2005 Explorer V6 4.0 Timing Chain Question

[atlbravesfn3]

Hello all,

My ‘05 Explorer with 180,000 miles on it is my first car and has been a great one so far. I recently graduated from college and don’t have a ton of money to throw around.

I have been hearing the “Explorer death rattle” from the rear passenger side portion of the engine for about a year and my mechanic says it’s coming from the rear timing chain. The rattle is primarily present on cold start and usually decreases/ disappears substantially after a couple minutes.

I have been doing as much research as possible on this issue but I thought I’d reach out and see how you guys think I should proceed from here.

Knowing that the oil has been changed regularly since it was purchased with full synthetic would it make sense to go ahead and try to change the rear Timing chain tensioners? Or would that be a bad idea with the potential to make matters worse as I’ve read has happened in some cases?

Or would it be better to just let it run until the cassettes fail and be glad I got close to 200,000 miles out of it?

Any other ways I can mitigate the chances of the timing chain failing? Such as different oil types/ weights, startup procedures or any other tricks you guys may have?

I literally just finished replacing the starter, all 4 strut assemblies, bushings and end links myself so I would hate to assume the car could fail at any time.

I really appreciate any advice you can give!

Nic

 

[atlbravesfn3]

Forgot to mention it is the 2 wheel drive variant.

Also, my primary goal here is to find the most economical choice that still leaves me with a reliable engine for the near future.

 

[shane10]

Hello all,

My ‘05 Explorer with 180,000 miles on it is my first car and has been a great one so far. I recently graduated from college and don’t have a ton of money to throw around.

I have been hearing the “Explorer death rattle” from the rear passenger side portion of the engine for about a year and my mechanic says it’s coming from the rear timing chain. The rattle is primarily present on cold start and usually decreases/ disappears substantially after a couple minutes.

I have been doing as much research as possible on this issue but I thought I’d reach out and see how you guys think I should proceed from here.

Knowing that the oil has been changed regularly since it was purchased with full synthetic would it make sense to go ahead and try to change the rear Timing chain tensioners? Or would that be a bad idea with the potential to make matters worse as I’ve read has happened in some cases?

Or would it be better to just let it run until the cassettes fail and be glad I got close to 200,000 miles out of it?

Any other ways I can mitigate the chances of the timing chain failing? Such as different oil types/ weights, startup procedures or any other tricks you guys may have?

I literally just finished replacing the starter, all 4 strut assemblies, bushings and end links myself so I would hate to assume the car could fail at any time.

I really appreciate any advice you can give!

Nic

Welcome to the forum. I am having the same issue as you, rear guide is completely shot, I have just confirmed the problem but I assume it has been an issue for many months. Same symptoms, 1-2 second rattle on cold start, smooths out and runs fine after that. With 216K on the truck I am constantly second guessing what I should do at this point, but in my case I'm pretty certain I will be pulling the engine and redoing all timing components within the next few weeks here, which is the only true fix to the issue.
Since the rattle started, I have been using a trick another forum member posted. With ignition in off position, put the gas pedal all the way to the floor, with gas floored crank the ignition for 3-4 seconds, release foot off gas wait a couple seconds and then start it up. This has completely eliminated the rattle on cold start for me. Only needs to be done if the car has been sitting for a couple hours or more. Cannot comment on if this procedure will lengthen the time until complete failure.
I had changed both external chain tensioners at first sign of a rattle, the rear was completely seized, and changing them had no effect positive or negative on the rattle. Although as others have suggested the extra tension on already worn/broken guides may only make things worse, so this probably isn't a great idea.
I would love to know as well how much time left there is on a 4.0 with broken guides, some members have gone months/years with rattle and no catastrophic failure, but it really is a ticking time bomb imo, only time will tell.
Hopefully someone more experienced in this matter (ahem 2000streetrod) can chime in with more specific info.
My 02 is my first and only car as well, have put 180k of my own miles on her and has been great the whole time, which is why I will attempt to fix it myself. If my only option was to pay a mechanic to do the job for me, or to put a reman engine in, I would probably just wait until she bites the dust and scrap it
Good luck!