P0012 and related code.

[Sw33etace]

Hi,

Well I have a 2005 GT 4.6 3v. Over this winter I did a lot of work to the car that has been neglected over it's years.

New stage 1clutch pressure plate and related parts.

New stainless clutch line

New exhaust. With off road on cat h pipe. With pryes axle back.

Main seal. Pan gasket from time cover seal and gasket.

New time chain, tensioners, guides. (Found plastic parts and pan and got lucky)

Well after all the work and countless hours and months later I get P0012 and another code that says system lean. System lean due to no cat and not tuned yet.

My big issue is the p0012 I know it's retarded timing on bank one. My questions are how far can it be out before I blow the motor? It starts fine just a lopy idle ran fine revs fine.

Second question how do I fix it. My phasers had no mark just two l on them and two LL one them. When I did the new chain I let the cams roll over really easy one way or the other till it stopped then when I was ready to reinstall I used a breaker bar and turn it back till I got the mark to where it was when I took it apart.( I did not rotate only a simple left or right)

The issue I'm worried about is the chain had so much play in it when I took it apart that it worn out the old chain and left groves in the timing cover where the chain slapped around so I'm sure I have the timing off because I don't think it was right. Any help will be nice. What way do I turn the cam to advance it? What's the odds I did more damage then just a took off?


P.s. no tapping or knocking at this time she is the most silent 4.6 I've heard. Minus lope and exhaust.

 

[702GT]

As long as you've timed the motor properly, the phasers will handle the rest. If you're not sure you've timed the motor properly, I don't recommend continuing to run it, and certainly don't go WOT on the dyno. Take it apart, and do it again. There are plenty of 4.6 timing how-to videos and threads on the internet and here. Nothing special about 3v timing. Set TDC, line up the chain marks. The arrow line on the phasers indicate your chain mark to hit.

I would be more worried about what caused the old timing components to wear out so badly in the first place. Ford chains take some serious brutality to stretch. The guides usually go 150k/mi easy before they start looking "eh, maybe another 40-50k." Tensioners can have issues, but usually they're a go/no go item, either they're working right or failure, no middle ground. When you had the valve covers off, did you inspect your cam caps/journals for wear? This can affect timing components, even cause catastrophic failure.

Unless you're rolling on factory timing components pushing 250k/mi, or had a tensioner take a dump, I'd be concerned with timing chains hitting the cover and how the hell that happened in the first place.

 

[46addict]

P0012 could be a bad connection from the PCM to the cam phaser solenoid. So I would check that first and also make sure the solenoid itself isn't bad.

You should not be getting a lean code from not having cats. You could get a P0420 or P0430 or a related cat efficiency code but not a lean code. Since you recently had exhaust work done, I would make sure the midpipe to manifold connection is tight and there are no leaks there. For instance, if you reused the original manifold gasket it could cause sealing issues. If that all checks out, I would look for vacuum leaks next.

 

[Sw33etace]

Yes after I did see the guide in the oil pan I went over the motor with a fine tooth comb. I looked cams over springs everything short from a compression test. When I bought the car it had a tick the harsh 4.6 5.4 tick. And the motor ran strong but lagged upper end power. Ran so strong it was easy to break it loose.

Well anyway. With the issues I had the phasers are not adjusting the time no more. So how many teeth could I be and what way do I turn.

 

[gray06gt]

I would just recheck the timing. The phasers should have a l and r on them

 

[RocketcarX]

I would just recheck the timing. The phasers should have a l and r on them

Both phasers have an L and an R on them, they are the same part number.

 

[Sw33etace]

My phasers had no mark just two l on them and two LL one the

Mine have no R just that. How can I return advance my timing on bank one. Or check time based off no marks but the l and the L

 

[RocketcarX]

Spin the engine over until the black link falls on the timing marks. It may take 100ish rotations.

 

[Sw33etace]

It's all new parts the new chain is not colored. And I never thought about it when I put it together

 

[RocketcarX]

It's all new parts the new chain is not colored. And I never thought about it when I put it together

The new chain HAS to have timing mark links, how else could you time it without cam/crank locking tools?

