SOHC V6 Timing Chain Saga

[BestUsernameEver]

That is just for the plastic housing!

You can update to the newer 2002 and up housing complete for about $100.
I have the parts list if anybody is interested.

Did you see this one?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORD...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

hey cjmedina, i think you missed what the listing said... its a full ASSEMBLY to convert to clipon sensors... but yeah ur site is still cheaper, wish i knew earlier



This list is for a BRAND NEW OEM FORD/MOTORCRAFT Thermostat Housing Assembly. Yes, assembly means WHOLE THING!! Part Number RH144A.

It fits the following cars/trucks:

NOTE: THIS HOUSING WILL FIT EXPLORER 97-01 4.0L SOHC with SCREW TEMPERATURE SENSORS. I decide to make this assembly so you guys with Explorer 97-01 4.0l SOHC could upgrade your early screw temperature sensor thermostat housing to clip on temperature sensors thermostat housing.

KEY BENEFITS:

1. ALL PARTS ARE GENUINE FORD MOTORCRAFT PARTS.

2. YOU CAN REPLACE EACH PART INDIVIDUALLY. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BUY THE WHOLE ASSEMBLY IF ONE PART GET DAMAGE.

3. KIT INCLUDES EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO PUT YOUR TRUCK ON THE ROAD AGAIN.


This assembly include:


RH144 THERMOSTAT HOUSING



RG614 HOUSING GASKET

RH165 WATER OUTLET

RT1167 THERMOSTAT




DY1004 CLIP ON SENSOR

SW6146 CLIP ON SENSOR

W706800-S303 TEMP SENSOR CLIP (2)

W702837-S300 GASKET

 

[cjmedina]

Too Much Money!

 

[cjmedina]

http://cgi.ebay.ca/1997-TO-2001-FORD-EXPLORER-THERMOSTAT-HOUSING-RH144A_W0QQitemZ250631819837QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item3a5ad2123d

best deal ever! comes with sensors, thermostat AND the new housing with clipon sensors. original parts! shipped and receivied in less than week. no more loose brass thingies

TOO MUCH MONEY!

Go To Rockauto.com and get it much cheaper!

You can update to the newer 2002 and up housing complete for about $100.
I have the parts list if anybody is interested.

Did you see this one?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORD-...Q5fAccessories

 

[CDW6212R]

Yes, buy the later revised upper housing, and the sensors etc, to make it work. For $100 that would be a bargain if the set was for sale.

Don't buy the older pre-2002 version, I would not pay $10 for that whole thing. Mine is working fine now with 140k on it, but if it ever leaked I'd trash it. Any old version is not worth a dime to buy to install, the chance of it leaking now or very soon is high. Don't risk $20, spend the $100 to do it right. Regards,

 

[mikecmax]

I managed to get the A/C compressor disconnected and out of the way today without disconnecting any of the hoses. I secured the compressor with ropes. Then I accessed the bottom two bolts from the fender well and removed them with a socket and drive. There was not enough room to get a socket and drive on the upper two stud nuts so I removed them with a box wrench. Then I slid the compressor on the studs away from the mounting bracket a short distance as shown below.
View attachment 58179
Next I removed the four bolts attaching the compressor mounting bracket to the head. I pulled it forward enough to clear the water pump pulley as shown below.
View attachment 58180
Then I slid the compressor mounting bracket away from the compressor and removed it from the engine compartment as shown below.
View attachment 58181
There's a vacuum line that runs across the top of the water pump and under the compressor to the fuel vapor management valve located below and forward of the battery compartment. Disconnecting the vacuum line allows movement of the refrigerant line and the compressor away from the engine. The green arrow in the photo below identifies one of the motor mount nuts.
View attachment 58187
The red arrow identifies the disconnected vacuum line that the refrigerant line has now cleared and moved forward. The blue arrows identify a wiring loom that is attached to the bottom of the engine with a bracket. It must be unbolted from below.

