what are the signs of this thing going bad? bought my truck with 150ish on it june 2017, runs drives and starts just fine. has maybe 5000 more on it now and just wanted to know what exactly happens if this cam sync thing fails. read it just kills the engine as it looses spark, and also read that it ruins the whole engine. if it fails doesn't the thing just snap the shaft, thus loosing the oil pump drive and stop spinning all together, spark AND oil pump drive? Wouldn't it be the same as if you just turned the key off?

also, I know I've seen it somewhere before, is there a detailed how to procedure for it? looked pretty straight forward, minus getting the marks lined up properly.


thanks in advance

 

What happens is the bushing gets dry and wears.
This allows the mechanical part of the synchronizer to wobble and bang into the sensor.

At this stage it would become very noisy and you would hear chirpy squeaky sounds from it.

There are 2 small bolts on top of the sensor, remove those inspect it.
If there is what looks like rust, then it's had it.
The rust is actually bushing filings.
If no rust colour stuff, then move the mechanical part that goes by the sensor from side to side.
There should be no play.
Gently pull the plug and look for corrosion there, make sure it's clean.

If everything checks out, then problem lies elsewhere.

Know that 98% of sensors that are replaced were working.
Most failures come from bad connections and dirt, like dirty MAF sensor.

 

once it gets above freezing here i'll pull the top sensor off and check. if all visually checks ok, and the endplay/lateral movement is zero, the assembly should be ok? not too concerned to change it unless I need to.

 

If the assembly tests out, then it's fine.

I oil mine with a bit of Tri-Flow when the cover is off every 6 months to a year depending on how much I drive it.

And if you're at 155K, I wouldn't be surprised if someone hasn't replaced it already.
It will start squealing and making a huge amount of noise before the thing fails completely and you loose your oil pump.
You'll more then likely get a code too, but it has to be really bad before that happens when it comes to mechanical failure.

If you want to do some maintenance, clean your MAF sensor, use the special cleaner for this, don't touch it with your fingers or use a Q-tip.

And other usual stuff like plugs, wires and coil pack.

Clean you IAC valve, most get black and dirty and they start to stick open or closed.

 

+1 to what Jeff said


The "it ruins the whole engine" thing is a bit of a stretch for possible outcomes of a failed Cam synchro.

For 90+ years multi-cylinder gasoline engines used distributors, and many of these distributors also were also the drive for the oil pumps.
On your 3.0l the Cam Synchro is in the old distributor hole, and drives the oil pump just like distributor did.
Now while it is "possible" for a catastrophic failure to cause oil pump shaft to break, it would be very.......very long odds.
Cam sensors can break, shaft can wobble but oil pump shaft just keeps turning.

 

that was my thinking. basically the sensor is gear driven off the cam isn't it? and then a vertical shaft connects the cam sync and oil pump.

sounds to me like if it checks out ok, and isn't makin noise; leave it alone.

 

yes, exactly, its an old distributor with a sensor added to time rotor speed and position, and it is timed exactly like an old distributor using #1 cylinder at TDC compression stroke