Yeah, the replacement was a one piece. It was that damn taper the went in the the head that froze.
How bad is the 5.4l 3v cam phaser issue?
- Thread starter mc01svt
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Think by installing a better oil pump early on can prevent some of the issues?
I thought the heads only had a few threads...and the plug threads would extend past the head threads. Carbon would build up on the bottom plug threads, making it very difficult to remove the plug without breaking it.
Pretty sure in 2005-6 they went to a head with more threads to prevent this?
Pretty sure in 2005-6 they went to a head with more threads to prevent this?
Terrible design flaw. On top of that i dont think ford even used antisize on the threads
The most likely cause of phaser issues on the 3v is from not using motorcraft oil filters and the recommended viscosity oil.
No, plenty of threads. The bottom of the plug had a taper the went into the bottom of the head. That’s what seized. Bottom of the head had no threads.
They didn’t. Had they, piece of cake IMO. 8 hours to change plugs for me. Most local shops want $650 plus to do them. I have friends who ask me to do theirs, nope.
Again, not the threads, the taper in the head.
Damn. Forgot that one too. God that truck was a hunk of shit. Cracked manifolds
Thats All I used.
Looks like money to me.
Line them up, plugs, phasers, exhaust manifolds, the occasional follower that shits the needle bearings and wrecks the cam. 5.4 3V were a big pile, hence the paycheck keeps Rollin in. Sure there were a handful that defied the norm, but I didn't get the practice I did by not working on them.
Bought my 06' F150 4 years ago with 76K miles, only issue so far is it's a little noisy until it warms up. It has about 134K on it now, gonna run it hopefully to 200K and then dump it.
I think it definitely couldn't hurt, but I would expect the stock pump to do it's job for quite awhile especially if the Engine is well maintained. An Oil pressure gauge might be good thing to do early on though. My car is at 75k and that is definitely on my to do list.
Fwiw any of the Engines I've personally had apart that ended up showing oiling issues and progressive damage were all in upwards of 150k +
Well im sure that part of the problem
Using cheap oil and a cheap filter like a regular fram. Also any filter without and anti drain back valve in the filter cause all the 2v/3v to have dry starts adding wear to important engine parts.
I dont think the whole line of 5.4 3v were a hunk of junk. There has definitely been some huge issues. But it seems that alot of actually failed low mile 5.4 3v were due to not keeping up with maintenance or using the run of the mill oil shop with cheap filters and cheap oil. Theres a good amount of 5.4 3v with over 150k miles
It seems you have experience with them what have you notice is the main reason of failures?
I agree.
On the phasers I believe the first design part was not robust. The second issue is due to lack of maintenance. Ford released a TSB stating poor quality filters could wind up breaking down and media can make it through the system into the phaser.
While that is a possibility, lack of flow due to passages being clogged, or low oil pressure whether caused by a weak oil pump or leakdown in the system like at the chain tensioners is more likely.
Have seen regular maintenance done and still had noisy phasers.
This is why I believe the problem is not just a single component. Several things can contribute to the same symptom.
The timing cover has to come off and the timing gear needs to come off to replace the oil pump, so if you’re going to upgrade the oil pump you might as well replace the timing gear while you’re in there.
The recommended upgraded oil pump is like $100.
I had a 2005 F-150 FX4 with the Phaser issue. That engine ticked from 48,000 miles to 120,000 until I got rid of it because the Transmission was failing as well. Worst Truck I ever owned. I traded it for a 2012 Dodge Ram Big Horn. The RAM ran circles around the F-150
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