Hey there, obviously new to the forums. This place has helped me a bit as I’ve lurked. I am having a huge issue with my truck right now and I would like some opinions. Just to put it out there, I will update you as I proceed. I know it can be quite annoying helping some newbie and they can’t take 2 seconds of their time and let you know if you helped cure their ills. This is long, tying to cover everything, but I appreciate any help you can give!!!! Also, you may not need all this information, but I figured it could help you help me. Thanks!

Truck: 02 Ranger 3.0 V6 Flex 86,000 – 2RWD

So, on to the story. This is the first time I have been this deep into an engine. I have had a lot of leaks recently and decided to patch everything up at once. I think the leaks were from lack of use, because this truck has been well taken care of and has had fluids changed religiously, plus it is garage kept. I am working out of the Haynes Manual.

Also, I torque everything to specs. I learned a while ago that if I don’t, I break things.

Coolant was leaking from the timing chain cover. While I was in there, I replaced the timing chain and I replaced the harmonic balancer. The balancer was only replaced because of a few notches on it, that I thought at the time were signs of wear. I shouldn’t have replaced this part. I replaced it with the Dorman. Yes, I used the puller tool. I got everything back together and all was well. Also, I did bring it to TDC.

I thought I had a rear main oil seal leak. So I drove it to a shop where they helped me pull the tranny properly. They initially thought the rear main was the problem as well. I replaced the rear main oil seal, the front pump seal, and the rear seal on the tranny. However, it wasn’t the rear main oil seal that was leaking. Bummer, it was a valve seal that trickled down. No biggie just some lost time and a few dollars.

Upon driving the truck home I decided to floor it. I never ever do that. I hit around 4000 RPM and the truck hesitates like it doesn’t have any air. O.K. At first I thought tranny, but the shop helped me pull it off and put it on. So, next I thought timing.

I had to replace the valve covers and decided to do the head gaskets at the same time. I had smoke coming from the exhaust and once I pulled the gasket there was a little coolant in cylinder 6, maybe about a cup. I went ahead and pulled the timing cover again to make sure the chain was on properly. Why not, a few extra bolts. But, I had an issue with getting the harmonic balancer off. It did not want to come off! I worked on it for probably two hours. I decided to walk away for a moment to calm my nerves. At that moment the balancer broke in two separating the disc/tooth part from the sleeve. Yes, the metal broke in two. Once again I was using the puller tool. After it broke in two, the sleeve slid right off with minimal effort. The chain timing was fine, as it should be, it is pretty much idiot proof. I replaced with my original balancer and got my money back on the new one, thinking it is defective.

So I put everything back together with no issues. I used new head bolts and new gaskets everywhere. I also had put in a new oil pressure sensor. Why not, I was already there. I put in new spark plugs and new air filter as well.

I started it up and it idled roughly. When I stepped on the accelerator, the engine bogged down and sounded like a circular saw being held in the air. Imagine the button on the saw is the accelerator. I only heard this noise when the accelerator was pushed. After about 5 minutes, this all went away and the truck drove beautifully. No problems at 4000 RPM. But, the noise and stutter happened every time I started the truck cold.

So, naturally I think, ‘wow I really screwed up, but I am not sure what.’ So, I tear it all back down and rebuild it again with all new fresh gaskets and head bolts. This time, when I start it up, no circular saw noise. Fantastic! I thought. I got it down the road and it started hesitating while trying to accelerate again. Darn! Then, I got the dreaded No Oil Pressure and Check Gauge light came on. I thought, it was the new oil pressure sensor I installed. No problem, there was plenty of oil in the truck. I was only driving it around the block anyways. Shortly before I reached my road the valves started clapping like crazy. I get it in the garage and shut it off. It was hardly driven at all with the clapping.

I pull the valve covers and notice the rockers are dry. Odd, they were completely oiled when I put them back together. So, after a few days of research and tinkering, I thought I might have an oil pump issue or an issue with the camshaft synch. I decided to buy a new cam synch, but it did not solve the problem, still no oil pressure and still clapping. The old cam synch had been chirping for a while, and I let it go because I got poor advice on it a few years back. So, I decided to remove the cam synch, and use an oil pump primer to see if I could get oil to the rockers. I got oil to the rockers and with the ignition on, not cranked, my wife said when I primed the engine, the oil pressure went to normal. By the way, I have had a hard time locating an oil pressure gauge locally to hook into the oil pressure sensor spot.

So, I thought this was good news. Maybe my oil pump is fine. But, I did notice that the intermediate oil pump shaft wiggled a lot. I can touch the sides of the block with it. I am not sure if that is normal. It seems excessive. So, I thought maybe I installed the cam synch wrong. I put it back together and started the truck, no oil pressure still and now there is a light knock/tap coming from somewhere, but I cannot tell where.

So a few questions?

1) Could it be possible that I bought a bad re-manufactured cam synch and this is the cause of my no oil pressure problem? Actually, this is probably a dumb question, but it seems unlikely.
2) Can the intermediate shaft cause a no oil pressure issue, even if I can prime it and get oil pressure?
3) If I get oil pressure while the truck is off by priming the oil pump, should I get similar pressure once it is started or do the moving parts inside create a huge difference?

