really really wierd. - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

barry_v · 05-31-2003, 01:18

now this has got me scratching my head. Today my dad and I ripped my car apart to try and locate the source of a ticking noise coming from the front of the engine. after a hell of a lot of bolts we got the timing cover off. this is what we discovered.

as you can see, the rubber O-ring for the hydrolic chain tensioner has been sucked into the hole! This is what the ticking problem is caused by, as without the pressurised oil able to get through the hole, the chain is only tensioned by the spring....

then we took the hydrolic piston out. it was locked into position ready to be removed.

we never locked it into position (!)

my rough guess is that someone has done a fairly dodgy job when they've put this back together. I think they've used a O-ring that was too large, so has been able to be sucked into the hole. coupled with someone forgetting to unlock the chain tensioner spring, we had a ticking noise. has anyone ever had anything ever like this happain to them? or is it just me who gets these bizzare problems...

anyway, cars still in bits. gunna have to buy a new O-ring, new tensioners (I can now join the club of those who broke these) and a couple of rubber seals that were leaking slightly. its certainly be an eventful day for me!

aus_chicky · 05-31-2003, 02:02

sounds like ur havin some fun there,
good luck with getting it all back together, hope u can fix her up

SiX_iN_a_RoW · 05-31-2003, 02:50

its a very common mistake made by dodgy mechanics, the FIRST time I pulled mine apart the O-Ring was sucked into the hole. its the right O-Ring, but what you need to do is JUST before istalling the cover, smear the o-ring with multi-purpose grease to hold it in place. The main reason the O-Ring moves when installing the cover is because people try to install it by hand which results in twisted gaskets etc

Ive done mine 3 times now so I can talk from experience

How many k's has the car done? I would suggest replacing the timing chain and guides while you have it apart, a FULL kit including all gaskets is $120 from repco etc, buy that
ALSO check to see if the bottom crank sprocket has any side to side play in it, if it does, replace the crank woodruff key and sprocket ( or whichever is worn )

next smear some non hardening gasket cement on the bottom timing chain guide locating dowels ( raised pegs on the inner of the timing cover ) then fit the lower guide and leave it to set for an hour or so

Remove ALL sump bolts, and drop sump down as much as possible, fit the gaskets to the timing cover ( along with O-Ring ) then by hand, push the timing cover on squarely JUST far enough to get the long bolts started, theres 4 long bolts from memory, get all of these started and use the bolts to bring the cover in SQUARELY, this way you will avoid twisting gaskets and dislodging the O-Ring. I guarantee if you do it this way you will have no dramas, if you dont use the cement on the lower guide it will most likely fall off into the sump, if you dont drop the sump down far enough the guide will prevent you from pushing the cover on at all.

Anyway I hope that helps

barry_v · 05-31-2003, 02:57

thanks a lot! you're spot on. We are intending to replace the guides, timing cover seal and gasket. we werent intending to replace the chain, it seemed alright. you could be right though, might as well do it while its apart. Ill investigate the kit at repco tommorow. thanks again mate.

barry_v · 05-31-2003, 02:59

sorry forgot. the car has done 195,000 km. I only got it 3 weeks ago, so i dont know the history. is in overall good nick though, this is the only problem so far, apart from wiper blades

SiX_iN_a_RoW · 05-31-2003, 03:09

yes well 195k's its well worth replacing the chain, you MAY run into a little trouble when trying to remove the fixed guide ( passenger side ) the sealant used on the pin bolt is second to none and usually requires direct heat to loosen it up. Buy a new bolt from ford for $8, it comes with the sealant pre-applied.
Everything else will come in the kit, including crank seal, tensioner O-Ring etc etc

If you need help setting the tensioner up correctly when the time comes just let me know and ill post a guide for it.

Make sure you check that crank sprocket, if it moves from side to side at all, remove it and check for wear

barry_v · 05-31-2003, 03:20

thanks a lot dude, ill get back to you if i run into any problems. might be able to get the parts kit tommorow, but i wont be able to get the ford parts. Ill see what I can do and Ill post back any updates.

barry_v · 06-01-2003, 03:13

well we did some more today. bought the gasket kit and all 3 guides. decided to give the chain a miss, it'd been replaced recently by the look of it. its all sychronised now and ready for us to put the timing cover back on tommorow followed by the crankshaft pulley, followed by the belts and the fan, then the radiator then....

got out of it quite cheaply, Sprint Auto sold me the gasket kit and all the guides for $60. there was no play in that crank sprocket fortunatly. didnt have to heat that bolt either, it just came out. it looks as if it had been heated out before though, the top of the tensioner looks bubbled and melted :/

SilverEA · 06-24-2003, 19:26

Sorry to bring up this thread again, but after rebuilding my motor in the EA, including the timing chain and tensioners, I found that my o ring was sucked in as well, on both motors (mine and the one from the wreckers) In the kit I had, there was 2 different o rings supplied. One was like the one that was in the timing case, and the other was a thinner one. I installed the thinner one, as I had remembered this thread and others having the same problem. I found the thick one would squash too much and I feel that this is why it gets sucked in, cause that hole is the only place it can expand into. It also moves round in its hole, ie. its not held in place while the case is replaced. I fitted the thin one as this one went around the inside edge of the hole and fitted perfectly so it wont fall out when putting the case on the motor, it shouldn't suck into the hole as it wont squash down, and it just sticks out a bit further than the case so it should seal well.
Just wanted to post this to see what everyone else thought about this and maybe to help people with choosing the right o ring to put in. It's about half as thick as the one's that i found installed and a little bit larger in diameter....

barry_v · 06-24-2003, 21:15

from memory the other o-ring is actually for the hydrolic tensioner mate.

btw thanks to six_in_a_row, I fixed the problem.