2000 Explorer Timing Belt or Chain?
 

MY truck sounds like it has birds under the hood! Originally, i thought it was the altenator belt or hinges were worn, the first shop said nope- its internal engine problems.
The second shop told me it was the timing chain and told me to sell my truck. They would give me $1500.00 for it.

The former owner , my ex says no way, that truck has a belt and at 98K miles it should not be the engine. the belt is on the outside of the engine and his kids should be able to totally wreck it before I need to sell it off at a total loss.

Does this truck have a timing belt or engine? What is the noise assoicated with the belt going? Right now it squeeks and sounds likes birds!

forgive the long winded stuff. .I am a loss what to do. I need ask the threads! Threads work !

thanks,
elowyn

If it's a high-pitch squeal it may be your serpentine belt which drives all of your accessories. If it clatters like a diesel at startup then it's your timing chain.

Your truck has a timing chain. No timing belt driven engine was ever installed in an Explorer (at least not from the factory).

You're probably going to find this noise is one of two problems. The serpentine belt, or the camshaft synchronizer assembly.

You can remove the serpentine belt and start it up (don't let it run more than a minute or it may overheat). If the noise is still present it's probably the synchronizer... of which I HIGHLY recommend a qualified repair shop perform the replacement of, as its installation has to be precise (and can be a very big pain to get to).

You also need a special installation tool to get it "timed" right. Timing chain noise is usually a rattle or knocking sound, not a high pitched squeal.

Good luck!

Birds chirping -- a familiar sound with my Explorer. As others have stated, I believe Ford only made the Explorer with Timing Chain motors; in any event, your 2000 most certainly has a timing chain. If the sound does indeed sound much like birds chirping: check the idler pulley (these go bad around 100K or so, cheap part to replace), check Tensioner / Tensioner pulley (also go bad around 100K, not too expensive) ... it could be other bearings, like alternator, etc. all of which are cheaper to fix than "internal engine problems.". Also, the Gates-made replacement belts that were tried on my 2002 both chirped like crazy (and they were the right size, tried 2)... ended up putting a Motorcraft (ford) belt on, it's all quiet now. I'd get a second opinion from another shop. If it were the chain (and if it's a SOHC 4.0, they were known for some chain tensioner issues until around 2002), you'd hear a rattling noise, often around 1500 to 2000 RPM. This can be expensive to fix if the tensioner that has failed is the rear one. Any ford mechanic could help make this judgement call for you. If your 4.0 Engine is the "OHV" version, I seriously doubt you'll ever have timing chain problems.

Oh, and as a previous poster said, if your engine is the OHV version, it could be the cam synchonizer... these do go bad -- but it's not a repair that requires a total teardown.