Cams and timing

New favorite tool! Crank bolt is now loose!

Cams look excellent! Metallurgy and lubrication have truly reset expectations for engine longevity.

JC SSP said:

First excellent break down. I and others appreciate that you are supplying such important information. This should be a sticky or pinned for future reference.

Did you remove the radiator? Autozone should rent you the puller. Hose clamp pliers are from HF?

On the valve covers, YES I had to epoxy and tap them several years ago. I plan on putting new ones on when I do the timing set.

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Happy to help someone down the road with the actual process. Not everyone has the same experience and capabilities, so seeing what someone else has done might make things easier for the person with less experience...or none.
One of the worst ways to start a 'How To" is 'All Ya Gotta Do Is...." Almost everytime I hear that its a very experienced person trying to describe how to do something while completely forgetting how much they do without even thinking about it. It's all that stuff the other person will not be thinking about because they don't know.
The other is "Your Model/Version/Etc Will Be Similar"....yeah. Except for this and except for that.

Having said all that, this is not really a comprehensive "How To". But it is an actual effort on an actual 3v S197.

I have a digital copy of the FSM. Even it will gloss over things by saying "Remove (this or that)". I did motor mounts on my Safari van awhile back. There are three bolts holding them on to the top side of the subframe. The manual says to remove them. Okay, fine. It even shows you the holes on the bottom of the subframe to access two of them. What it doesn't tell you is that while you can see them, the top side of the subframe is at a different angle than the bottom and, even if it was, its still not a straight shot to them. So that's two different angles you're dealing with. The third bolt?....a long extension with a swivel socket. The long extension is because the access requires you to run the extension thru the front coil spring. Even then you can't turn it. That you do with a rachet on top.
Best part of that is my motor mounts were shot. So they sagged and blocked getting the wrench on the bolt!
"Remove..."
(Diatribe over...)

Harmonic balancer pulling....

Standard small three jaw puller is a no go. Maybe if the engine is out of the car where you see everything.

This one worked fairly well. It better for $95. Packaging says its for Ford 5.0 Coyote amongst GM/Chrysler stuff. And 'Misc other three spoke pulleys'.
Anyway, it does work on the 4.6 3v in the Mustang. I have a feeling it may get returned, though....

MrBhp said:

Cams look excellent! Metallurgy and lubrication have truly reset expectations for engine longevity.

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Good to hear! I have only used the Motorcraft 5w-20 Blend and the 820S filter with changes at about 3k. Pretty sure that's what the previous said he did, too.

After this I may change to a full synthetic. And maybe go to 5w-30.

I agree with your other comment. With one big caveat....carbs. I think the switch to fuel injection was the first major leap in longevity. That change alone has extended the life of motors tremendously. No longer are people driving around on worn out, out of sdjustment, leaky carbs dumping fuel into the motor. First it washes the oil off the rings and pistons. Then it begins to dilute the oil causing further wear everywhere else. But, hey, if you drive an Olds 98 with a 4v 455, you'd never notice the loss of power, so you think everything is fine...until its done at 100k and smoking like a steam engine (over-exaggerated, but some of us are old enough to remember when a light turning green looked like a rolling coal drag race....and if you're behind them, you and your progeny get the benefit of breathing it all in).

I have been genuinely surprised with how well this car has been for me for its second 120k. So far, I have not replaced anything on the motor due to a failure. Everything has been preventative and/or low mileage oem replacements. And that stuff started just a couple years ago around 200k with the cooling sytem.

But I don't beat on it, either.

Yes I cant get over how clean the inside of your engine is Samos, mine was similar at 105K. Its a sign its been regularly serviced throughout its life.

Kev555 said:

Yes I cant get over how clean the inside of your engine is Samos, mine was similar at 105K. Its a sign its been regularly serviced throughout its life.

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The vast majority of the miles, even with the previous owner, are highway miles. Very little stop and go.

Timing cover off. Pretty clean, no signs of chain wear.



Chain guides not broken as far as I can tell. Passenger side chain is tight, drivers has some slack. Drivers side tensioner is compressed/retracted, failed internally? Passengers is not and doesn't want to compress easily, I guess it hasn't bled down? They do have an internal spring, right? Maybe the drivers side has failed.

You replacing the dampener seal on that front cover and oil pan too?

Front cover will be all new. The new one from Ford comes with the serpentine belt tensioner and idlers, but no front crank seal.
Oil pan is not getting changed. I do have a new replacement, but that will happen only if I replace the oil pickup tube at some point.

Interesting turn of events...turned the crank so the Woodruff key is at 12 o'clock. Removed three rockers on passenger side. Started on the exhaust rocker on #8 on the drivers side. Yes, that one is a royal pain in the @$$. Even more so when the cam lobe is still in the way. Double checked Makuloco's video and the manual. According to the manual the intake lobes on #5 (drivers side front cylinder) should be pointed outward and nearly parallel to the valve cover surface. See my pic of my lobes:



Keyway on crank is at 12 o'clock:



Turned crank backwards to get #5 intake lobes where the manual says they should be:


And here is the crank keyway:



Still a pain, but got the #8 exhaust rocker out in 5 minutes. Then removed the #5 intake rockers.

Car ran fine, no indications of being out of time. Maybe a phaser issue?

Tensioners off. No blown sealer. Compressing plunger by hand feels the same on both.

Phasers look good, chain guides are good, no signs of impending catastrophe. Well, maybe one crack, but nothing missing.

Oil pump.....hmmm. Makuloco's video doesn't show removing it. I think I know why. It would result in a soundtrack unfit for women and children.

