Lash Adjuster noise

[Juice]

Concern: where did all that metal go?
You may want to cut the oil filter open, and pull a couple of the cam bearing caps to check cam bearing surfaces..

 

[2wheelz]

Concern: where did all that metal go?
You may want to cut the oil filter open, and pull a couple of the cam bearing caps to check cam bearing surfaces..

Yeah definitely concerned about it. Has me stressing if the motor is going to be toast.

 

[StockishS197]

Yeah definitely concerned about it. Has me stressing if the motor is going to be toast.

Pulling the effected cam is really straightforward/easy and would show any bearing wear quickly. I would recommend pulling it as you have to anyways at this point.

 

[JC SSP]

Search YouTube. There is a video of the cam being removed without any tools just slowly releasing the cam bearings caps little by little in a criss cross pattern.

 

[2wheelz]

Search YouTube. There is a video of the cam being removed without any tools just slowly releasing the cam bearings caps little by little in a criss cross pattern.

Yeah my plan is so swap with comp cams or the ford hot rod. So I’ve watched and am familiar with the process. My question I guess would be, if the cam has bearing damage does that mean a whole rebuild? Or if the oil is metal free I’m in the clear but just replace the cams and followed phasers etc..

 

[Midlife Crises]

In a perfect world, the metal from the roller and cam will end up in the oil pan where it will get picked up by the oil pump and sent directly to the oil filter. The only problem with this is the metal particles can damage the gears in the oil pump. Trash in the oil should never make it past the filter to bother any of the bearings provided you are running the correct filter.
I agree the cam should come out. Carefully loosen all the cap bolts a few turns at a time until all pressure is relieved and remove the caps. Mark the caps for position and orientation before you remove them because they are finish machined in place and are not interchangeable. I am not a fan of the wedge tool for binding the chain. It is much better to remove the front cover where timing can be assured, all the gears and guides and tensioners are accessible and the proper tool can be used to hold the phaser in place while doing the torque and turn sequence on the phaser bolt.

 

[GriffX]

Put some neodym magnets at the oil pan? My motorcycle has a magnetic oil drain plug and there is always some magnetic sludge on it.

I am not a fan of the wedge tool for binding the chain. It is much better to remove the front cover where timing can be assured, all the gears and guides and tensioners are accessible and the proper tool can be used to hold the phaser in place while doing the torque and turn sequence on the phaser bolt.

But than you have to reset the tensioners?

 

[cavero]

I'd it just me or are we seeing more Cam followers fail lately? Maybe I'm just more aware of it since I went through this last year ..

When you change your oil, I wonder how much glitter you're going to see. Your cam looks as bad as mine was, but you caught yours a heck of a lot earlier.

Another thing you can do is send the oil off to a lab (I used Blackstone) to get an oil analysis done. If there's any wear in the bottom end, they can usually see elevated levels of certain metals in the oil. With mine they saw elevated levels of iron, which was from the cam.

Since you drove it less, I think it'd be worth replacing the cams, do an oil change (maybe do a 2nd change after a few hundred miles to flush out more shavings) and then monitor things for a while to see if you're alright. I ended up doing the rebuild and with prices these days, it cost me over 5 figures (did a forged setup to prep for a blower but still).

Another option would be a remanufactured engine like Jasper, don't know how much those go for though.

 

[JC SSP]

Oil analysis will definitely tell you the condition of the engine.

 

[Dino Dino Bambino]

Search YouTube. There is a video of the cam being removed without any tools just slowly releasing the cam bearings caps little by little in a criss cross pattern.

That's exactly the correct way to do it. Just loosen the cam cap bolts one turn at a time beginning with the middle one and moving outwards in a spiral pattern.
@2wheelz replacing the damaged cam with another OEM cam would save you at least $800 as opposed to replacing both with aftermarket units plus a new tune.
You'll nevertheless need to replace all of the cam followers/lash adjusters, a complete camshaft drive kit, oil pump, and valve stem oil seals. For the latter I'd recommend the following PQY valve spring compressor.

Engine Valve Spring Compressor Tool For Ford Mustang GT 4.6L 5.4L 3V

Fit 4.6L and 5.4L 3 Valve engines: 2005-2010 Ford Mustang GT. 2008-2009 Mustang Bullitt. 2006-2010 Ford Explorer. 2007-2010 Explorer Sport Trac. 2004-2010 ford F-series. Vehicle compatibility charts are for REFERENCE ONLY. Check your vehicle with OEM below to match your needs.

pqyperformance.com

If you're concerned about the state of the rod/main bearings, you could pull one rod cap and one main cap to inspect the lower shells while you have the oil pan off to replace the oil pump/pick up tube.

 

[GriffX]

You'll nevertheless need to replace all of the cam followers/lash adjusters, a complete camshaft drive kit, oil pump, and valve stem oil seals.

FordTechMakuloco does not do this, i think this is overkill. I would put a magnet at the oil pan.

 

[Dino Dino Bambino]

FordTechMakuloco does not do this, i think this is overkill. I would put a magnet at the oil pan.

It depends. On an engine that's already done at least 150k miles (240k km) this work is essential.
If his engine's done less than 100k miles @2wheelz could merely replace all of the cam followers/lash adjusters, the damaged cam, and use a new bolt to reattach the passenger side phaser.

However I'd definitely also replace the oil pump 'cause the gears are likely to have been scored by the metallic particles that went through it. To do that, the timing cover has to come off so it would be daft not to replace the timing components while you're there. Do it once and do it right.

 

[2wheelz]

Right in the middle at 125k haha, I just really was hoping for a way to verify this fixed the cause of the tick I heard. The timing, oil pump, etc is definitely something I want to do. Guess I’ll just have to roll the dice and hope this all will fix it and I won’t have any other surprises.

 

[Midlife Crises]

Right in the middle at 125k haha, I just really was hoping for a way to verify this fixed the cause of the tick I heard. The timing, oil pump, etc is definitely something I want to do. Guess I’ll just have to roll the dice and hope this all will fix it and I won’t have any other surprises.

I am certain the destroyed roller was making noise. You can see where the follower was making contact with the cam. If you have any others in there that look like that or you can rattle sideways by hand they will make some noise also. You have enough miles on the engine that a complete cam drive replacement is good insurance. The Ford Performance kit includes phasers, phaser bolts, drive chains, crank gear, tensioners, chain guides and the dowels for the tensioner arms. You have already found the Follower/ Lash Adjuster kit. Dino Dino Bambino referenced a very useful spring compressor tool that will allow you to replace the valve stem seals and springs if your cam choice demands it. There is also a tool that bolts to the front of the block (with the cover off) that prevents the phaser from turning while torquing the bolt. You have to drop the pan to replace the oil pump but you can install a hi volume pump as a great upgrade. A very good upgrade if you plan to keep the VCT active by the way.
I know this sounds like shotgunning the parts book but when finished you will have a valvetrain as good as a 3 valve can be.