 

[mikecmax]

saga

Since I had disconnected the wiring loom bracket in the vicinity of the left motor mount identified in the photo below I decided to unbolt the starter motor.
View attachment 58210
It did not take long to remove the two bolts but when I tried to extract the starter from the bell housing it wouldn't move far enough to clear the casting. The thick stiff wiring loom was keeping the starter in position. Further investigation revealed there was a plastic positioning bracket attached to the loom as identified with the red arrows in the photo below.
View attachment 58209
One side of the bracket "T" was wrapped with black tape around the loom and the other side was wrapped with white tape. The other end of the "T" appeared to be attached between the motor mount plate and the engine. From this it is obvious that my starter motor has never been removed before. I used an awl to puncture the tape between the loom and the plastic "T" being careful not to penetrate the loom. Once the two were separated the starter motor was easily extracted. I did not disconnect the loom from the starter solenoid.

I made a futile attempt to loosen one of the nuts that attaches the torque converter to the flexplate since I could feel it with my hand but not see it. The nut seemed to be too close to the ring gear for my 1/2 inch drive deep well sockets to fit. As soon I finish disconnecting the motor mounts and everything else topside I will raise the front of the vehicle so I can see better what I'm doing underneath. Does anyone know the size of the torque converter nuts and the best way to remove the four of them from the flexplate?

After the AC etc what else is on top before I jack the whole thing up to work on the underside?

 

[mikecmax]

I managed to get the A/C compressor disconnected and out of the way today without disconnecting any of the hoses. I secured the compressor with ropes. Then I accessed the bottom two bolts from the fender well and removed them with a socket and drive. There was not enough room to get a socket and drive on the upper two stud nuts so I removed them with a box wrench. Then I slid the compressor on the studs away from the mounting bracket a short distance as shown below.
View attachment 58179
Next I removed the four bolts attaching the compressor mounting bracket to the head. I pulled it forward enough to clear the water pump pulley as shown below.
View attachment 58180
Then I slid the compressor mounting bracket away from the compressor and removed it from the engine compartment as shown below.
View attachment 58181
There's a vacuum line that runs across the top of the water pump and under the compressor to the fuel vapor management valve located below and forward of the battery compartment. Disconnecting the vacuum line allows movement of the refrigerant line and the compressor away from the engine. The green arrow in the photo below identifies one of the motor mount nuts.
View attachment 58187
The red arrow identifies the disconnected vacuum line that the refrigerant line has now cleared and moved forward. The blue arrows identify a wiring loom that is attached to the bottom of the engine with a bracket. It must be unbolted from below.

I'm not sure if my previous question got posted but after the AC and vacuum line is there any more on top or can I jack the vehicle up to work underneath as I am finally pulling the motor.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Step by step procedure

I've been working on a step by step procedure to pull the engine before I forget what I did. I should have the thread posted in the morning.

Have you disconnected the alternator wiring loom from the front of the left head?

Did you disconnect the oil pressure switch?

How about the ground strap from the rear of the right head to the windshield wiper mount?

Don't forget the heater hoses either at the firewall or midway of the right valve cover.

 

[mikecmax]

What's next?

I've been working on a step by step procedure to pull the engine before I forget what I did. I should have the thread posted in the morning.

Have you disconnected the alternator wiring loom from the front of the left head?

Did you disconnect the oil pressure switch?

How about the ground strap from the rear of the right head to the windshield wiper mount?

Don't forget the heater hoses either at the firewall or midway of the right valve cover.[/QUOTE


Thanks for the reply. I will check all that in the morning. I didn't want to raise the vehicle before I had done all I could on top.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Wire loom routing

I positioned the upper intake manifold today and loosely screwed in the 8 torx screws. When I checked the electrical connections I found that the connector for the TPS would not reach. The wires were taught before but would just reach. I'll have to pull the manifold off again and reroute the wiring loom to get some slack. At least I didn't torque the manifold screws.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Engine runs & no chain rattle!

The photo below shows my reassembled engine after four months of investigating and repairing timing chain related failures.

The red arrows identify the T-Bolt clamps I installed instead of the previously used screw clamps. The T-Bolt clamps are superior but their adjustment range is limited. I could barely fit the 3 inch clamp onto the throttle body inlet.

