1995 Ford F150, 5.0/305 120'000 miles, this truck has been a worker since day 1, Has a trailer hooked up to it almost everyday. Truck has had a decent PM schedule its whole life and just got to thinking about the timing chain needing replacement, doesen't say anything about it in the manual. So was just wondering if maybe it should be replaced or when it should be replaced. thanks
Timing chain replacment?
- Thread starter kkat
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Well first its a 302-GM made the 305. What you need to find out is if the timing gears are nylon or steel. Ford used Nylon gears a while back because they were quiet (who cares?) I don't know if they used them in 95 or not. I wouldn't worry about it until 150k at least. A friend of mine has 94 250 with a 351 and his timing chain was fine at 225k when we checked it. I bet you will loose a water pump a some point so I would just put one on then. On the plus side a new timing set can be run straight up instead of retarded like the factory set. Could give you 5-10 hp and more low end tq.
Tolerances need to be checked (play), and the chain followers/guides need to be checked for wear. Also, the chain needs to be checked for stretch; thats about the only thing a chain can do (well excpet for keeping timing, duh
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I can't quite remember the procedure for checking the slack in the chain without pulling the cover off ...but it went something like pulling #1 plug and putting the piston to TDC ..rotating the crank by hand to 0 degrees (if you had a mark) and then measuring the + and - with the piston staying still and not moving. If you've got more than XX amount of no movement ...you've got excessive slack in the chain. Even without a mark you can find TDC for the piston and see what arch the breaker bar swings between downward movements.
Anyone better versed on this procedure???
Anyone better versed on this procedure???
Is it a 5.0L straight six or V8?
The 6 uses gears only.
The 6 uses gears only.
Timing sets DO wear out. When I pulled apart my '69 302 with 162K there were several of the nylon teeth missing and the chain was so loose I could take it off without moving the gears. If it is a steel gear set it is fine but I don't know what 95s had in them. Call ford and find out for sure.
Gary
If your turning the crank and the piston isn't moving you have bigger problems than a timing chain. In order for this method to work you would have to pull a valve cover and look at the rockers or look at the rotor inside the dist.
Gary
If your turning the crank and the piston isn't moving you have bigger problems than a timing chain. In order for this method to work you would have to pull a valve cover and look at the rockers or look at the rotor inside the dist.
It is my experince that some wear between 120,000 and 180,000 the trimeing chains on most well cared for V8's need replaceing. I belive 5 degree's of deflection is the limit for older ford V8's! The 302 and 351 if cared for can easily make it to 200,000 but the timeing chain usualy does not make it that far!
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Yes ....
...but you DID figure out what I was struggling to say..
A good practical, easy check.
Put a socket wih pull bar onto the crankshaft/pully bolt. Try turning the engine forward, then backward. Fairly heavy resistance will be felt when the valve system starts to turn, either direction. From this "feel", you can get an idea as to how much slack there is in the chain. If you know the pitch diameter of the sprocket, you can calculate the movement, and compare to specification. Your "book" if any, should give you a maximum limit. I, personally, wouldn't worry about anything less than 1/8 inch of slack, or a little more.
As others have said, if it is metal, it's probably OK. I've seem the plastic sprocket type fail at 85K +/-.
T.
Put a socket wih pull bar onto the crankshaft/pully bolt. Try turning the engine forward, then backward. Fairly heavy resistance will be felt when the valve system starts to turn, either direction. From this "feel", you can get an idea as to how much slack there is in the chain. If you know the pitch diameter of the sprocket, you can calculate the movement, and compare to specification. Your "book" if any, should give you a maximum limit. I, personally, wouldn't worry about anything less than 1/8 inch of slack, or a little more.
As others have said, if it is metal, it's probably OK. I've seem the plastic sprocket type fail at 85K +/-.
T.
Kestas
Staff member
The procedure I remember is to rotate the crank back and forth using the dampner nut and watching when the distributor starts rotating. If the slack is 10° or more, then it's time to replace the timing chain set.
OffOrWFO is correct. The small block Ford V8 uses nylon coated teeth on the timing gears for quiet operation. I've seen two high-mileage engines (mine included) in our neighborhood where the chain had jumped a tooth. Both engines had around 150,000 miles.
OffOrWFO is correct. The small block Ford V8 uses nylon coated teeth on the timing gears for quiet operation. I've seen two high-mileage engines (mine included) in our neighborhood where the chain had jumped a tooth. Both engines had around 150,000 miles.
Does a 1995 5.0 Ford in a pickup have a roller cam?
I used to replace lots of timing sets with the old flat tappit lifters......I rarely replace one on a roller engine.
The roller motors seem to outlast the body's.
I used to replace lots of timing sets with the old flat tappit lifters......I rarely replace one on a roller engine.
The roller motors seem to outlast the body's.
That seems to only be true for non-HO 5.0 engines.
According to information on http://www.corral.net the HO 5.0 engines use a double-roller timing chain with steel gears.
I also looked in the Office Ford Mustang 5.0 Technical Reference and Performance Handbook by Al Kirschenbaum and it says:
All 1979 5-liter and 1980 4.2 liter V8 engines were assembled with a plastic-coated aluminum cam-drive sprocket and a .75 inch wide Morse link type silent timing chain.
In 1982-1994 Mustang 5.0s, an .875 inch wide roller timing chain replaced the previous link type chain. This double roller arrangement had originally been developed for industrial engines and was first used in 1980 Ford 5.8 liter police car applications.
[...]
The roller timing chain setup remained in 5-liter V8 production through 1994. At the very end of the 5-liter Fox-4 Mustang run, the roller chain was replaced by a pinned-link silent timing chain that cost Ford less to use. This 1995 and later 5.0 chain is similar in design to the silent chain used in pre-1982 Mustang V8s and can replace the pre-1982 chain or the 1983-94 chain if replaced as a set with the two sprockets.
12.2 Sprockets
The corresponding cam socket was redesigned from the earlier 4.2/5 liter's plastic coated aluminum verion to a double row, straight toothed Grade-A cast iron version for the double roller chain.
[...]
(When the silent chain design returned to 1995-and-later 5-liter V8s, the cam sprocket did not come with the plastic coated teeth used on pre-1982 V8s)
[ November 03, 2004, 10:01 AM: Message edited by: brianl703 ]
The 5-liter V8 was not used in the Mustang after 1995, so the only conclusion I can come to with that information is that the new-type silent timing chain was used in the truck application 5-liter V8s.
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