This might be a dumb question...but is the 3v 5.4 motors an interference or non interference motor? In other words, if the motors comes out of time does the valves come in contact with the piston?

 

Yes.

 

well i have been doing the timing chains in my truck and when i did it the first couple times i was out of time. I turned the motor over by hand to see if there were any hangups and there wasnt. neither time. why did the motor not have a hangup or at least have a horrible sound when it was out of time?

 

Because no valves hit the pistons and there was no combustion.

 

so what your saying is that it is an interference motor but without the truck making any combustion, the valves wont stick down into the cylinder far enough to hit the piston?

 

Yes it is an interferance motor... you do however have to make several turns in order to make it hit... I rebuilt my 5,4 in my 99 Expy, had the chains off @ 17 times till I got it correct... that's why there is a special tool that holds the head cams in place while you take the heads off, or put them back on to keep them in place while you install them and the timing chains...... according to the book, you assemble everything, THEN you install the cam followers once it's in time..... if you didn't have the followers in place then no valves were moving..hencs no contact....

 

Oh i know about the taking it off and doing it a million times! its a bear of a project. but ive got everything lined up now, but it is skipping like either the plugs are fouled out because of too much fuel going in before i had it in time or i have bent a valve and that is whats making it skip. dont know yet.