1999 Holiday Rambler with 6.8 V10 Triton:

I'm in Spain, Europe, with no access to USA Ford dealerships. Do all my own work and get parts sent FedEx from Rockauto. As you can guess, I read your forums a lot!
A year ago, it started idling a bit rough but smoothed out as soon as warmed, and then drove well.
Replaced most things, no oil/water exchange, no obvious water loss,
no codes, no big oil burn, excellent vacuum readings. Spent hours on it!
Decided to ignore it, and have driven maybe 4,000 miles without problem.
A month ago, decided to repair a R.H. exhaust manifold leak because I was told that this could cause the rough idle. Had all the broken stud problems that we all read about, but the repair didn't cure the rough idle.
Then the roughness got worse, got code P0302, and now doesn't disappear when warmed, but drives smoothly.
Did a compression test, and Nos. 2 & 3 have very little compression at all.
Adding oil to the cylinders did not improve it, so guess it's not bottom end
I guess the low compression is less important when driving at higher RPM.
I am pretty sure it is the head gasket gone between the two cylinders.
Have subscribed to Alldata, which is very good for me, and have got as far as wanting to release the head from the camchain to remove the head.
From reading, it seems I must take great care regarding this part of the job. I don't have the special tools mentioned but I usually manage. Also, it's very cramped in there, and I assume I must remove the fan,
serpetine belt, front engine cover, and then the camchain. All using mirrors! This aint gonna do the old back a lotta good!!!
My reason for writing is to ask for advice for this stage of the work, or for all of it!
Maybe you guys also have some "tricks of the trade" you can give me!!!
Please advise, I shall be very thankful.

 

First, pull the valve cover if you haven't already and check that the cam and followers are in good condition. Another thing is pressurizing the cylinders one at a time and seeing (listening) where the pressure leaks out.

Hopefully, we have some other folks here who can chime in on actually doing the job - I haven't had to (yet).

 

Well, I'm very disappointed at the lack of replies, except for yours, Krewat!
Obviously, there is no such thing as pity over there!
Maybe the post was too long or too boring, I don't know. Certainly not interesting enough.
Yes, Krewat, the overhead valve gear is in perfect condition. Obviously, someone changes his oil often!!!
The head has definitely got to come off, and I'll probably do both of them.
I have removed the generator, water pump(difficult), and the only way I could remove the fan and clutch was by tapping the nut with a hammer and chisel. Also removed the shroud, and then started on the crankshaft pully bolt!!! I've tried every method posted on the internet without success. These include using the starter motor against a fixed wrench, and locking the pully to the chassis with a chain and using manpower on a wrench! Because it is not accessible, I cannot get any more leverage than with a couple of feet of gas pipe(motorhome, remember).
I now realise that the only way will be to remove everything in front of the engine
and borrow a powerful air-driven impact wrench. The main problem is that the bolt head is quite small and shallow, and I don't want to damge it. Any other suggested methods?
After that, assuming I can remove the pulley and crank seal, the rest should be reaonably straightforward.
Can anyone confirm that the pully bolt is R.H. thread from the front!!!!!!!!!!
Have been doing my own vehicle mechanics since 1955, but not seen anything like this before!
Looking forward to a flood of replies.
Regards.

 

Wish I could help! Have no experience in pulling heads off of OHC setups

 

Getting the crank pulley bolt off is quite difficult. I struggled with one a few months ago and it took an hour to break it loose. Air wrench will do the trick.
Once the balancer and pulleys are out of the way, remove the front cover to expose the chain drives. Using suitable tools, break loose the two cam gear bolts, making sure you hold the cam while loosening the bolt. Before you pull anything apart, make sure you have the timing marks set properly for easy re-assembly. Then take off the chains and guides. Do your head gaskets and re-assemble.
You can handle this with the resources you have at your disposal. Alldata is a decent service manual and may have some tips the factory manual won't include. The most important step is making sure the timing marks on the chains and gears are EXACT, otherwise things get bent.

 

PartsPaul62, thankyou for your reply and advice.
I am just about to remove the radiator, and then a mobile mechanic will come with his air wrench.
I hope the rest of the job is a bit easier!!!
Do you know what I could replace the pulley bolt with if it is damaged in the removal. Why would anyone(Ford) use such a small-headed bolt for such a large torque?

 

When you say "pulley bolt" are you referring to the crankshaft pulley bolt?

 

Some of the bolts you will be removing (or already have removed) are torque to yield bolts, meaning they are one time useage bolts. Head bolts, cam gear bolts, and the crank bolt too.
TTY bolts are torqued at a low setting on the first step, then swung a specified number of degrees on the second and third step. Make sure you replace them as required as once they have been tightened they are 'stretched' out and will no longer maintain tightness if reused.

 

Thankyou again for your replies and advice.
I finally decided not to use an air wrench to remove the crankshaft pulley bolt in case it got damaged, and the whole project may then be doomed!
I borrowed a powerful high-quality torque multiplier from a local Renault trucks place, and removing the bolt was like twisting butter!!!!!!!
I anchored the flywheel by removing a small plate underneath it and jamming it with a screwdriver. All very successful.
I made my own tool to remove the pulley out of 10mm dural plate. I carefully measured where to put the holes, and got it right first time!
Again, it came off very easily. All done in a space 28cm wide!!!
My main problem now is obtaining the new bolts for crank pully and cam gear. I can get all the other parts including head bolts from Rockauto, but not the others. Other places don't seem to export.
Does anybody know where I can get them?