hey guys, I have had this annoying sound in my engine and I am positive its the chain tensioners causing it. It only happens when I hit 2500rpms and I am getting sick of it! I was just curious if anyone has fixed this with the new kit ford offers???? I was qouted by ford 1100$cad. I want some reinforcment that this kit will fix my problem??? Please someone post back and let me know what I am in for! Thanks a lot guys!

Baumer

 

The tensioner kit will fix extended engine noise on cold start issues.. in other words.. you start the engine.. the chain rattles for several seconds and finally shuts up. It does not address noise issues at 2500RPM. Depending on what year your vehicle is it may have the kit already installed.

Now judging by your symptoms, I have a feeling you may have a loose exhaust heat shield rattle causing your noise. Crawl under the car when it is cold and smack upwards at different places on you exhaust with your hand. When you smack it near the loose heat shield you should be able to find the problem (it's usually towards the front Y-Pipe). You can usually repair this by install hose clamps around the loose shield and tightening it up.

Another possibility is engine pinging... does it do it while accelerating? Or just anytime you rev it up to 2500? If it only does it while accelerating, then it's likely pinging. You can try cleaning the Mass Air Flow sensor and check for vacuum leaks if this is the case.

Good luck!

 

I took it to ford and they gave me the same story about the pinging, but like I said to them it only happens while accelerating and only when i am in Drive(under load). I also notice that if I go uphill I can feel the truck clunking and this only happens if I hold the rpms @ 2500. I feel this with my foot so I am guessing that it is engine related(chain tensioners).?? I sometimes think the engine is going to blow up in my face but it hasnt yet! its a 2002 4.0 sohc and I have heard all the problems about it but never or not many in a 2002! I am really p'd off with ford but I really want this fixed as I love the truck. Anyone out there that can help me please post because I need major help.


thanks baumer

 

Pinging is caused by excessive cylinder temperature which causes the cylinder to heat up so much it ignites to fuel too early, causing the explosion to meet the piston while it is going up and trying to slam it back down... Also the leaner a mixture you have, the hotter the cylinder is, causing pinging

Possible causes:

-Dirty or bad Mass Air Flow sensor
-Poor fuel pressure/volume (usually caused by a failing fuel pump)
-Vacuum leak
-Over-advanced timing
-Malfunctioning EGR system
-Spark plugs

Just some things to check. Also the timing kit should already have been installed on a 2002. Good luck

 

hey man thanks for the post as I am goin to look into those things before i go blow $1100 on the kit. When I bought it the engine light was on and it took this mechanic 3 trys to get rid of this light. Ironically it was to do with the EGR system. So thanks for the help.I will keep you posted.

Baumer

 

Would any of these cause a "check engine" light? I'm starting to get a little pinging too, sounds like a faint spark knock. I have no other indications though. I'm planning on running some higher octane fuel to see if that makes it stop. If it does stop, then I suspect timing.

 

Yes every one of these conditions COULD (but not necessarily) cause a Check Engine light. Depending on the year of your vehicle, the timing may or may not be adjustable.

My advice to anyone experiencing pinging but no Check engine light is to start with a new Fuel filter, Fuel Induction/Injection cleaning (seafoam, etc), removing the Mass Air Flow sensor and clean it using a throttle body cleaner spray (do NOT use Carburator cleaner spray) and a Qtip, and a Tank full of premium unleaded. Once you go through that tankful switch back to Regular and see if the pinging comes back.

Good luck.

 

i did see some where online that ford had a tech bulliten about the chain slacking
i do rememeber it was to do with the 2000 an up explorer with the 4.0
so id call the dealer an give the vin# an see if its in the recall

 

Yeah, Yeah, i know, old thread... but I have an '02 that had the same problem, rattle under light load between 2400 and 2900 RPM or so. This is most definitely falls under the TSB 04-15-4. It is a problem with the Main timing chain tensioner... not sure how much the kit is alone (parts only), but the procedure runs 6.4 hours (Explorer without auxiliary A/C) for my model, by the book. In my case, the kit solved my problems. Older SOHC models, 2001 back to 98 or so, had an issue with the tensioners for the camshaft chains, and changing these was very expensive, as the rear tensioner replacement requires the engine to be removed from the vehicle.

To respond to the others, no, the chain issue does not set a code or CEL. Timing is non-adjustable (other than by the PCM) in the 2002 model.

According the text in the TSB, the original poster's symptoms match the TSB, and my, symptoms.

It sucks that Ford didn't figure out this problem until it was too late; I noticed (I stopped by the shop when they had the timing chain cover off, out of morbid curiosity) that the original tensioner (it uses springs; not hydraulic like the cam chain tensioners) looked like a toy compared to the replacement--more springs, heavier construction... I feel pretty confident that the new tensioner will solve the problem for the life of the engine.

 

Yes I have to apologize.. I was familiar with the TSB on the older models.. but not for the new ones.. I thought you were referring to that.

Oh well.. at least a few people learned something Good luck