Is anybody running the lockout kits for the cam phasers? I am looking into it to prevent more cam phaser issues. All I have found so far is mustangs running them.

 

You prevent phaser symptoms (correct, not an actual cause of engine issues) by keep quality 5w-30/40 oil and not using long oil change intervals. That keeps the chain stretch at bay and in turn keeps the tensioners and guides from being beat to death.

Lockouts don’t replace those parts, so it solves nothing in the end.

 

I have always ran a mobile 1 synthetic the dealer recommended I use along with motorcraft filters. Changing it every 6500 miles. I did not ever wait for it to tell me to change it. Do you think I over used the oil?

 

Not likely.

From the mobil 1 webpage:

there is further fine print, but that is some pretty strong language. Most others say “which ever is less”

i wouldn’t worry about it. Based on my experience and research, just about any quality synthetic should be fine at a 10k interval. Anything less than that is paramount to a safety margin.

I put over 100k miles on my 2006 Expedition running 7500-10,000 mile intervals on various synthetics without any mechanical issues. And it got used hard, too. Traded it off at 220k miles and it was just as quiet as it was when I bought it at 104k. Not bad for a 5.4 3v, IMO.

As to the lock outs, I would never install them to prevent a problem. Perhaps to solve one, but never to prevent one. Wait until you have a problem (if you ever have a problem) then decide if lock outs are something you want.

 

Cam phasers issues are really not common on these engines in the trucks, lock outs will be terrible in a truck. You would have no low end power. What phase issues have you had? They normally last well up to about 200k.

 

I believe they led to the cause of a cylinder #4 and #8 misfire due to valve clearance issues. A code was only ever thrown for the misfires so it took me quite a while to narrow it down, (if it is the cause) for a little over a year it only did it intermittently. Now the 2 said cylinders are low on compression. Not by much but the truck only has 110k miles. Last test was 4% low on 4 and 6% on 8 and the heads of those two cylinders almost look like they were sandblasted. The misfire is audible at low idle in park but when in gear or driving it is unnoticeable. Just a couple days ago I unplugged the vct actuators and it idles smoothly. And on the test drive for that the cel didnt come on for over 20 miles. With them plugged in it will come on almost instantly after clearing codes. There is a obvious difference in driving it with them unplugged but nothing I couldn't live with. I guess I could be chasing my tail in the wrong direction, but sure seems like this is the culprit. I know it will not repair my miss issue but if it would help this engine last longer and allow the next engine to go over 100k miles before it starts circling the drain I feel it would be worth it. I'm open to suggestions to what else it may be or things to look for, this is the newest gas engine ive spent any time around.

 

Nash1974 what year is your truck? I know some early 5.0's were prone to cylinder warp which required replacement of the engine. Also what air filter are you running on your truck? Many aftermarket air filters are known to not seal and filter the air properly on these modular engines. Thus allowing what is known as dusting to occur which will destroy the engine. And is the main reason that I only run the stock Motorcraft filters on my truck.

 

Could you clarify a bit, particularly the part about the heads looking "sandblasted"? Which part of the head? Or are you talking about the top of the piston?

Scratching my head, I can't imagine a way that cam phasers would be able to cause physical damage to the cylinder head or piston. Valve clearance in just about everything nowadays is nonadjustable by virtue of hydraulic lash adjusters, and considering your theory has me wondering why those two cylinders would care about a phaser problem, while the other six were unaffected.

You have a big problem for sure, but trying to shotgun troubleshoot a solution isn't likely to help anything. If anything, I think phaser lock out some more likely to cause a problem than leaving your next engine stock. VCT has been common for well over a decade now, and with rare exception has proven to be quite reliable.

 

It’s a 2013. Always Motorcraft filters

 

It looks like someone pulled the heads, masked them off, and sandblasted the underside of #4 and #8. Maybe like paredneck said “dusting”? I’m at a loss and unplugging the vct actuators seemed to help the misfire at idle. That’s the only reason I think it is the culprit.

 

Very odd. About the only thing that can cause that is foreign object damage… How did the plugs look? I wonder if a piece of electrode or ceramic insulator broke off and wreaked havoc.

Absolutely no chance your cam phasers could cause that. There's no possible mechanism of action for that to happen. Unplugging the actuators probably locks them into a position where the cylinders can build enough compression to fire even with that kind of damage. I had a cylinder head replaced under warranty in my company car a few years ago because of a bad valve seat that caused the misfire. It wasn't a persistent misfire; only at idle under certain circumstances. The valve seal was always bad, but only because the misfire under certain operating conditions.

Sounds to me like you got extremely unlucky with a rare failure, but don't go looking to fix what isn't broken.

 

Plugs looked just fine. That does make sense what you’re saying how it could lock them in a position where it fires more efficiently.

 

That sandblasting look is detonation most likely and means u have a timing problem or a major over heat warped the cam or something important. With 4 and 8 being at the back of the engine ingestion is not likely especially on opposite sides of the engine. This should be fixed before u find your piston made into a nice dust collected in your catalytic converter. Google it if u don't know what this is but it's a very fast way to kill an engine just shy of windowing your block. Worse case the first leads to the second.