Hey Guys!
Popped a SES light yesterday and found p1309 & p0340
After some digging around I've come to the conclusion that it is the Camshaft syncronizer that is toast. Besides the light, I have had some squealing on cold(Canadian Winter Cold) starts. Also, a few times on the freeway, I've kicked it down and had an aweful squeal arise. I assumed it was belt or pulley and I would get to it.....
The squealing is caused by the failing syncro gear and is actually the gear itself squealing. This would also be causing my lousy gas mileage lately.
So the part is ordered from and comes with the position sensor.

My question is this.....
Has anyone else changed one of these out before.
It would appear that I have to pull almost everything out of the way on top of the engine just to get to it, but I wanted to know if anyone had done this and what problems they may have encountered.
Also, how long did it take......

Thanks!

 

(If ) your truck is no later than 2003, you do not have the "cam" sync feature (vairable cam timing)
What the 1309 is refering to is the sensor mounted on the driver side front of the head to sense camshaft rotation.
This sensor controls fuel injection timing.
Easy to get at without taking anything apart.
1309 and 340 codes are nearly identical for the same trouble report.
Good luck.

 

Hey Bluegrass...
I have a 99 with a 4.2.
Are you describing the location of the CMP?
The sensor/syncro gear are located front and on the right side on the 4.2.
I've read multiple post/threads about this.
I am aware of what the codes mean, and at first I thought that a new sensor would fix the problem. The further I dug however, I was realizing that my problems were caused by a worn syncro gear. There is some hesitation on takeoff and occaionally it stalls, but will start right back up.
In any event, I've ordered the part from RockAuto and it comes with the new sensor(and still cheaper than just ordering the sensor locally).
From all I've read, I'm convinced that it is the syncro gear/sensor and will change
them out, but I've read a lot about them being installed wrong.....Even Ford has a tsb on this.
If I'm missing something else, let me know

 

First, I didn't know what motor you have, you never said.
The term cam sync is usually appled to later motors with phase adjustable over head cam timing.
The sensor drive is indeed set into the block and driven off the cam down in the center of the block. same as a distributer would be.
It needs to be set in and adjusted correctly or you will get those symptoms..
Nothing needs to be torn apart for this. It is clamped in and comes out the top of the block on a V6.
Good luck.

 

No, I didn't state the engine, that's why I did in my second post, but I assumed that most would figure I wasn't talking about the Bronco.
Anyway, You are right it is just pop out of the top of the block, I was referring to all the clutter(egr stuff, coolant line & I'm sure a few other things) that makes it impossible to get out without moving some of it. I thought perhaps you were originally referring to a different sensor entirely.
The combination of those codes quickly led me to the syncro gear, but I then realized that this is what was causing my horrible gas mileage(replaced coil pack, wires & MC platinum plugs already) as well as the squealing noise I was hearing.
The new gear comes with the sensor and the alignment/adjustment tool.
This was my concern really....It seems a pretty straight forward replacement, but I just wanted to hear if anyone had any issues with aligning it.
Other than the fuel economy and occasional hesitation it seems to run good. So I am just not driving any more than necessary and I'm babying it until the part arrives.

I will update and let you know the outcome.