'stangdude

Okay, I have yet to do a compression test to confirm this, but I have been dealing with valvetrain issues with my car for over a month. I finally got the car back in one piece two days ago after a large branch automotive shop re-timed my engine. Fortunately I got pictures of the timing chain in place before they put everything back on. I didn't think much of it, but now that I look at it and think about it, it appears as though the passenger side might be off...and off by a few teeth which would be enough to cause damage. Here is the diagram from the Ford Service Repair Manual:



Okay, notice how the passenger side is at ~11 o'clock position per the manual.

Well, when they retimed everything, the right side timing mark of the phaser with the colored link lined up with it was at the 12 o'clock position in the picture shown below.

Here is that picture of the one I took from my car:



Ignore the black arrows I drew. It was from another post showing the position of the reluctor wheel. The photo might look misleading, but the Right timing mark that is etched on the phaser IS at the 12 O'clock position as I remember it clearly.

I know that there are supposed to be two colored links per chain and Ford says you can mark the opposite link of the chain stretched out IF it only has
one mark when/if you retime it. The purpose of the second colored link is to line up with the crankshaft gear as shown in the Ford Manual. Here is a screenshot showing the ford racing timing chain with both marks:





Notice that there are EXACTLY 28 links between each timing mark. The timing marks are just there as a guide to ensure you install them right and that there are 28 links between the phaser timing mark and the crankshaft timing mark.

Now when the shop showed me the timing chain beforehand, I noticed it only had one colored link per chain. This concerns me because what if these guys only lined up the link of the chain with the phaser and not the crankshaft gear? Because the crankshaft is set at the 6 o'clock position to be TDC. As in they only thought they had to line up the one colored link with the phaser since there are not two colored links per chain? I'm starting to really believe myself unfortunately, and am thinking that by this logic, the right passenger side is going to be at LEAST 3 teeth off if not a little more.

I'm strongly thinking that this HAS to be the case. Think about it. If the colored link is at the 12 o'clock position, that reduces the number of links between the crank and the phaser because there has to be 28 links between the phaser timing and the crank timing. Which means that (well, according to my deductive reasoning so far) this has got to be out of time (F***!!!).

Obviously if this was not timed correctly, that could mean bent valves because the car has already been driven. I know this sucks, but I just now realized this.

Someone please tell me I am WRONG!!!

Anyway, the compression test will show that when I conduct it. I will post results here for anyone curious as much as me.

hammeron

here was my final timing.

on your pic, it just looks like the crankshaft might have been rotated clockwise a bit,
before the pic was taken. it may be perfectly timed.

without a final pic like mine, its hard to be sure.

Derf00

What makes you feel it's a timing issue?

'stangdude

Very true. However, I'm sure doing a compression test will confirm if I ultimately have bent valves or not. Which bent valves will reveal it has been out of time of course. I really hope that's not the case.

'stangdude

I have felt a slight loss in power.

Another thing: Considering I replaced everything in the valvetrain including the lasher adjusters and cam followers, I've been hearing this loud, single, metal-to-metal contact TICK that occurs once every 10-15 seconds. This is coming from the passenger side near cylinders 3 and 4 btw.

Also, on the way home from work yesterday morning, I was on the highway in 5th gear going about 65 and out of nowhere my check engine light begins flashing. Well I could not stop as I was near home. But when I got back it stopped flashing. I tried to see if I could read the codes through my OBDII scanner but nothing came up for that since it had already stopped flashing. Most sources I've seen say that a flashing CEL indicates a misfire.

Anyway, given the symptoms above I'd say something is not right timing wise. I'm hoping these are not symptoms for a bent valve.

'stangdude

UPDATE: Well, I have some GREAT news. Well, after weeks of diagnosing, I finally did a compression test. And...the results are in!!! The engine had about 91,500 miles when I did the test. All numbers are in units of psi.
#1: 185
#2: 190
#3: 190
#4: ~200
#5: 195
#6: 197
#7: 200
#8: 195

Anyway, I was pleased with the results nonetheless. Also, regarding the flashing check engine light, it turns out it was a misfire on cyl #4. I got new ignition coils and the code disappeared. The only other issues I had were P0171 and P0174 which are banks 1 and 2 running too lean as well as a P151A code for intake manifold runner controller performance. Well, turns out both of those were tuning issues. Turns out I have CMCV delete plates because I bought the car with them on and didn't know it and wasn't accounted for in the tune which was why it was throwing the code. Anyway, all codes are GONE! and engine is running strong.

I assume that running it to 6,000+RPMS in 3rd gear and the fact that the compression is still healthy in all cylinders confirms that the engine MUST be timed correctly...which means no bent valves or anything else