Ford explorer 2002 4.6 v8 timing chain problem

[Majin1084]

So basically had chain slap for a week or so. Was told that it was a timing chain guide or tensioner that was most likely the cause of the problem. Was told that it was cost around 1400.00 or so to repair. Well I didn't have that kind of cash, so I decided I would take it upon myself to try and give it a fix. Anyways I didn't have another car to get to work, I work about 10 mins from my house. On the drive to work the other day my car engine just lost power and shut off, and it felt like the chain popped off the sprocket. Well after ripping the engine apart it was what I thought, the passenger side chain popped off.

The driver side seems to be fine and also seems to have the sprocket aligned were it seems suppose to be. But the passenger side obviously wasn't it seems to be at 2ish o'clock. The crankshaft seems to be off as well. I'll post a better picture of everything, when I get home.

I also wonder how could I tell if this could've caused further damage to my valve or/and piston?

If no further damage was caused (keeping fingers crossed) how could I realign everything correctly. I've read there are special tools to hold the cams in positions, but the videos I see have done it with both chains intact, to realign eveyrhing together then start to replace the piece.So I'm wondering what steps I would need to take to make sure I realign everything without causing more damage.

Any help would greatly appreciated.

 

[Majin1084]

 

[apenland01]

That is what my chain tensioners looked after I had mine done 2 weeks ago. The passenger side has worn through the tensioner and the drivers side as well. The guide on the driver side is also metal-metal, so the entire chain kit will need to be replaced. That's a lot of shavings, so hopefully that filter has caught most of it. You might want to drop the oil pan to see what else might in the bottom of the pan.

I didn't do the job myself, so I can't give you advice on doing the job, but those parts are nearly identical to what I saw when I got my old parts back.

 

[Majin1084]

After you had it fix though, the car was running well again?

 

[boominXplorer]

Does the passenger side cam move at all? I have seen them lock up and end up with busted valves when they loose oil pressure. The passenger side is the first one to go as it gets oil last. The drivers side head is always cleaner inside the valve cover.

 

[Majin1084]

No they move.

 

[Joe in NY]

I hope you are lucky! When a chain snaps, falls off, etc... The valves stop moving while the pistons continue to do so...

Great pics!

 

[apenland01]

Mine didn't fail, but yes, mine runs great after I got it fixed. The shop used a Cloyes full timing chain kit with sprockets, chains, tensioners and guides. See my pics on the second page of this post, it shows my timing tensioners, which look like yours, but not quite as bad. Passenger side timing chain noise is why I took mine to the shop.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=441114

Good luck with yours!

 

[Majin1084]

I'm hoping nothing more happened then the damage I see. I have the parts to replace all the timing pieces, I'm just waiting on the special cam holder. To start working on it .

 

[Lindsley]

So how's the truck running? I'm debating on fixing mine or junking it

 

[Lindsley]

I'm hoping nothing more happened then the damage I see. I have the parts to replace all the timing pieces, I'm just waiting on the special cam holder. To start working on it .

So how's it running

 

[Majin1084]

So how's it running

After further inspection found out the engine lost compression. If the chain broke while the car was on, just junk it.

 

[boominXplorer]

Unless you dropped a valve then the engine is still fixable. It might be a little involved for even a novice mechanic but its doable. I have saved about 10 different 4.6 and 5.4 engines with broken chains. I have had 3 with dropped valves and I was able to fix all but 1 because it had cylinder wall damage. You can swap out a rod/piston with the block still in the truck. If the valves are just bent just get the head rebuilt or source a good used head (still take to a machine shop). 05+ heads have 9 thread plug holes and are better. You can mix match as all PI 2v head cores are the same. Unless the piston is cracked you don't have to replace the piston if it only has a small indent in it from the valve. It will be just fine.

 

[Lindsley]

Unless you dropped a valve then the engine is still fixable. It might be a little involved for even a novice mechanic but its doable. I have saved about 10 different 4.6 and 5.4 engines with broken chains. I have had 3 with dropped valves and I was able to fix all but 1 because it had cylinder wall damage. You can swap out a rod/piston with the block still in the truck. If the valves are just bent just get the head rebuilt or source a good used head (still take to a machine shop). 05+ heads have 9 thread plug holes and are better. You can mix match as all PI 2v head cores are the same. Unless the piston is cracked you don't have to replace the piston if it only has a small indent in it from the valve. It will be just fine.

Today the mechanic confirmed it threw a rod and it's cheaper to buy a refurbished motor

 

[boominXplorer]

Oh yeah in that case it's done. Good luck finding a cheap replacement