Hi all,

I am in the middle of replacing the engine and transmission in my wife's 1998 F150.

This is my first time dealing with a "distributorless" engine.

I am used to the concept of finding TDC on the compression stroke and setting the distributor. But I'm a bit confused as to what to do with this engine. The Haynes and Chiltons manuals make me think all that needs to be done is the Camshaft Synchro Sensor just needs to be placed in the front engine cover at a certain angle and bolted down.

Well, when I removed the front engine cover from my old engine and transferred it to my new long block, I left the Camshaft Synchro Sensor in place - I never touched it. I wasn't sure it was necessary, but when I re-installed the front cover on the new engine, I first positioned the crankshaft at TDC on the compression stroke. I'm not sure how this really matters, though, since the shaft inside the Camshaft Synchro Sensor could theoretically be at any position, regardless of where the head is bolted down.

Can someone tell me what I need to do to get this thing "timed" right before I fire her up? Thanks.

Steve

 

just did this myself a couple weeks ago, check this thread for timing information:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=201352

hope it helps a little bit anyway.

 

Thanks, Precision, I saw that post earlier, but it sounded complicated to me, what with all the voltage measuring and such. The Chiltons/Haynes didn't say anything about that.

Can you send me the entire article? Thanks.

ssheldon -at- forth-armoury -dot- com

Steve

 

I'll scan it and email it to you, it isn't that difficult, and it saves a few dollars since you don't have to buy the special tool.

 

That would be great!

I'm at ssheldon at forth-armoury dot com

Thanks!

Steve

 

I figured I'd let everyone know that I tried this last night and it worked great! Truck fired up first time with no troubles.

You might wonder, as I did, how you go about measuring the current of that center wire (mine was green, also), without cutting the insulation?

I took a small piece of wire, stripped the insulation back quite a bit on one end, and stuck the stripped end down in the hole for the green wire in the connector that plugs into the synchroniser sensor. Then I plugged in the connector, letting my wire flow as needed to get out. This gave me a "pigtail" coming out of the connector that I could clip my voltmeter to.



Steve