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As I've pointed out before, I had an ABS light. Bought a scanner that can also read ABS codes. Turned out there was no signal coming from the rear wheel speed sensor.
Gauge cluster showing the ABS light.
First, it was believed that the sensor was at fault so I purchased a sensor. However, it turned out that the wiring harness was actually disconnected from the sensor. It was also wrapped around a post near the spare tire wheel on the truck.
As you can see, the wiring harness connectors were corroded which ultimately led to its failure.
A reinforced steel bar punctured my tires literally in front of a tire shop.
The truck in the shop
The shop told me that they can't fix the tires as they only used the plug style ones instead of a patch. I asked them to put the spare tire on as I can get the tire repaired. The shop ended up breaking my spare tire tool. I was a little fed up so I ended up getting them to put on a brand new set of Rotiva AT Plus tires.
Didn't end up taking pictures of putting everything back together but once you remove the covers, you have to fill them up and reseal them. Gaskets are made to be one-time use.
Also, didn't end up taking pictures of the transfer-case drain and fill as they are accessible by bolts. Nothing interesting.
These are the parts that I used. Missing from the picture are the Ford OEM Cam Phasers and VCT Solenoids.
There are also parts for a Mazda that I purchased.
The mazda (2003 Mazda Protege SE w/5 Speed Manual) I purchased was to be used as a winter beater while the truck was in the shop being worked on. Really reliable vehicle with low mileage (only 147,000km (91875 miles). Came with a brand new windshield, 95% tread on all season tires as well as a set of winter tires on rims (85% tread life). The seller needed to sell it off quickly so I was able to purchase it for far below market value.
My neighbour even has one! However, they've had theirs since 2007.
After 2 weeks of ownership, I came across this awesome 1988 BMW 535i which I had to get. Since I didn't want to push the budget on my truck, I ended up trading it with the owner of the BMW. The previous owner of the BMW was worried that his 535i will end up being a money pit. However, that is not the case. These BMWs with regular care and maintenance can last at a minimum of 500,000km (300,000 miles). I have seen examples for sale with over 650,000 miles on them; still on the original engine (That's over 1,000,000 km!). The vehicle came with a lot of paperwork with thousands of dollars invested into it dating back until 1988 with recent paperworks from 2011. I even took the vehicle on 1000km/620 mile round trip to go skiing in Kimberley, BC
Pictures I took on my trip.
Phone died and needed to be charged. Started taking pictures after the fan and fan shroud were removed.
Driver-side valve cover removed. See the blue gaskets? This has been done by the previous owner.
Engine Bay
Timing chains on cam phasers as well as VCT solenoids can be seen in this picture.
Oddly enough, the timing chain guides weren't broken at all. What was actually broken were the timing chain tensioners. These have been swapped out by the previous owner as they tensioners are dorman ones (very low quality). As you can see, the engine was not getting enough pressure as the oil was leaking through the tensioner gaskets. That's why the 15W45 oil trick worked on the truck.
When there timing components fail, they will eventually cause issues with the cam phasers in which case they will also need to be swapped out as well.
Also, thought it was a good idea to swap the VCT solenoids out and I was right. the screen is broken on mine.
Naturally with timing component replacements, an oil change is necessary. As well, 15W45 is not a long term solution to the cam phaser ticking noise (also known as the diesel noise) issue.
The coolant was flushed as well and topped with the orange coolant fluid (Did not end up taking pictures as I was not there).
01-16-2016, 07:46 PM
