I'm about to embark on a disassembly of my 5.4l engine in my 2000 F-150. My question is when I get ready to remove the heads what is the best way to keep the camshafts positioned at TDC? When removing the timing chains it is my understanding that the valve pressure can cause the cams to move, how do I prevent this so that when I reassemble my engine my cams are in the correct location? Any feed back, especially from those that have torn these motors apart before, would be extremly helpful.
Thanks,
GABoy

 

not sure.....im sure NEAL or JMC will comment soon, they'll know

 

you can't maintain index.

there is a special assembly tool to properly index the cams when reassembling

 

GABoyinTroupCo. - go over to modulardepot.com They have several articles and a ton of posts about setting the timing correctly.

When I swapped my heads, I used the info from that site to get the timing correct. It may seem complicated at first, but if you read the articles a couple of times, it is a very easy process.

Once I set the timing, I went an extra step to ensure that I didn't screw something up by rotoating the engine by hand until the timing marks lined up again. That way you can be 100% that the timing is correct before firing up the engine.