Also, I pulled spark plug wires while the truck was running to help locate a change in sound, but nothing changed. There hasn't been any metal shavings in the oil, there was a little milkshake at one time, but I flushed the engine with oil a few times since.

Sorry this was so long, but thank you for your help!!!

 

The syncronizer housing, with cam position sensor(CPS) on top, is what drives the oil pump.

It is like the old distributors.
The Crankshaft turns the Camshaft via the timing chain.
The Camshaft drives the syncronizer and the syncronizer drives the oil pump and CPS.

Using a drill to spin oil pump and getting pressure means oil pump is OK.
Not getting oil pressure with syncro connected means either the syncro gears or cam gears have a problem.
That high pitched noise could have been an issue with these gears.

Bearings run pretty hot, the oil is used to cool them, think of oil pump as the water pump, how long would engine take to over heat without water pump?
Same happens with oil pump failing, it don't take long to do damage.

Tapping or knocking could be damaged bearings no way to really tell at this point, disabling the spark on one cylinder at a time is a good method for Rod bearings.


There is a software in the computer called a REV Limiter, this prevents High RPM in Park or Neutral, if shifter selection is a little off REV Limiter will prevent high RPMs in Drive as well.

 

Thank you for your reply. I have decided to get underneath of it tomorrow and find out the damage. I went to two shops today and one automatically wanted to replace the engine and the other thinks I dropped debris into the block, and it is blocking the oil pump once cranked. But, he did not want to work on it. He said it was too big of a job for him.

Looking into the block with the cam synch removed the gears look ok from what I can see. The cam synch is definitely ok. The old cam synch gears looked great, it just had the squeak. Edit: Also, once removed I could make the Cam Synch squeak.

My manual talks about lifting the engine a couple of inches and placing a block in between the engine and the mounts in order to remove the oil pan. This doesn't appear to be safe, is their a trick to it or is it as simple as it sounds? It just doesn't look like there is enough surface that the engine could sit on a block. Don't want to turn my head into a smashed watermelon :)

Thanks.

 

back up a minute, you said you had oil pressure when you "primed" the system, to me that means you used a drill to rotate oil pump shaft???

And not sure why you would want to drop the oil pan in any case, plugged screen would show itself just by draining the oil, you would see "stuff" in the oil.
And you can't inspect bearings that way, you really need to pull the engine for that.

You seem to be going at this 3.0l the hard way around.
Engines are not that complicated mechanically, computers and sensor made them less complicated for spark and fuel.

You seem to be chasing your tail, in that you are creating new problems by trying to fix perceived problems, which may or may not be problems.

 

Yes, I did use a drill to rotate the oil pump shaft and I did get pressure with the ignition on, but the car was not cranked.

I was going by what a mechanic told me today at his shop. I thought he could be wrong, but he was fairly adamant about the possibility and I figured he knows more than I do. He said the pressure would change once the car was cranked and the oil pump would be clogged. Which I imagine is true, but with priming, I thought there was no way that I could get oil pressure if the pump was clogged.

However, I don't know if a bad bearing will cause a difference with oil pressure between cranked and not cranked.

My friend is on the same wave length as you. He really thinks it has something to do with the cam synch or connecting gears. I actually agree and that is why I replaced it in the first place.

There aren't any shavings in the oil and it is crystal clear when drained. I would much rather have a top end problem than a bottom end.

Would you think my next route would be to pull the actual camshaft? Obviously, pulling the cam synch doesn't give me enough information. There aren't any worn gears or metal shavings inside that I can tell.

Thanks

 

If there was enough debris in the oil pan to clog a screen then you would see some of it when draining oil.

Really no difference in camshaft turning the oil pump or a drill.

With engine idling at 600rpms camshaft would be turning at 300rpm(1/2 the speed of the crankshaft)
Look up the specs of your drill and see approx. RPM at full or 1/2 speed

Bearings do have oil holes that change position but to get 0 oil pressure wouldn't be that.
And you can always turn the crank one way or the other and test with drill again.

No, on pulling the camshaft
Does the CPS turn when engine is cranking?
When did you check that last?

Do you feel the syncro "drop in" to oil pump slot when installing it?
You often need to turn the crank manually to get it to drop, and then turn crank back to TDC to line up CPS.

New timing chain, I have seen the Crank gear shear off the woodruff key, but engine wouldn't start

 

I believe the drill goes to a 1,000 RPM.

Sorry if this is a little dunce, but by CPS do you mean the crankshaft position senor? I replaced that when I did a new timing chain. It is held on by two bolts. Pretty simple stuff, don't think it would turn unless it is touching the balancer, which I have not noticed. The old CPS worked fine and I still have it. I actually tried it out during all of this and it seemed fine.

I've been thinking that maybe I just haven't lined up the cam synch properly. That is my first order of business tomorrow. Remove and retry. It feels like it drops in, but my issue with it is the intermediate shaft wiggles enough that it can be pushed to the side during installation. I think I have been pushing it in slightly. Maybe that is in fact my problem. Maybe I am pushing the intermediate shaft to the side and it is not seating properly. I will try again in the morning and use the crank drop method that you suggest. It will probably be easier.

