Any Mechanics? I have a question on replacing the cam phaser on the 04 F150

[jonp]

I took the valve cover off, etc....I marked one of the rollers with a mark on the edge then marked the chain with a mark on the arrow printed into the cam phaser to line everything up. When I removed the phaser I kept tension on the chain and started to put the new one on but I think the chain moved a little so the mark on the new phaser and the one on the link in the chain are now not matched up.

My question, on the back of the phaser is a pin that seats into a keyway on the shaft and this means the phaser will only go on one way. If I rotate the phaser one chain link at a time until it seats with the other marks on the cam lobe lining up I should be ok? It doesn't matter what the mark on the chain is because the chain can go on any way much like a bicycle chain on a sprocket as long as the phaser lines up correctly and slides on ? I hope?

[jonp]

Well, never mind. I noticed something else when I took off the valve cover. I replaced the phaser but noticed quite a bit of slack in the chain. Seems one of the chain guides is gone. Looks like a timing chain job. I knew better than buy a *** f150. Should have bought another Tundra

[BD]

Look close at your oil and the inside of the timing cover. '04 trident motors the timing chain gets loose and it can start taking the fins off the inside of the cover and spreading them through the motor. My daughter lost hers that way. Lose the phaser at highway speeds and the chain can get loose and spread bits of the cover through the motor before you can get pulled off the road.

[SeabeeMan]

I've seen what BD described as well. clean it up the timing cover with your choice of solvent and look for anything shiny. Also check the edges of the plates on the timing chain for excess wear. If you lost a chain tensioner/guide, you're going to want to keep an eye on things. Might not hurt to drop the oil pan and get any pieces of metal out of there. I'm 99% sure there is a magnet in there so make sure that gets cleaned as well.

[Houndog]

I AM NOT a Ford mechanic but a friend of mine that is said someone is making a kit to do away with the cam phasers and reports he had heard said they work well. I don't know anything beyond that, but it might be worth checking out. My 05 5 cylinder Colorado also has cam phasers and I keep holding my breath that it stays together. It has 157,000 on the odometer and so far so good.

[osteodoc08]

I AM NOT a Ford mechanic but a friend of mine that is said someone is making a kit to do away with the cam phasers and reports he had heard said they work well. I don't know anything beyond that, but it might be worth checking out. My 05 5 cylinder Colorado also has cam phasers and I keep holding my breath that it stays together. It has 157,000 on the odometer and so far so good.

Better hope the cylinder heads stay together too, especially if the 3.5L I5 motor.

why they just didn't make the 4.2L I6 fit, IDK.

[jonp]

I'm not doing the timing chains. I don't have a shop or garage so I'd have to do it in the driveway and it looks like a little more than I care to take on. I bought the truck used last year. Not a good call on my part, I guess. It has 150k with the 5.4 Triton motor. I should have known better.

[shoot-n-lead]

I have done the full timing set...chains, guides, tensioners and gears...on one in my driveway, it is a pretty good job, but it can be done. It is more time consuming, than difficult...took about 8hrs, from start to finish. Now, that was 8hrs of just steady, methodical work...no rushing to complete. However, I do have air tools, that you may or may not have, that really helped with all of the bolts. Now, this is just me, but I would do it again as it is by no means, a nightmare...and I am not a professional mechanic...just a halfway shade tree.

If you decide to do it...just be careful that the timing marks are aligned on both cam gears and the crank...and when you get it timed and before reassembly...turn the crank a couple of revolutions with a wrench and make sure that it is timed correctly...in other words, make sure that a valve and a piston do contact each other. It is really no problem to get it timed and to do this.

The engine that I worked on had been run with bad chains and tensioners for a while...so there was a good bit of damage to the chain guides...meaning there had to be metal in the oil. I changed the oil and you can buy the magnet band that goes around the oil filter and it does a great job of collecting metal from the oil. Truck ran fine afterwards.

[MtGun44]

Be careful to set that phaser on "stun" before you touch it.




Bill