Haynes manual with highlighted text

Cam synchro picture from above, with appropriate lines to match manual

Had to stop for the night… serious dilemma… (I’d like to start this by saying the iPhone photo edit feature with built in ruler w/ degrees is super helpful here lol…)

Given: 3.0L engine is at TDC at time of picture. This is the old synchronizer.

I’ve had my ranger for about two years now. It wasn’t great on power (hills are really rough), but I just thought it was cause it was old. In the last month or so, I heard some squeaking. After investigation with a hose as a stethoscope, I found it to be the cam synchronizer. This is part of the effort of me fixing it.

The first picture is from the Haynes manual. Note that it says for 96-97, it should be 75 degrees (yellow), and for 98-08 it should be 38 degrees (purple).

The second picture is of my actual synchronizer (old). Taken from front of truck, bottom of pic is front of engine. Notice how it is currently at 38 degrees. But the manual says it should be 75 degrees.

At this point I’m confused. I have narrowed it down to these options, ranked by level of possibility.

1. I can’t read, it does in fact need to be 38deg for my engine. I fail at cars.
2. at some point during the life of this engine, this cam synchro was replaced and the wrong spec was used on it.
3. Haynes is wrong (I feel like that’s blasphemy)
4. Someone dropped a 98+ engine in this car before I bought it (highly unlikely… bought it from a guy who got it from his grandpa)… but I can probably go dig out the engine code and see.

option 2 calls out to me. Would it not also explain poor performance and lack of power? I’ve read a lot of forums on how to replace the synchro, but this dilemma confuses me a bit. Any thoughts/inputs/paths forward would be much appreciated. I am leaning towards trusting Haynes and resetting the synchro to the manual’s spec vs what it is currently.

 

Ford changed Cam sensors and sychros in 1998
1995-1997 used Hall Effect 3 wire, 12volt
1998 and up VR 2 wire, AC Volts

The year of the computer only matters, engine can use either synchro/sensor

 

So assuming the computer is that of a ‘96 engine, I should assume that it was set improperly last time and move it back to 75 degrees?

my main question is understanding whether or not I should trust the current angle or adjust it (and how to validate that I’m right in that adjustment)

 

The computer will set a code if Crank and Cam sensors are not in sync, crank sensor is the primary sensor, computer has the ability to adjust the Cam sensor's timing pulses electronically a few degrees either way

So if you were not getting a Cam sensor error code then leave it as is
If you were then change it

Ranger 3.0l Vulcan Cam sensor article here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...-synchronizer/
There were more than one Ford 3.0l engines

 

Ok thanks for the info Ron! I have not been getting any codes, so it must be at the right spot. I will go ahead and replace it where it currently sits. I'll reply here once it's done with how it went.

 

Aight so got it all running again. no squeak! played with the old one and that was definitely the culprit.

With regards to the angles, RonD you were right. Turns out the Haynes manual (if you read carefully) has that 75 deg angle as the "angle you use when you first insert it, then you twist. And the fact that it casually ended up at 38 deg when fully seated is coincidence to the fact that in 98+ engines you start your turn at 38 deg. Glad it all makes sense now.

No more squeak but the car is still super slow and gasping for something... time to do more research.

Thanks RonD.

 

Thanks

If you have or can get a Vacuum gauge($15-$30) they can tell you a lot about any gasoline engine