Ford Timing Chain Tensioner Cutaway

[Olds67]

2000 Explorer XLT 2WD 4.0L SOHC, JOB 1, VIN E, 5-Speed Automatic O/D 5R55E, Manufactured 09/99.

@donalds - Do you mind if I ask you about the timing chain tensioners? Specifically, 7U3Z-6K254-A (Right) and 7U3Z-6K254-B (Left). I'd like to understand if I... should... or shouldn't... replace mine.

Assume the following:

• I don't have the ability to drop the oil pan nor remove the valve covers. Thus, I cannot perform diagnostics that require the removal of these parts.
• My engine (4.0L SOHC) has 145,000 miles on it. In the past, sometimes it's had good care vis a vis oil changes... sometimes not.
• My engine rattles on startup. However, I cannot discern/describe what type of rattle it is.

Given the assumptions above, I don't know which parts of the "timing chain system" are, or aren't, broken/stuck/stiff/etc. Based on this, should I replace the 2 timing chain tensioners?

Please advise. Many thanks!

If you can’t/ dont want to inspect the chains/guides:
More important than the tensioners on a high mileage sohc if you can’t/ don’t wanna put in money or work (@donalds @CDW6212R would you agree?)
Oil change
Always use wot when cold
Limit rpm to 2500 when cold
Limit rpm to ~3000in general whenever possible
Limit high speed (80-90milesperhourmax)
Always accelerate smoothly
No kick downs!!! (If you’re overtaking, don’t accelerate until it kicks down, but let off completely shortly, accelerate smoothly and the trans will shift down ONE gear automatically instead of the lowest possible making the chains bounce around and making your tranny go boom)
Have fun!

I drove down to Spain 2000 miles in 2 days last week with a broken in half rear guide and it’s all good just go easy on it.

 

[Flashflood]

If you dont wanna inspect the chains/guides

what your gut tells you, is right 4-5 is about the times my dash reacts and the engine starts so smoothly afterwards.
Man i remember when i bought the car and didn’t know about wot. It felt like an exploder for real.

Lol right especially on cold days oh that sucked. Until I figured out about wot my tensioner are just sitting in a box waiting.

 

[donalds]

Repair your guide then use manual tensioners or a oil accumulator.... Preoiler
Then change oil often
Here's a video I made on my u tube

 

[Easypoints23]

Repair your guide then use manual tensioners or a oil accumulator.... Preoiler
Then change oil often
Here's a video I made on my u tube

What is WOT? And what is a pre oiler? I have never heard of either of those.

I am not mechanic and don't think I have the skills to check and or replace the guides but if dropping the oil pan and pulling the valve covers will help me diagnose my 04 SOHC rattle I can do that.

Can I upload a sound or video clip of the rattle on here? Maybe you guys can help me discern whether the truck is worth keeping? Its constant when running. I have a few post on the don't buy 3rd gen 4.0 thread and I was pretty sure it was done for. But if I can salvage the old girl just by building up oil pressure before I start her I'd definitely look into that.

One thing I will note is the oil is consistently black. Seems like even right after a change. 3k miles or less its pretty dirty. I switched to synthetic blend on my first oil change after buying but it was leaking fast. So while my brother was driving it I had him switch it back to conventional and that's about when the rattle started. I think I know where the leak is but I wasn't sure it was worth money to fix.

I have plenty of space and time so if I can do the work myself I'm not against it. But I am far from a pro.

Also I noticed you said not to use K&N filters. Can I ask why? That is my go to when Motorcraft is out of stock. I saw some comparison vids on YouTube and they seem as good of quality as anything else.

Let me know if any of you guys have time to check a video clip. I can grab one easy. If not all good too. Definitely love this forum. Great info. Way more helpful than the honda tech forum. I feel like I'm the only posting there. You guys definitely rock. Thanks in advance.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

What is WOT? And what is a pre oiler? I have never heard of either of those.

I am not mechanic and don't think I have the skills to check and or replace the guides but if dropping the oil pan and pulling the valve covers will help me diagnose my 04 SOHC rattle I can do that.

Can I upload a sound or video clip of the rattle on here? Maybe you guys can help me discern whether the truck is worth keeping? Its constant when running. I have a few post on the don't buy 3rd gen 4.0 thread and I was pretty sure it was done for. But if I can salvage the old girl just by building up oil pressure before I start her I'd definitely look into that.

One thing I will note is the oil is consistently black. Seems like even right after a change. 3k miles or less its pretty dirty. I switched to synthetic blend on my first oil change after buying but it was leaking fast. So while my brother was driving it I had him switch it back to conventional and that's about when the rattle started. I think I know where the leak is but I wasn't sure it was worth money to fix.

I have plenty of space and time so if I can do the work myself I'm not against it. But I am far from a pro.

Also I noticed you said not to use K&N filters. Can I ask why? That is my go to when Motorcraft is out of stock. I saw some comparison vids on YouTube and they seem as good of quality as anything else.

Let me know if any of you guys have time to check a video clip. I can grab one easy. If not all good too. Definitely love this forum. Great info. Way more helpful than the honda tech forum. I feel like I'm the only posting there. You guys definitely rock. Thanks in advance.