Remember, I'm not replacing the pan or the tube. If you are this will not be a problem. If you aren't, you may want to rethink that.

The pump is relatively easy. The pickup tube to pump bolts are the issue. There are two 8mm bolts with captive washers.
Access to one is okay-ish. The other is further in and done without being able to see what you are doing. The bolt head is pretty much level with the oil pan gasket flange. Not a straight shot and the tube flange is tilted at an angle. Can't get your head down there or up from the bottom to see it. Maybe a mirror. Start with the hard one. If you give up, then you save time.
Stuff paper towels or rags in under the pump and tube so if a bolt drops its right there. Keep a magnet handy. Its a good idea to spray some brake cleaner on it all to get the oil off it, otherwise everything, including your fingers will be too slick. Using an 8mm combination wrench about 4"-5" long, box end first, then you can switch to the open end unscrew the bolt until its loose enough to get your fingers on it to turn it. I had to use one finger on each hand. Couldn't do it one handed. One finger was turning the bolt and the other was putting pressure on the washer. The captive washer spins freely and will fool you onto thinking the bolt is turning.

It took a while.

The Prophet of Doom says that is the easy part. Putting that bolt back in is not going to be fun. The Smart Part Of My Brain says that with the pump out of the way, to insert the bolt into the tube flange just enough that the threads don't stick out much and use a rubberband/zip tie/string/something easy to remove that won't become lots of little pieces) around the bolt and the tube to hold it in place while you fit the oil pump (which also takes a little leveraging and finagling). That way at least the bolt is in position and you won't have to fight getting it back in with one finger. Tomorrow, we shall see what I come up with....


(A side note from The Smart Part Of My Brain...invent magnetic handwrenches that will hold a nut or bolt to get them started...).

EDIT: Smart Part here...never-ending, there is already a patent for it. But no results for an actual tool. Just magnetic ratcheting wrenches....but those won't fit).

@Samos3 About your oil, I advise going with either full synthetic or conventional. Blend is snake oil. Don't waste your money. Spend the extra money for full synthetic. Just about all synthetics are so close in properties that there is virtually no difference in engine wear, whether you use Amsoil, Mobil1, or even Walmart. When I worked for Mobiloil I was part of a study some years ago that tested six or seven of the top synthetic oils. Amsoil, Royal Purple, Mobil1, Penn, and the rest.... can't remember. Except that we threw in the Walmart oil just for kicks. It did not finish last. But they were all so close, that I started using whatever is cheapest. While additives will vary amongst different brands, the final results are basically indistinguishable from one another.

MrBhp said:

@Samos3 About your oil, I advise going with either full synthetic or conventional. Blend is snake oil. Don't waste your money. Spend the extra money for full synthetic. Just about all synthetics are so close in properties that there is virtually no difference in engine wear, whether you use Amsoil, Mobil1, or even Walmart. When I worked for Mobiloil I was part of a study some years ago that tested six or seven of the top synthetic oils. Amsoil, Royal Purple, Mobil1, Penn, and the rest.... can't remember. Except that we threw in the Walmart oil just for kicks. It did not finish last. But they were all so close, that I started using whatever is cheapest. While additives will vary amongst different brands, the final results are basically indistinguishable from one another.

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Just get a quality 5w30 synthetic and change every 4k with an FL820S and you will be right as rain.

I have run Mobil 1, Pennzoil UP, now Valvoline R&P. All have kept the underside of my valve covers like new, no varnish. PUP tended to burn a bit more oil? Valvoline R&P really seems to have slowed down the oil burning surprisingly

GlassTop09 said:

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Apparently, a lot more room in the F150.
I think I do have the flexhead ratcheting wrench...but he didn't show actually getting the bolt in.
We shall see...

Thanks for posting the video. I figured there would be something out there, but hadn't looked yet.

Samos3 said:

Passenger side chain is tight, drivers has some slack.

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That is or can be normal when you have removed the chain or the camshaft. Turn the crankshaft twice and it should go away (and you probably hear a click from the tensioner). If not, you have a problem with bad tensioner or worn chain.

GriffX said:

That is or can be normal when you have removed the chain or the camshaft. Turn the crankshaft twice and it should go away (and you probably hear a click from the tensioner). If not, you have a problem with bad tensioner or worn chain.

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Yep, it did take the slack out.

EDIT: I hadn't removed anything yet. But looking thru the FSM, they have the keyway more like 10-11 o'clock, 12 o'clock. So maybe its all fine, just a discrepancy between the FSM and Makuloco. Which makes sense with the crank holding tool. Which I have but haven't used.

Progress!
Swapped springs in oil pump. It is now a 60PSI high volume pump. And it's in. And the pickup tube is bolted on. Put the easy bolt in an mostly screwdriver in with a straight ratcheting wrench. Found my set of flexhead Gearwrenches. Guess which one wasn't there....
So, I used a magnetic pickup tool to hold the difficult bolt to angle it into place8. The benefit to that is the pickup tube is steel, so the magnet sticks to that, as well, and holds the bolt in the hole while you figure out how to get your two pointer fingers (not to be confused with The Pointer Sisters, they are of no help with this) in there to start turning the bolt to engage the threads. Obviously this is all easier with the flexhead gear wrench, but it can be done...in about half an hour for that one bolt. It is about an inch long, maybe a little more. So it sticks down pretty far and makes this an incremental process.
Pics:

Ah man, I'M SO EXCITED!

MrBhp said:

Ah man, I'M SO EXCITED!

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Apparently, you can't hide it...