroke.
Tighten the top two clamp bolts of the camshaft sprocket holding tool to 10 Nm (89 lb-in).

Loosen (counter-clockwise) jackshaft sprocket retaining Torx bolt (T55) shown below.
OPlug.jpg


Loosen (clockwise) camshaft sprocket retaining bolt
 






Remove OTC-6488 camshaft holding tool

Remove OTC-6488 camshaft holding tool

Remove the hydraulic tensioner identified by the red arrow in the photo below by CDW6212R .
RearTnsr.jpg

Use a 27 mm shallow 6 point socket and a long breaker bar or torque wrench. The force required may exceed 75 ft-lbs.

Remove jackshaft sprocket retaining Torx bolt and spacer thru the opening. This bolt is a torque-to-yield bolt and should not be reused. Ironically, it is not included with the cassette and must be purchased separately. The part number is W703167S430.
 






Remove guide assembly bolts

Remove guide assembly upper positioning bolt indicated by red arrow in photo below.
GuidPost.jpg

You may notice that the entire upper section of the guide is missing due to breakage. Also, the positioning bolt has been worn flat on one side by the chain slapping against it. The accumulation of sludge shown is probably due to infrequent oil changes by the previous owner or a defective thermostat.

Remove guide assembly lower mounting bolt identified by the orange arrow in the photo below.
LwrRtBlt.jpg


Remove camshaft sprocket retaining bolt (clockwise)
 


















Install & torque mounting bolts

Loosely install (clockwise) a new jackshaft sprocket retaining Torx bolt with old spacer thru the opening.

Loosely install guide assembly lower mounting Torx bolt.

Loosely install guide assembly upper positioning Torx bolt.

Position camshaft sprocket on camshaft hub and loosely install (counter-clockwise) camshaft sprocket retaining bolt.

Torque (clockwise) jackshaft sprocket retaining bolt to 168 in-lbs+37 degrees

Torque guide assembly lower mounting bolt to 80 to 97 in-lbs

Torque guide assembly upper positioning bolt to 80 to 97 in-lbs
 






Install jackshaft cover

There is a new jackshaft plug (cover) that is different than the original one. The metallic side of the new plug is shown below.
NewS1.jpg

The non-metallic (rubber like) side of the new plug is shown below.
NewS2B.jpg

The "dimples" in the center and near the circumference are on the non-metallic side. I have not found any instructions for which way to install the new plug. As shown in the photo below the jackshaft sprocket retaining bolt protrudes toward the opening.
OPlug.jpg

The new plug has a cup that is slightly larger in diameter than the head of the bolt. When the plug is installed with the bare metal side out there is more clearance between the rotating bolt head and the plug. Another factor is I didn't like the idea of hitting the rubber covered side with something to drive it in. Also, I decided to paint the block Ford blue and the paint will adhere to the metal side much better than the rubberized side. I used my 36mm socket to drive it in. It was necessary to relocate one of the engine stand support arms in order to drive it squarely. The completed installation is shown in the photo below.
NPlug.jpg
 












Great right up !!!! Thanks !!!!
did you use the OTC 6488 or did you hold everything in timing with bolt and chain ? I read read somewhere else that if you cut out a section of firewall you'll have access ? is this possible ?
thanks
 






Great right up !!!! Thanks !!!!
did you use the OTC 6488 or did you hold everything in timing with bolt and chain ? I read read somewhere else that if you cut out a section of firewall you'll have access ? is this possible ?
thanks

Nope, the hole for the jackshaft and the t30 torx that holds in the guides are both hidden by the flex plate inside the bell housing of the transmission.
 






Nope, the hole for the jackshaft and the t30 torx that holds in the guides are both hidden by the flex plate inside the bell housing of the transmission.

did you use the OTC 6488
 






Yes, but all the OTC kit does is hold the cams still so you can loosen the bolts and line everything back up to tighten. It also has a tool for top dead center for the balancer.

The only way to change the rear chain and guides is to pull the motor or transmission. I always pull the motor. If you take your time you don't even have to decharge the a/c.
 






Yes, but all the OTC kit does is hold the cams still so you can loosen the bolts and line everything back up to tighten. It also has a tool for top dead center for the balancer.

The only way to change the rear chain and guides is to pull the motor or transmission. I always pull the motor. If you take your time you don't even have to decharge the a/c.

Where on the engine should i strap the chain or rope to remove engine from truck ... Thanks for your time
 






If you leave the exhaust manifolds on you can chain to them on both sides. On 4x4 models though its easier to remove the drivers side exhaust manifold to get to the starter and torque converter bolts.
 






Hey guys so I just got the engine put on the stand and just waiting on the new bolts to come in before starting on this. Here is the thing. I am doing the rear chain first, I have the OTC 6488 timing set and in order to get the camshaft holding tool (the one with the bar used to lock the actual shaft) to properly fit and lock the cam the crank pulley isnt showing the 0 mark, its a little ways past the 10 mark. Is this bad? :(. The Explorer ran fine other than the noise in the rear chain which btw I pulled that yellow side of the guide right out its busted. I have spun this by hand numerous times and cam sensor nub is on top like its supposed to be.Is it possible the cam jumped time while I was manually spinning it? To get this back am I going to just have to lock the cam then line the crank back up to tdc after I remove the cassette? Thanks in advance and thanks again for these awesome how to threads :thumbsup:
 






Anyone??? Another thing.I got the front cassette done and doing the rear one. There is a long torx bolt that I had to loosen to get the rear cassette (or whats left of it) out. You can see the head of it if your looking straight down the cavity where the cassette goes with valve cover off. I got the new cassette in and now when I tighten the torx bolt it pushes on the traction side of the cassette binding it up. Any ideas whats up?
 



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torx bolt

Are you referring to the bolt identified by the orange arrow in the photo below?
LwrRtBlt.jpg


If so, it's larger diameter shank retains the guide assembly pivot bushing in place.
Chamber.jpg

RCasset.jpg

You should be able to move both the traction and the slack guide from side to side with your fingers after the bolt is torqued.
 






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