4.0 SOHC Timing Issue

[JackOfAllTrades77]

2005 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 with the 4.0 SOHC engine.
Had a timing chain guide fail so I took my truck to a family friend to have all of the chains and guides replaced. He has the chains, sprockets, and guides replaced but has had an accident before he could finish. The truck is now in my garage and I need to finish it. The last time I spoke with him, he said it needed to be timed correctly and everything put back together. I've done older model Fords, Chevys, and Dodges, but nothing like this.
I've read several posts on here and I've been able to get my hands on a timing tool kit. The crank has the keyway at 12 o'clock. If I put the crank holder on the damper and slide it onto the crank, it goes on as I've seen on other posts with the tailpiece fitting under the block. Does this mean, without a doubt, that the #1 piston is at TDC?
If at TDC, I'm looking at the camshafts and neither is correct based on what I've read so far. The slot on the driver's side cam is almost straight up and down and the slot on the passenger side is diagonal but does not line up with the head. How do I use the timing kit to put the cams back in time? Heck, how do I turn the cams to make them fit the timing tool guide?
I apologize for the long post, but I'm lost on this engine and I need to get it back together quickly.

 

[Rick]

I haven't worked on the SOHC myself so I am bumping this in the hopes that someone who has experience with them can help you.

 

[Samgraybeard]

I haven't worked on the SOHC myself so I am bumping this in the hopes that someone who has experience with them can help you.

The sprockets attached to the camshafs are floating, they are only locked and held in position by the mounting bolt, so with the crank shaft woodruff key in the twelve o’clock position the motor should be at number one top dead centre, you can test this by placing a screw driver in the passenger side frount cylinder, through the spark plug hole, the piston should be at the top of the bore to be timed correctly, the camshafts have a flat spot near the sprocket they should be parallel to the top of the head, don’t forget to check the balancer it has a a timing positioning hole, the two marked on the sprocket line up between this hole. note the passenger side cam sprocket bolt is a left hand thread. You should look up the you tube site on 4L V6 timing chain installation there is a wealth of knowledge there.

I haven't worked on the SOHC myself so I am bumping this in the hopes that someone who has experience with them can help you.

 

[JackOfAllTrades77]

Thanks for the reply. Did some digging and finally found what I was looking for. I was worried I could be half a round out (or worse) and I did not need any catastrophic damage. Thanks to some YouTube videos and that timing toolset, I was able to get everything in time correctly and I'm happy to say that my truck is up and running again.

 

[Samgraybeard]

The sprockets attached to the camshafs are floating, they are only locked and held in position by the mounting bolt, so with the crank shaft woodruff key in the twelve o’clock position the motor should be at number one top dead centre, you can test this by placing a screw driver in the passenger side frount cylinder, through the spark plug hole, the piston should be at the top of the bore to be timed correctly, the camshafts have a flat spot near the sprocket they should be parallel to the top of the head, don’t forget to check the balancer it has a a timing positioning hole, the two marked on the sprocket line up between this hole. note the passenger side cam sprocket bolt is a left hand thread. You should look up the you tube site on 4L V6 timing chain installation there is a wealth of knowledge there.

These motors are getting a bad rap, if you change the oil and timing chain tensioners at regular intervals you should get 200k+ out of them. I’ve just striped one down that had exploded the timing chain cassettes because of poor maintenance, it had six bent inlet valves, a bent cam, the cassettes had disintegrated, and broken tensioner, these tensioners have a small check valve fitted in side them to hold oil pressure, they are tiny with pin hole ports, if contaminants enter the ports it will jame them open allowing them to bleed back, any one that has worked on high pressure water pressure washer pumps will be familiar with this type of check valve. While the motor was out, I honed the cylinder bores and installed a new set of piston rings, conrod bearings, inlet valves and a timing chain kit.

 

[donalds]

I made this a while back

 

[donalds]

https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnkaHoqfNwiEpgKhA_jyGEFGHj19Ozmbu

How to time your engine

 

[JackOfAllTrades77]

These motors are getting a bad rap, if you change the oil and timing chain tensioners at regular intervals you should get 200k+ out of them. I’ve just striped one down that had exploded the timing chain cassettes because of poor maintenance, it had six bent inlet valves, a bent cam, the cassettes had disintegrated, and broken tensioner, these tensioners have a small check valve fitted in side them to hold oil pressure, they are tiny with pin hole ports, if contaminants enter the ports it will jame them open allowing them to bleed back, any one that has worked on high pressure water pressure washer pumps will be familiar with this type of check valve. While the motor was out, I honed the cylinder bores and installed a new set of piston rings, conrod bearings, inlet valves and a timing chain kit.

I don't understand why they get a bad rap other than being differently designed from the other Ford engines. Good horsepower and they go forever with proper maintenance. I got this one with 215K on it and at 219K is when the timing chain guides let go. When I opened the engine up, I could tell that no one maintained it properly just by the amount of sludge. It's all cleaned out and cleaned up now and my 17-year-old has it back on the road again. I know it wasn't properly maintained by the previous owner (trust me, I have found some sketchy things on this truck) but based on what little wear I could see, I would bet this will be a 300K+ engine easy. I would buy another one, especially now that I've got some practice and knowledge working on it.

 

[Samgraybeard]

I made this a while back

I made this a while back

Thanks for the heads up, it shows what contaminants do to plastic and synthetic rubber parts in the motor, it’s a good reason to use synthetic oil