This morning I used my newly installed remote crank control to turn the engine over several revolutions to circulate the oil. I decided not to try doing something with the Accumsump since I was anxious to see if the motor would start. Then I turned on the ignition and cranked the engine again with the push button under the hood. It took a couple of short cranks for the fuel to move down the fuel line, thru the fuel rail and into the injectors and then the engine started. The valve train was very noisy for about 5 seconds until the oil pressure built up but then there was a silence I have never heard before - no timing chain rattle!

Oil pressure is better than before possibly because of less sludge and no timing chain guide parts in the oil pickup screen. I ran the engine for about 20 minutes around 2,000 rpm to keep the oil pressure high with a few short bursts to 3,000 rpm. I detected no oil or water leaks.

Next step is to drain the oil and replace the remote oil filters that may be plugged with prelube.

 

[CDW6212R]

Congratulations Dale, that's a great feeling to hear it run, isn't it. Take it easy for a short while and check fluids often. Enjoy that new car feeling.

 

[BobWiersema]

Nice job Dale.

Big Cheer.

I wouldn't have hooked the EGR back up, but that's just me. I don't like carbon build up. To by pass plug the two tubes from the exhaust and put the vacuum line from the EGR valve on the Ref port of DP sensor. The ECU will think its working and not set any codes. Keeps the carbon out of everything.


Bob

 

[2000StreetRod]

Egr

. . . I wouldn't have hooked the EGR back up, but that's just me. I don't like carbon build up. To by pass plug the two tubes from the exhaust and put the vacuum line from the EGR valve on the Ref port of DP sensor. The ECU will think its working and not set any codes. Keeps the carbon out of everything.


Bob

I also dislike the carbon build up in the intake manifolds from the EGR but I like the fact exhaust valves last twice as long as they used to because of lower combustion temperatures.

I thank you, Don and all the others on the forum that helped me accomplish the timing chain repairs. I now have the knowledge and confidence to spend the money in the future to rebuild my engine.

 

[cjmedina]

Excellant!

Great Job Dale!

 

[Jakee]

Good job.

 

[McSlug]

party: good stuff mate. time for

 

[2000StreetRod]

First test drive

This morning I completed the underside installation of my Accusump. The pressure in the cylinder was still 40psi - the same that it was the last time I ran the engine almost a week ago. I still don't have the electrical switch hooked up so I energized the solenoid valve by touching the end of the wire to the hot tab in the cigarette lighter after switching the ignition on. I observed the oil pressure rise on my pod gauge so I started the engine. I continued energizing the solenoid for the 20 seconds it takes for the A/F meter to count down.

I noticed an intermittent "tick" on the left bank that sounded like a hydraulic lash adjuster. Other than that the engine was extremely quiet and smooth running. I suspect having the right bank running at the designed camshaft timing is responsible for the smooth running. I drove around the local area for about 10 minutes with a short burst to 5,000 rpm in first gear. After the high rev I noticed that the "tick" was no longer present. The engine seems strong at the low end and the high end. I ran errands for about an hour with 6 restarts using the cigarette lighter method each time. The engine starts so much quieter with oil pressure.

So far there are no obvious leaks but I haven't checked the rear main seal yet. I'll do a thorough engine leak check today or tomorrow. Then I'll permanently wire the Accusump solenoid to the ignition with a disable switch. For my engine rebuild I'll let the Accusump pressurize, disable it, and then bleed off the air pressure. After rebuild, I'll repressurize the Accusump with an air pump and then open the solenoid valve just prior to engine start. This engine should never again experience a "dry start" - including after an oil filter change or engine repair.

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

I know this thread hasn't been posted in a while, but was wondering how the rear seal ended up holding up? Any problems?

I'll more than likely be doing all of this, plus some engine work in school in the next few weeks.

 

[twford]

I've read through your thread and a few others about the timing chains in the SOHC 4.0. Im about to change the chains and tensioners in my 99 but my one question is ,because i havnt seen it stated before. Do the camshafts not have some sort of slot in them for the cam gear? so the gear could go on in different ways or does the gear only go on one way? thanks, tw