2002 Mountaineer 4.0 Timing chain rattle | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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2002 Mountaineer 4.0 Timing chain rattle

AlainRenteria10

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Year, Model & Trim Level
2002, Mountaineer
Hi guys,
I am new here on the forum and as you can see I have a problem. Here is a video . I know this is something with the timing chain or tensioners, but before dealing with it I would like to find out if any of you know what this is specifically, the parts I have to buy, and how much it will cost me if I do all the labor myself. It has 180k. Thanks for your help, anything is appreciated!
 



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Sounds like timing chain issue to me. One (or more) of the chain guides (together with gear and chain, "cassettes") has failed--meaning broken/disintegrated. When this happens, the chain slaps around (can be louder at lower rpm) and chunks of the guide are strewn around the engine, potentially blocking oil passages. Especially common is obstruction of the oil sump in the oil pan. 180k miles is a normal time for this to happen (4.0 SOHV engine). Mine happened @ 179k.

Good news: Your chain has not slipped (yet) and done serious damage to your heads (esp. valves) and pistons.

Recommend that you STOP DRIVING THE CAR immediately. If you don't, a timing chain WILL slip and you will bend valves and do hundreds of dollars more damage to the engine (mostly heads, but potentially the block/pistons as well). And since your oil pressure maybe compromised at points (oil pressure gauge not a reliable indicator in this circumstance), you could do serious damage to the lower end (bearings, etc) as well.

One relatively easy (emphasis on "relatively") way to verify is to drop the oil pan and look for chunks of amber/orange chain guide. Be sure to look for chunks wedged into the screen in the oil sump. You can all pull the valve covers, but that's not easy.

Next, you may want to do a compression check of all cylinders. This will give you a good idea of the health of the cylinders (piston rings) and heads (valves). If the compression looks good, and you like the truck and its in good shape, its probably worth repairing the engine/timing chains. Lots of good info here (esp. StreetRods's posts in the 2nd Gen forum; same engine).

Next critical point is to figure out WHICH guide(s) has(have) failed. As you may know, there are two timing chains (three, if you have balance shaft engine) on the front of the engine, and one on the back. Could not tell which one failed from your video. There's a big difference between a front secondary (driver side upper timing chain) failure and a rear (passenger side) failure: you have to pull the engine (or the transmission) to do the rear chain, but not to do the front. I don't recall whether you need to pull the engine to do the front primary guides, but I don't think so. StreetRod would know.

If its the rear chain, you'll need to pull the engine--a big job. The upside to pulling the engine is you can do a lot of overhaul easier with the engine out. You could even replace the head gaskets, though they are not known commonly to fail on these engines. (I would only recommend if you had some coolant loss; ever overheated the engine; or were concerned that a prior owner may have overheated the engine. Or if you like the truck and want to have a machine shop overhaul the heads for better compression, longer life expectancy.)

I recommend Cloyes timing kits (OEM). They have a good video on replacing the cassettes and re-timing the engine. Its tricky. You need a special $200 tool (OTC), though some brave souls have chosen to do the job w/o the tool

Depending on how far you go and how many other parts you decide to replace along the way (radiator? harmonic balancer? water pump? thermostat/housing? sensors? plugs? wires? belts? pulleys? Head bolts? Gaskets (yes)? Starter? Etc., etc.) will likely cost $500 (bare bones) to $1,500 in parts.

Hope this helps.
 












I'm thinking that my best option is get a junk yard engine then. Do you think a 100k engine will do?
 












I don't get why you'd buy a junk yard engine. To avoid changing out the timing chains on yours? That's a false economy:
  • you have to pull the engine and re-instal an engine whether you swap it or overhaul the timing chains on yours;
  • junk yard engine much worse option b/c you will be doing all that work/expense to put in an engine with most likely over 100k on the original timing chains (could fail at any time);
  • with your engine out and on an engine stand, its a doable job (though tricky; but lots of resources here to help) to replace timing chains;
  • the bottom ends of these Cologne 4.0 SOHC are bullet proof. I looked at one with 179K miles on it and it looked pristine;
Do a compression check, and if you have good compression, pull that engine, replace the timing chains, and put 'er back in. You're good to go for another 150k!

Take $200 of the $1k you'd have paid for a junk yard engine and buy the OTC timing tool, then sell it for $175 on ebay after the job is over.
 






Can anyone explain why switching to synthetic blend oil made my chain rattle go away completely after hearing it for the last 130,000 miles? Noise started around 60,000 miles, now I'm at 192,000 and just used a synthetic blend oil for the first time and noise is gone.
 






doesn't the time chain rattle start because of bad or failing chain tensioners, There are 2 tensioners and can be replaced easily.
 






Doug, yours may have been valve train noise, not the dreaded startup rattle. As for the tensioners, you can change them, but the plastic guides degrade after being doused with hot oil for 10 years. They have a tendency to shatter under the increased force of replacement tensioners.
 






Doug, yours may have been valve train noise, not the dreaded startup rattle. As for the tensioners, you can change them, but the plastic guides degrade after being doused with hot oil for 10 years. They have a tendency to shatter under the increased force of replacement tensioners.
That makes more sense, but reading these forums the past several years it almost certainly seemed like the timing chain noise, a quick rattle at start up, and always a rattle around 1800-2300 rpms under a load, sounded just like spark knock. I'll check for fragments in the pan just in case but I'm happy it's quiet now.
 






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