So I had a timing chain rattle and decided to fix the problem myself. I have an 05 fx4 with a 5.4 3v motor. I am no mechanic by any means! But I took everything apart and bagged up the bolts and marked what went there along with pictures. When I put on the new timing chains neither the crank shaft nor the camshafts moved out of place before installing the new ones. When I got everything back together I went to start it up and all it did was turn over. I smelled plenty of gas and I thought it might have been no spark like I didnt hook up a wire back the right way. But I pulled a boot and spark plug and checked for spark and I had plenty of spark. My question is... Can someone please tell me what else can be wrong if it is turning over but no combustion? And even if it is out of timing a bit, wont it try to run and sound terrible?

 

sounds like you have a cam or crank timing sensor whack/unhooked.

 

Im going to try putting an injector checker on it today to see if it is flooding the motor. Because it smells like gas bad immediately like there is a leak and I know there isnt one.

 

Well i just checked it and the light was blinking with the pulsating of the injector. I then unplugged the cam sensors and it still blinked with the pulsating of the injectors. That has got me mind boggled...I thought that the cam sensors had something to do with the injectors working and not working? And I thought that the crankshaft sensor worked with the spark. Im lost...haha

 

OMG! I HAVE mechanic experience and I wouldn't try that fix. And thats why...when it STILL won't work then there you are...stuck and NOT at your mechanics shop. Been there, done that...a few times. I have learned.

 

The signal from the crank sensor is used by the PCM to determine ignition timing and the cam sensor tells the PCM when the #1 cylinder is at TDC on the compression stroke.

Make sure you have everything reconnected, it's a big project making it easy to overlook something.

 

Oh I know...but I can tell you that me doing this was so much cheaper. My alldata showed it taking 12.4 hours on average. so a shop would of charged at least $70 an hour plus parts. Also I would have taken it to our personal race mechanic but he was workin on our Lightnings for the big race coming up.

 

Glad I ran into the thread. I'm having a horrible timing chain rattle sinse last year. Took it to Ford, and they said I would be looking at a $2400 bill. I'm told them they were crazy and left. Mine also throwed a PO345 code which means "camshaft position sensor bank 2". Did yours throw this code aswell?

 

Yes mine threw that same code. Nothing was broke with the time chains but there was a bad rattle. Has your truck been skipping? Mine had a spark plug problem and then it skipped real bad after fixing that. Im still working on the timing chain fix...its a bear!

 

Don't know about skipping. But when my truck is at its worst is when sometimes after driving for awhile I shut the engine off, restart it, then things go haywire. The trucks wants to die and stall. And it usually does. When it acts like its going to die, I'll will cut the engine off,and try restarting it again and sometimes it will do fine after I do that. Keep in mind, It dosn't do this all thime. However, Ford techs told me that it all had to do with the timing chain tensioners and everything else. Maybe that why my truck does this sometimes????.
Hope you keep us posted with this job your taking on. I'm really curious as to how hard of a job this is.

 

I will definitely keep yall posted. And If yall can can think of anything that might not make the truck turn over when its not out of time (at least i didnt move anything), it has spark and fuel. This has me baffled!

 

I am guessing that will be a bargain by the end of this thing.

"Doing your own mechanic work= The nightmare from hell"

Letting a qualified Mechanic do it for you=$840.00 (Priceless)

 

840.00??? Thats would have been nice!!! I was quoted well over 12 hours of labor, not to mention the parts!

 

Went by what you said 12 hours@$70.00 an hour. Most dealerships are charging $95.00 plus so...

My mechanic even said at one time it was a $2500.00 fix.

 

Yeah it has definitely been worth doing myself. Ive spent no more that 500 and I bought a new power steering pump while I was in that far.