 

[Sw33etace]

I slipped the chains off slipped new ones on. Looked the chains over and they had no marks. I rotated the cams a little either way I had to to make it go straight up.. I even looked the old chains over tons of time and found nothing on them.

When I picked up my new chains the guy at the part store and I looked and his only words was good luck.

I thought all was well till this happen. I'm just happy it's only a tooth or 2 and it's not a motor.

 

[RocketcarX]

How can you "slip the chains off" when you have to remove them both before you can replace either one?
You can't simultaneously have done it right and be out of time. You should have transferred marks by laying the chain next to the old one and copying it if the new chains did not have marks.

 

[Sw33etace]

The chain that was on the car had no marks. The chain I bought had no marks. I do not believe anything that was on this car was the OEM parts. They are OEM number cams. When I went looking the car over for other plastic parts on the car after thing broke the one tensioner was a different color then the other.

I did take chains off I used slip as a figure of speech.

I am trying to get a video upload but the files to large. It shows everything at TDC. It's the same video I used to put it together.

 

[702GT]

I ordered the FRPP timing set when I changed out mine. There are 2 links in each chain that are a different color than the rest of the chain. If there are no marks indicating timing alignment, I would question the legitimacy of the chains. Anything FoMoCo/FRPP will be marked, and anything sold aftermarket must meet or exceed OE specifications. Timing alignment indicators is part of that specification. You can't just eyeball a timing chain, period. I don't care if you count the links. They must have alignment marks, or there is no way to confirm proper timing. If it's off even 1 tooth, it's way the hell off.

 

[Sw33etace]

The timing set was a dorman set from advance Auto parts. I have a account there. The kit include chain guide tensioner.

I'll triple check the chain when I take it apart again but I'm pretty sure I'm right. However say I did over look this. And I have the chain wrong. The link will be wrong. So how would I go about fixing the cams in relation to fire rather then link mark. In other words where should the mark on the cam be pointing on tdc???

 

[702GT]

The timing set was a dorman set from advance Auto parts. I have a account there. The kit include chain guide tensioner.

I'll triple check the chain when I take it apart again but I'm pretty sure I'm right. However say I did over look this. And I have the chain wrong. The link will be wrong. So how would I go about fixing the cams in relation to fire rather then link mark. In other words where should the mark on the cam be pointing on tdc???

That's the issue. Putting the engine TDC will allow you to bring the timing marks from the crank to the cam marks. Without chains that identify which links align timing, it's impossible to prove timing. If you're asking approximately what the motor should look like visually in timing alignment, if the engine is TDC, the left bank D/S should be somewhere around 1 o'clock and the right bank P/S at 11 o'clock respectively. This is very approximate. All kinds of degrees of play there. I don't even like speculating on a visual account.

 

[Sw33etace]

Thank you it's a start. I will go and assume that my driver side must be spot on since it kicked no code. I'll adjust the passenger side a little at a time. I assume I turn the cam clock wise to advance it?

I understand a visual idea of how it should look is far out there however I timed it based off how it was before replaced the bad parts so it was out before and I redid it out.

Thanks I'll get digging and repost my out come.

Please verify if possible the rotation of them cam so I can start to advance it?

 

[702GT]

Thank you it's a start. I will go and assume that my driver side must be spot on since it kicked no code. I'll adjust the passenger side a little at a time. I assume I turn the cam clock wise to advance it?

I understand a visual idea of how it should look is far out there however I timed it based off how it was before replaced the bad parts so it was out before and I redid it out.

Thanks I'll get digging and repost my out come.

Please verify if possible the rotation of them cam so I can start to advance it?

I refuse. I'll have no part in murdering a good motor. There's no "looks about right" in timing the motor. It's either right because the engine is TDC and all the timing indicators are aligned with timing marks or it's not. An unknown is a "it's not right 'til it's right." You can't (shouldn't) just adjust timing a tooth at a time til you find the right spot. Make it right, or don't bother. I could give a damn if someone wants to put a cardboard tube to their intake manifold and call it cold air. But if you're going to time an engine a tooth at a time, you're on the wrong forum. Can't help ya.