WOT= Wide Open Throttle

Preoilers basically build oil pressure prior to startup to decrese the amount of time it takes for oil to reach critical places afaik
side note: i used to have a constant timing rattle, and afaik the WOT cranking trick only works for startup rattle though, not a consistent one (someone correct me if im wrong)

idk for sure, but usually what people dislike about K&N is the oiling, and how that can deposit an oil film on the MAF, and other downstream components...

hope some of this helps!

 

[CDW6212R]

The K&N filters don't clean the air very well at all. Their fabric media doesn't catch a lot of the dirt, whereas typical paper filter types clean the air much better. I stopped using the K&N due to the oil being so dirty, I tried those very early on when they came out.

I had my 99 SOHC with an Amsoil air filter and their high end oil for a long time. The oil was transparent at 9,000 miles, which I'm sure was due to the better air filter and the engine being in very good condition. I then discovered the oil about three weeks later, to be pitch black one day. That surprised me and I was puzzled for a minute. Then I unscrewed the air cleaner cover off, to look at the air filter. Unfortunately it was just laying in the bottom, so the engine was ingesting unfiltered air for a time. That filled the oil with material, thus black. I changed the oil then and kept the Amsoil air filter in it, with the clamp tighter to stop it from coming off again.

So use top quality oil and air filters, the SOHC 4.0 needs the best care possible.

 

[donalds]

Couldn't have put it better myself

 

[Easypoints23]

@CDW6212R
@Fix4Dirt

Thanks guys. WOT makes total sense. I never would have thought that.

I haven't opened the air cleaner box since 2 days after I bought it. The heater control valve blew on me and I stopped at a read light and was followed by a cloud of smoke. Had to take the air intake pipe off to find the problem. The filter did look new then but I am not sure what brand.

And we were talking about K&N oil filters correct? I don't think I've ever used their air filters but I like the little nut welded on for easy removal if they are stuck. That's why I use them if I cannot find Motorcraft. For my Lincoln also. I may have to rethink that.

Mine does rattle all the time at idle. And at 2000 rpm when driving. I have to weld the frame on my honda and an exhaust leak when my buddy gives me my welder back and then the explorer is going in. I know I'm looking for plastic in the oil pan. Those are from the plastic guides correct? What am I looking for under the valve covers? I was going to pull those anyway. The lifters and things were done before I bought it so the buddy that is helping me suggested we check those too for something broken or loose.

 

[Easypoints23]

Couldn't have put it better myself

Great videos btw. I watched the tensioner one and the pre oiler one. Thanks for taking the time. I didn't know they made such a thing as a pre oiler. I have noticed I few times on start my X would read L oil pressure and give me the message center notification. I thought it was the gauge cluster. It beeped at me for 6 months about my charging system but always put out the correct voltage so it took a while to figure out. New alternator and a zip tie cured that. And the gas gauge is useless so I figured the cluster was just going bad.

 

[Easypoints23]

First vehicle I've had in my life that wasn't ever sure how much gas it had in it. My favorite was 0 miles DTE and 1/4 on the gauge for one trip. Then 75 miles DTE and E on the gauge on the return trip. If you don't know neither do I lol but if you run out I'm leaving you wherever you stop!!

 

[Fix4Dirt]

@CDW6212R
@Fix4Dirt

Thanks guys. WOT makes total sense. I never would have thought that.

I haven't opened the air cleaner box since 2 days after I bought it. The heater control valve blew on me and I stopped at a read light and was followed by a cloud of smoke. Had to take the air intake pipe off to find the problem. The filter did look new then but I am not sure what brand.

And we were talking about K&N oil filters correct? I don't think I've ever used their air filters but I like the little nut welded on for easy removal if they are stuck. That's why I use them if I cannot find Motorcraft. For my Lincoln also. I may have to rethink that.

Mine does rattle all the time at idle. And at 2000 rpm when driving. I have to weld the frame on my honda and an exhaust leak when my buddy gives me my welder back and then the explorer is going in. I know I'm looking for plastic in the oil pan. Those are from the plastic guides correct? What am I looking for under the valve covers? I was going to pull those anyway. The lifters and things were done before I bought it so the buddy that is helping me suggested we check those too for something broken or loose.

ohhhh! I thought you were talking about air filters! i know nothing about their oil filters... whoops, then disregard what I said about k&n! and yes the oil pan plastic would be from one of the guides, and in the valve covers look for damage to the guides/chain that goes up there

heres a link that may be helpful

How to: - SOHC V6 Timing Chain Inspection & Repair

Background The SOHC V6 timing chain related components can fail as early as 45,000 miles and as late as 250,000 miles depending on component improvements incorporated in the year of manufacture, vehicle maintenance, driving habits, and just luck. Various years and models of Explorers...

www.explorerforum.com

 

[chris8428]

In the past week my explorer has started making the chain rattle noise on cold starts for around one second. In reading up on the problem I came across this thread. In the next few weeks I would like to change out the external chain tensioners as from my reading this could be the issue. Right now I have no other chain rattle noise, and subsequent "warm" starts are normal.

