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Performance Upgrades - Maintenance - Modifications - Problem Solving - Off-Road - Street Trucks. Covering the Explorer, ST, Sport, Lincoln Aviator, Sport Trac, Mercury Mountaineer, Mazda Navajo, Ford Ranger, Mazda Pickups, and the Aerostar. Featuring H.I. - Human Intelligence.
2007 ford explorer limited with 4.6 3v. Between 800-1000 rpm im getting a chatter knock. Rough idle poor mpg been averaging 9 mpg. No cel light. Been told its cam phasers. Ive seen 5.4 have a big problem with phasers. Whats the chance of cam phaser, cam followers, lash adjusters failing. How many people have had this problem.
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Only seen it on a 5.4 myself. the problem was maintenance wasn't kept up, the valve covers were full of sludge. We started with the solenoids, as we got an oem set cheap but it was too late. Buddy still has the truck sitting in another buddies shop waiting for it to warm up so we can pull the front end apart.
Last year I had a horrible knocking and all kind of noises coming from my 4.6. At that time it had around 200k miles. Based on diagnosis from 2 shops I bought a used motor with 55k miles and swapped it. The same noise was still there on the new motor. Thinking my cam phasers were bad on the new one, I rebuilt the whole timing with OEM parts: phasers, tensioners, chains,...That did not help. In the end my tourqe convertor was locked and never disengaged when I would stop or slow down.
Anyway, I opened the front cover and valve covers on my old motor and everything looked good after those 200k miles. I change oil every 3-5 k. I heard about the phasers going bad but if you maintain the engine with oil changes, in my case they were just fine.
I have 120k on my truck. transmission rebuilt and new torque converter replaced less then a year ago. Only had the truck 2 1/2 years. Going to check oil pressure next time i have it at the shop. If it is cam phasers has anyone with 4.6 installed lockouts and pros and cons of having them. Going to replace timing set and lockouts if thats the problem since i have no idea of amount of maintenance prior owners did.
Ive heard alot of stories about people replacing phasers and the noise comes back within a year. Ive used Napa synthetic and Napa platinum filter in every car ive had. Its getting horrible gas mileage still throwing no codes. What are some of the big things on this platform that can cause bad mpg. Plugs are a year old had to address misfire issues when i first bought it.
On 07 it requires taking the valve covers off, not sure what idiot at Ford changed the covers for 07. Mine is 06, I replaced them within 1/2 hour maybe. I installed a used engine from 07, wanted to swap the solenoids from the old one since they were new and could not get them out - WTF I am thinking. Went online and found out that the valve covers were changed. I took them off, and put the 06 covers on the 07 motor so in the future I can just pull the solenoids out.
Still trying to figure out the Ford's logic on that "improvement".
Wierd they would change design for no reason. Either way i was planning on changing phasers out just incase any damage has been caused. Not sure what they tested or how but how can you tell if the solenoid is bad?
Not sure, but if its the same as the F150, in Fords infinite wisdom, they ran the AC lines directly over the passenger side valve cover, and you need to vacuum the system before you disconnect. You can still get the solenoids out on an 07 without pulling the valve covers. you just need to "modify" a Allen key to reach the bolt that holds it in, and hope to hell it doesn't drop down in the head or you have to pull the valve cover anyway.
Tech -
The issue with 07 and up alve covers is that the opening for the solenoids is much smaller than in 04-06. You can't just pull them out, on 06 you can.
I used a long craftsman torx t-wrench. The screw will not drop in since it is retained in the side hole on the solenoid (at least on the OEM ones). I removed my covers without discharging the AC system.
So ive have my ex in a handful of shops the past week and 4 out of 5 shops said its normal and not to worry about it. So what should i do just deal with the noise. I already have the solenoids i can replace if that would even help any. They said to run lucus or some other additive also.
I have heard that the most common misdiagnosis is saying that the phasers need to be replaced when it is leaking exhaust manifolds. This is definitely a possibility since you have an 07 and the mileage that you have on the engine. May not be related to your issues, but when was the last time the spark plugs were changed?
Guy at work has a 5.4 with bad phasers sounds nothing like mine. What steps can I take to diagnose a bad manifold. Noise is coming from passenger side. The explorer is my wife's and I don't drive it much. Only notice it when it's fully warmed up. I'll try and take a video when I get a chance.
Guy at work has a 5.4 with bad phasers sounds nothing like mine. What steps can I take to diagnose a bad manifold. Noise is coming from passenger side. The explorer is my wife's and I don't drive it much. Only notice it when it's fully warmed up. I'll try and take a video when I get a chance.
