dreaded timing chain tensioner advice needed

[biggiesize]

Hey everybody.
I have a 99 sport with the "wonderful" 4.0 Sohc.The rear timing chain tensioner is doing the ticking thing.I had read on another post that you could change this without having to pull the engine.You can supposedly pull off the fender well.What they didnt say was whether or not the trans. had to be out to do this.Im assuming that the access for the timing chain is behind the bell housing whick means I will have to pull the trans.Anyone have a clue?Also I was wondering if Ford has upgraded the tensioner so that this problem wont happen again?I neve knew about all the problems with explorers until after I bought mine.I have had it a year now and have not had a single problem until this ticking started.I had an S-10 that I bought new in 99 and drove the fool out of that thing for 8 years before the cam bit the dust.I think after the X bids me farewell for the bone yard I will go back to chevy or import.Mainly because Ford knows about the trans and timing tensioner problem and wont do a dang thing about it.That chaps my hide!

 

[Cobraguy]

Ford did a lot about it. Somewhere along the line, your car must have missed out on it.

Let's see...you bought that chebby and drove it for 8 years before the cam failed. And by the way, GM had THOUSANDS of cam failures in the 80's and 90's and DIDN'T DO A DAMN THING other than normal warranty if you were lucky enough to have it fail by then. Oh yea...a lot of them had to have an entire new engine because of all the metal that went floating about. Anyway, your engine failed in 8 years on the GM, yet your Explorer lasted almost 10 before you got a noise???

Oh yea...now let's talk about GM and their piston slap that they say is NORMAL and WON'T DO A DAMN THING about. Don't get me started. You want to talk about chapped???