Cams and timing

[Samos3]

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.

 

[Samos3]

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?

 

[Samos3]

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

 

[Samos3]

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

 

[Samos3]

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).

 

[MrBhp]

@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.

 

[GlassTop09]

Oil pump.....hmmm. Makuloco's video doesn't show removing it.

 

[StockishS197]

@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.

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

 

[Samos3]

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.

 

[GriffX]

Passenger side chain is tight, drivers has some slack.

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.

 

[Samos3]

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.

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.

 

[Samos3]

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:

 

[MrBhp]

Ah man, I'M SO EXCITED!

 

[Samos3]

Ah man, I'M SO EXCITED!

Apparently, you can't hide it...

 

[Samos3]

Ah man, I'M SO EXCITED!

Just a reminder, I know Springsteen wrote it, the Sisters covered it....

 

[Samos3]

Drivers side cam and caps:

 

[JC SSP]

Great pics and write up. I owe you a cold beer.

 

[Samos3]

Great pics and write up. I owe you a cold beer.

Thanks! So far, so good...
Actually, I don't drink! But you could send one MrBHPs way, he's probably watching Pointer Sisters videos on YouTube right now and could use one!

 

[Samos3]

Passenger side cam and caps.

 

[Samos3]

Pulled all the rockers and adjusters. All of them felt fine.
Debating on trying to put rockers in before cams or after. I put them in on the drivers side and when I sat the cam in place it was high and didn't sit all the way down in the cam towers.
I pumped up the adjusters in oil before installing them, so that may be the difference. According to some sources, pumping them up prevents it all from being loose when the engine gets cranked and have a rocker jump around or out. Makes sense to me.
When you pump them up they get rock hard. The piston doesn't move at all....unless you very slowly push it in. Then goes all the way down. That is the adjuster function in operation.