MDmounty
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- Joined
- May 28, 2014
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- 120
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- City, State
- Preston, MD
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2000 Mounty V8
To begin, this is the camshaft synchronizer or cmp replacement for a 302 V8 engine. I will be referencing everything based on my 2000 Mercury mounty but everything will be the same for explorers. I haven't found a great thread/post/video anywhere that explains exactly how to do this replacement so I figured I would make one myself after having been through it and seen what and what not to do. It is not as hard as everyone makes it seem you just need to have some patience.
Tools you'll need:
11/16 socket and breaker bar
7mm socket
6 or 5.5 mm socket
1/2 inch socket
Spark plug socket (5/8 I think)
Camshaft synchronizer alignment tool
paint marker (optional)
Large flathead screwdriver (optional)
To begin, you'll want to put the truck in neutral and set the parking brake or chock it so you can turn the crankshaft pulley a bit easier.
2) remove the #1 spark plug (it's on the passenger side closest to the front) if you pull back the splash rubber you can shine a light right in the hole to see it along with sticking your finger in it
3) remove the distributors; I just unplugged the jack that clips on the side and unbolted them and set them on my engine so I didn't have to worry about putting the spark plug wires back on. This is where you'll use the 7mm socket if your bolts are stock.
4) look under your distributors and you will see the cmp with the sensor on top (it's a black circle in the middle of the engine with a plug on it) the sensor has 6mm bolts on it (I used my 5.5mm socket and it fit a bit more snug than the 6mm did) loosen those up and pop the sensor off the top of the Synch.
5) use your 1/2 inch socket to loosen up the retaining bolt for the synch. The retaining bolt is in the front right corner of the Synch as you are looking at it from the front of the engine. What I did here was just pop the old one out and I hit the opening there with a shop vac so no dirt would fall in while I'm getting the #1 cylinder at tdc
6) at this point the Synch is out. What you want to do now is crawl underneath and pop that 11/16 socket in the center of that driveshaft pulley (the big one on the bottom center of the engine) the Haynes manual said that you should only rotate it clockwise since that's the direction the engine turns it anyways. I rotated the pulley and looked at the numbers on the inside (side closest to the engine) I rotated that pulley until I saw the 0 degree mark and I marked it with my paint marker and to make sure it was perfectly lined up, I used my large flathead screwdriver to ensure the line was straight and in the proper spot. If you look at the driveshaft pulley from up top from the passenger side, you will see a tab sticking out (looks like an exacto razor like a triangle) where the point is on that tab is where you want to line up that 0 degree mark. Make sure the #1 cylinder is compressing (you can tell by holding your hand over it and feeling for air or if you're like me shine a light in there and look you can see the black piston at the top when it is compressing) and have the 0 degree mark lined up on that tab for true tdc. If you do not get the #1 cylinder at true tdc you will pop a P1309 code.
7) now that everything is lined up, grab the new Synchronizer and the alignment tool and line it up and drop it in. You want to make the arrow of the tool (if it has one) face the 6 o'clock position as closely as you can (the manual says it should be aligned with the center of the engine). It took me a few times of dropping it in and pulling it out and making very minor adjustments to the driveshaft pulley to get it to be perfectly in line with the center of the engine. This is where you'll need patience as this part took the longest for me.
8) now that you've got your synchronizer lined up and dropped in its time to put everything back together. Just put everything back on in the opposite it came off. Synchronizer retaining bolt/bracket first, sensor second, distributors third. Don't forget your #1 cylinder spark plug and don't forget to take the breaker bar and socket off the pulley (or don't if you want to see them fly across the garage lol)
Now you're all done! I started my engine with no problem and it sounded great without the obnoxious squeak of that old synchronizer. Drove it around a bit and no problems, it's almost like having a new truck lol
This was my first how to write up. I hope I helped somebody like me that needed to know exactly what to do or look for. If I missed anything or a step is wrong can somebody let me know so I can fix it. Thank you guys and I hope this helps someone
Tools you'll need:
11/16 socket and breaker bar
7mm socket
6 or 5.5 mm socket
1/2 inch socket
Spark plug socket (5/8 I think)
Camshaft synchronizer alignment tool
paint marker (optional)
Large flathead screwdriver (optional)
To begin, you'll want to put the truck in neutral and set the parking brake or chock it so you can turn the crankshaft pulley a bit easier.
2) remove the #1 spark plug (it's on the passenger side closest to the front) if you pull back the splash rubber you can shine a light right in the hole to see it along with sticking your finger in it
3) remove the distributors; I just unplugged the jack that clips on the side and unbolted them and set them on my engine so I didn't have to worry about putting the spark plug wires back on. This is where you'll use the 7mm socket if your bolts are stock.
4) look under your distributors and you will see the cmp with the sensor on top (it's a black circle in the middle of the engine with a plug on it) the sensor has 6mm bolts on it (I used my 5.5mm socket and it fit a bit more snug than the 6mm did) loosen those up and pop the sensor off the top of the Synch.
5) use your 1/2 inch socket to loosen up the retaining bolt for the synch. The retaining bolt is in the front right corner of the Synch as you are looking at it from the front of the engine. What I did here was just pop the old one out and I hit the opening there with a shop vac so no dirt would fall in while I'm getting the #1 cylinder at tdc
6) at this point the Synch is out. What you want to do now is crawl underneath and pop that 11/16 socket in the center of that driveshaft pulley (the big one on the bottom center of the engine) the Haynes manual said that you should only rotate it clockwise since that's the direction the engine turns it anyways. I rotated the pulley and looked at the numbers on the inside (side closest to the engine) I rotated that pulley until I saw the 0 degree mark and I marked it with my paint marker and to make sure it was perfectly lined up, I used my large flathead screwdriver to ensure the line was straight and in the proper spot. If you look at the driveshaft pulley from up top from the passenger side, you will see a tab sticking out (looks like an exacto razor like a triangle) where the point is on that tab is where you want to line up that 0 degree mark. Make sure the #1 cylinder is compressing (you can tell by holding your hand over it and feeling for air or if you're like me shine a light in there and look you can see the black piston at the top when it is compressing) and have the 0 degree mark lined up on that tab for true tdc. If you do not get the #1 cylinder at true tdc you will pop a P1309 code.
7) now that everything is lined up, grab the new Synchronizer and the alignment tool and line it up and drop it in. You want to make the arrow of the tool (if it has one) face the 6 o'clock position as closely as you can (the manual says it should be aligned with the center of the engine). It took me a few times of dropping it in and pulling it out and making very minor adjustments to the driveshaft pulley to get it to be perfectly in line with the center of the engine. This is where you'll need patience as this part took the longest for me.
8) now that you've got your synchronizer lined up and dropped in its time to put everything back together. Just put everything back on in the opposite it came off. Synchronizer retaining bolt/bracket first, sensor second, distributors third. Don't forget your #1 cylinder spark plug and don't forget to take the breaker bar and socket off the pulley (or don't if you want to see them fly across the garage lol)
Now you're all done! I started my engine with no problem and it sounded great without the obnoxious squeak of that old synchronizer. Drove it around a bit and no problems, it's almost like having a new truck lol
This was my first how to write up. I hope I helped somebody like me that needed to know exactly what to do or look for. If I missed anything or a step is wrong can somebody let me know so I can fix it. Thank you guys and I hope this helps someone
