Yeah, after fighting for days, one problem after another.. I pull the cover off, see a double roller that hasn't jumped a tooth, of course I was expecting absolutely no difference in changing it.

but! It hit me while rotating the crank while watching it. As the chain stretches, the timing naturally retards. It doesn't have to jump a tooth or anything. Was a cool theory, but today I finally got to confirm it. My vacuum jumped from a steady 12-13hg to 18hg with the change, I also drove 40 miles without throwing any EGR or Thermactor codes, which I *think* were caused by low vacuum.

The Bronco also feels like it has a brand new rebuilt motor in terms of power. I'm getting some new odd symptoms, feels like a lean burn every once in a while or over advanced maybe, I might need to go back to 10degrees BTDC. I wonder if that '6 litre tuneup' where people bump to 12, 14 or 16 degrees is just compensating for a loose timing chain and the timing retard that comes with it? Could also be an occasional lean burn, I'm gonna clean and check my injectors again tomorrow.

Anyways, bottom line.. 220k, new timing chain made it feel like a new motor.

Oh, P.S... Found out my "Ford Motorsport" wires are absolute junk AND I didn't get any kind of warranty with them. I know a lot of people love theirs, but be careful when you buy them, I think 3 or 4 are no good and I'm just stuck with overpriced shoddy wires.

 

Congratulations! Pound your chest like a gorilla now.

You are dead on with the timing chain. Now the valves are timed with the pistons.

You may want to consider going back to 11 or 10btdc especially if knocking is heard on a long hill.

 

What chain/set-up did you go with ErrorS? This may be a good thing to look into while doing a cam swap.

 

I just bought the $35 double roller from Autozone.. had the option for 4 degree advance and 4 degree retard. Usually I hate AZ parts, but the chain and gears felt like they were built better than the stock one.

Pulled my upper and checked my injectors today.. one was unplugged, two or three had pintle caps that weren't seated all the way and were blocking the injector nozzle, one pintle was broke in half, I went ahead and stuck the injector in without the cap, I'll probably replace the injectors next paycheck.
Usually I just tell myself this stuff happens when I take it apart, but now the truck is idling at 550RPMs in gear with very, very few skips and no lean pops. I am gonna back off the timing a bit though, but the motor is just sooo smooth compared to how it has run since I bought the truck.

This motor is stronger than it has ever been. I'm starting to wonder if it does NOT need a rebuild and I can just keep it running until 300 or 400k with a few parts, I'm definitely redoing valve train later and will probably buy a new upper and lower intake.

Oh, something weird.. my intake right behind the EGR was absolutely filthy, you could see the black where the exhaust gasses flow through. I just cleaned the intake spot-free maybe a year ago? Of course all the runners were pitch black.. throttle body looked Okay. It's uglier than when I first bought it with thick carbon I could scrape off.

Could this have been a symptom from other stuff that's now fixed, or is it something I'm going to have to get use to? I know you guys have been playing with Windsors a lot longer than I have.

 

Dang makes me wanna replace my timing now. Did you swap cams or stay stock? Gonna run stock injectors as well?

I wanna do my swap soon but my luck my bolts for the timing cover and/or water pump will shear off in block :/

 

Its not the block they stuck in for me, they seized in the cover. I used a pickle fork to seperate the cover from the broken bolt, the it took only pliers to get the stud out. It WAS a pain though.

Kept my cam against my better judgement, but im glad I did.. ill just do it later when I do a MAF swap.

Like I said, apparently I had a double roller stock, but at 200k+ it had stretched more than enough to make a BIG difference.

 

great work. get those explorer v8 injectors and see what improvements you get afterwards. I plan on a set of those soon also, would be nice to squeeze a bit more mpg out of this land whale

 

Bumped timing back down to 10degrees BTDC.. still barely managed above 10MPG.. all the power is there though and it feels sooo smooth on the highway. To be fair, I had to floor it probably a dozen times this last 100 mile trip, so driving normally I might have got an increase.

Also took the top off today.. I swear, with the top off it feels like a whole different vehicle. Every creak and rattle goes away and it just feels better. I have to either get me a soft top or .. well, that's about the only option.. I'm just absolutely in love with my Bronco again, it feels good.

 

You should make a bikini top. They are so nice, I think that a full soft-top would replace sqeaks and rattles with flapping noises. That and they change the overall appearance of the Bronco IMHO.

 

The only time the hard top is on mine is in the winter when I need to get bronco in the garage for the winter.

 

ive heard many people doing this, whats the advantages? do you have to dao any other mods for it to work or is it a direct fit?


thats awesome news with you timing chain swap, i did a 6litre tuneup a bit ago and noticed a big change. your theory on why it works could be very true.

 

Im getting weird symptoms again like before I messed with the injectors. Bogs down when I start, a bit of surging at idle until warm. Minor stuff compared to before. I'm almost sure its intake or injector related because it went away after a good cleaning but came back.

 

you change the fuel filter?

probably time for injectors.

 

Yeah.. the filter was filthy. Also noticed gunk at the rails when I pulled the injectors. When I first cleaned them they were clicking so loud and strong I could hear them with the hood shut, now they sound weak again.

 

may be time for a replacement tank. no reason for it to get so filthy