My question is how long can you use the wide open throttle trick? At a certain point will the engine suffer other damage?

 

[donalds]

Replace the rear passenger tensioner now while their is still time ..maybe

 

[CDW6212R]

The WOT before starting shouldn't hurt anything, the low rpm cranking is better for it than having it running with little oil pressure.

 

[allmyEXes]

Someone with extra time on their hands could make a thread with EVERYTHING 4.0 SOHC related and make it a 'sticky' so that anyone looking for 4.0 SOHC information could easily find it. When I repaired mine, I had to do a lot of digging and question asking too. When new people come here and ask questions I don't know where to tell them to look other than dig around. Thanks to all of you, many of you that helped me with my white 1997 (GW) 4.0 SOHC.

 

[chris8428]

The WOT before starting shouldn't hurt anything, the low rpm cranking is better for it than having it running with little oil pressure.

Thank you. I ask as with my schedule it might be two weeks before I can get to it. I will use the WOT on the first start of the day as that is when I hear the rattle.

 

[chris8428]

Someone with extra time on their hands could make a thread with EVERYTHING 4.0 SOHC related and make it a 'sticky' so that anyone looking for 4.0 SOHC information could easily find it. When I repaired mine, I had to do a lot of digging and question asking too. When new people come here and ask questions I don't know where to tell them to look other than dig around. Thanks to all of you, many of you that helped me with my white 1997 (GW) 4.0 SOHC.

Yes, I agree as I have found six or so threads with useful or relevant information on this issue. And thank you to everyone for the advice in this forum. I will post when I have completed the repair, which might be several weeks, to let everyone know if the passenger side tensioner solved my issue. And as donalds said "maybe" I will have caught it in time.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Thank you. I ask as with my schedule it might be two weeks before I can get to it. I will use the WOT on the first start of the day as that is when I hear the rattle.

one thing: i'd try it first on a warm motor to make sure there isnt enough play in the cable so you dont rev it cold in case the injectors happen to fire...

 

[donalds]

14-16 POLARIS RZR 1000 XP & S - NEW MANUAL CHAIN TENSIONER & GASKET timing cam | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 14-16 POLARIS RZR 1000 XP & S - NEW MANUAL CHAIN TENSIONER & GASKET timing cam at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

My install steps for manual timing tensioners
Use this tensioner at your own risk
Its not a fix all



1...Disassemble the tensioner and put a bit of oil in t so the o ring can move around when you adjust
>>>>>Only turn the engine clockwise <<<<<
2...Set engine to top dead center before installing !!!!!
3...Adjust the tensioner most all the way loose ...or in
4...Then install it into the head
5...Tighten the tensioner adjuster 10mm with your fingers !!!!!!
6...Use your hand and a 10mm socket to turn in the adjustment screw with 2 fingers till it stops
........Do not use a ratchet !!.......<<<<<<<<<<
7...Now have someone turn the engine by hand using the crank bolt clockwise till you feel the adjusting screw get looser
Then adjust again ...with your fingers ...!!!!

8...Now disconnect the crank sensor
9...Have someone crank the engine with the starter
While you keep trying to screw in the adjustment in by hand with 2 fingers
It will screw in a little at a time

>>>>>>>never put much force turning that adjustment screw like almost no force required<<<
We are just removing the slack that's it!!!!!

10...Now the last part
start it and adjust you will feel the pulse of the valve springs
Again use just a 10 mm socket and your to fingers
Once you feel the pulse ing stop your there shut down the engine

11...Last step
Back off your 10 mm adjustment 1/4 turn
Lock it down
done
>>>>>>>>>Do this one Tensioner at a time !!!!!!<<<<<<<

14-16 POLARIS RZR 1000 XP & S - NEW MANUAL CHAIN TENSIONER & GASKET timing cam | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 14-16 POLARIS RZR 1000 XP & S - NEW MANUAL CHAIN TENSIONER & GASKET timing cam at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[chris8428]

Hi All,

So I installed the two external tensioners this weekend. Cold start up rattle is significantly improved, although it can still be heard for a split second. The rattle at 2100 to 2300 RPM is quieter but is still present. And it did take about 15 miles of driving to quiet down. Just a couple of observations to add to the "knowledge base" in this thread. The old tensioners had no crush washers from the factory. I am not saying they should have, it just surprised me.

Also after I started using the WOT starts the car threw a fuel rail sensor code. With the new tensioners and no WOT starts the code has gone away. I do not know for sure they were related but the code only came up after the WOT starts and went away after several driving cycles with no WOT.

In this or a related thread someone pointed out the car might go 10 miles or it might go 50 thousand before the internal chain and guides totally fail. At this point other than the engine the Explorer is in very good condition (and I really like it) so I will start saving up for the expense of having the engine pulled and the internals replaced. Which bring me to wanting the opinion of the group. Should I look at the expense of having a remanufactured engine installed? My initial plan before this issue was to turn the Explorer into a second car in about two years and that is what I would still like to do. With the cost of used cars right now I think my best bet is to have the Explorer repaired but I want to make sure I know my options and what each will cost.