Maybe I just need to try and try again.

 

I seem to recall a thread a little while back where a gentleman replaced the cam synchro and the part he used was a store brand and there was a defect with the slot that fits over the oil pump drive. Have you compared the shape of the slot on the old verses new shaft? it may be your diconnect if the drill creates oil pressure but the shaft does not that may be a place to start looking.

 

Yeah, I actually checked that prior to install and it all looked good. I will re check when I remove it in the morning. Thanks for the idea.

 

Just a quick update tonight. I got a little anxious tonight and pulled it off. I looked at the slot. It seems a little too round. It does not have a very prominent hexagon shape like my primer tool. It is a Cardone re-man. It will grab a screw, but I am wondering how much play is in there with the intermediate shaft.

Regardless, it will be returned in the morning and I am going to go buy a motorcraft one. No need to cheap out on such an important part.

I will update once I get it installed.

 

So, I went to Ford and the motorcraft cam synch looked exactly the same. So, I did not purchase a new one.

I had my wife watch the camshaft gear as I spun the crankshaft. We only went about a 1/4 of a turn on the crankshaft, but she said that the camshaft gear did not move at all. She noted that the oil pump intermediate shaft did move however.

If I am thinking about this properly, the camshaft gear should have moved a little, or did we not go far enough?

Thanks

The engine was put back to TDC.

 

Sounds exactly like the other guys symptom. Close but not exact mine came from advanced not sure brand though but its lasted really well almost 80,000 on it. I think I'm going to redo mine again because of the mileage thats one part of this engine that makes me really nervous.

 

If the crank moves at all the cam gear should spin they are concocted by the timing chain. This is an odd description i can't see any way that can happen if it ran even with no oil pressure that means the cam is spinning so there has to be some issue with the gear and its connection to the cam.

 

I am doubtful that the Cam Synch is the problem now that I noticed the Camshaft gear didn't move at all when turning the crankshaft.

Once I find out the problem, I will purchase a good cam synch

Also, I guess I will start tearing it down today to make sure the timing chain and all still looks good. But, it starts, just noisy. No oil.

 

CPS is Cam Position Sensor
CKP is Crank Position Sensor

CPS shaft is the oil pump drive, both are powered by the camshaft's rear gear, same as old distributor setup.
Camshaft turns at 1/2 the speed of Crankshaft, so 1/4 turn of Crank would cause 1/8 turn of Cam

 

Oh yeah, CPS and CKP, duh. The CPS does not turn, it is stationary. I was replaced it along with the synch.

 

Under the CPS cap it turns, at the same speed as the camshaft and oil pump

 

Oh, ok got ya. Will update later.

 

Ok, so I took off the timing cover, because someone suggested that I should to check the gears and chain. They look great, as they should, I just replaced them and I figured there was a very slim possibility that anything could be wrong with them. Unfortunately, the oil gasket came off with it, doing things the hard way I guess.

Anyways, when turning the crank, everything works great. The crank, cam, and cam synch all move together and it looks normal. I checked to see if there was any play in the crank, but there does not appear to be any.

I am not going to be able to put the timing cover back on until tomorrow. Is there anything that I should look for while it is off? Thanks.

 

If the cam sync is turning then oil pump should be as well.

 

Yep, wish I would have seen your post about checking cam synch prior to pulling the timing cover. I have to get the oil pan gasket on, put everything back together and hope for the best.

Thanks for your help RonD. It has been very much appreciated.

I'll be back.

 

Just thought that I would post that I am an idiot. After taking things apart, the oil pump was clogged. I got a little bit of a mess in there from doing the head gaskets. After taking a gander at the crankshaft, I will be replacing it. There is only one bad spot on it. A couple of bearings needed to be replaced and I just went ahead and ordered a new crankshaft. I will get the old one smoothed out and just keep it for future, why not?

The loud circular saw noise that I heard was my flywheel meeting my starter. I put the spacer on the wrong side when I pulled the tranny a month ago.

This has been a learning experience. I think I will have it all back together this weekend.

 

My thought is that if you can really do a quarter of the engine work you described, you're no "idiot." Thanks for lots of details. They've helped me develop some ideas about my oil pressure gauge that jumps all over the place when it wants to.

 

Thanks Snow Man! I am glad I could give you some ideas :)

Has anyone replaced a crankshaft before? I bought a re-manufactured kit and the main journal size is 2.5095 inches. The Haynes manual calls for a size of 2.5190 to 2.5198.

So, the question is, do the bearings that come in the kit make up the difference? Should I just go ahead, put it on and plastigage it? If the plastigage specs come out properly, is everything well and good?

 

I am by no means an engine building expert but my understanding is if you buy it together as a kit the bearings are matched to the crank to put it into factory spec i know cranks are ground differently by different shops especially reman some require more/less grinding depending on the condition of the core they are using. So if they are reputable and your block is in good shape everything should line up to spec but i would definitely check the specs myself to make sure.