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Weird?

D

DyComet

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Aug 30, 2005
Messages
526
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio
Alright, so I'm in the midst of installing the 3L right now. Today when I went to tighten the flywheel bolts I noticed that the crank of the engine does not spin even when I moved over to spin on the crank. It spun freely when I put the timing on and now it doesn't seem to move at all. What could be going on?
 
Try using a breaker bar on the damper bolt and see if it will spin. remember to turn it clockwise(?) as the other way could cause damage (per the Ford Service CD)
 
I'll be able to check it tomorrow. It has been about 2 months since I did the timing on there and it hasn't been turned since. I just hope that everything is still right on the inside.
 
Alright, well I got it to spin and it moves a bit more freely now. I do have the clutch and the transmission installed so I was pushing through everything. It still requires a short breaker bar to move, do you think that the starter will be able to push through it for start up?
 
Wow. You should not have to use a breaker bar to turn the motor over.

The cams will provide a bit of resistances but with a 1/2" ratchet you should be able to crank it through a couple of cycles.

Does it have new rings or something? That could explain it. I'm sorry I haven't read everything but I saw that and I wanted to comment on it.
If you have everything brand new in an engine it will be really tight. After that it will loosen up.
But if it is already broke in then you just want to make sure you haven't got binding cams or anything like that.
THere have been a few instances of camshafts that were binding in 3L swaps and it took a little work to make them fit smoothly.
Be careful and check all your bases.
 
The engine has 1000 miles on it. I'm not sure if that is considered broken in enough. It moved freely when I installed the timing. I feel as though I didn't use enough install lube when I put the rod bearings in. Could that be the problem?
 
warmonger said:
Wow. You should not have to use a breaker bar to turn the motor over.
Click to expand...

Hehe...I always use a breaker bar when space allows. Some of them damn bolts wouldn't come off with just a ratchet...maybe it's my girly arms...

and after dealing with my damper bolt on the 3L...these engines dont deserve the "taking it easy" that a ratchet gives...needs more torque. :-D
 
Alright, I tore down a little into the motor and found that the cams caps were too tight even though they were torqued down to exact Ford specifications. I can now move the everything with the 3/8 in. ratchet with a little resistance but I believe that is from the cams and all that jazz. Ford calls for 10NM on those caps and they are probably around 7-8 now. It just wouldn't turn with 10NM. Let me know if this could cause any type of damange.
 
Thats weird, mine we tightened to 10 Nm and everythign was fine...I spose you could always run the risk of the caps being too loose and that could allow for some play in the cam which could result in valve issues. I'll leave this answe to the pro's though...
 
Yeah I know what you mean, but it absolutely refused to turn under that torque setting. Actually with my wrench its hard to tell for sure where exactly the torque is at. The engine only has 1000 miles on it too so could everything still being a bit stiff due to being new be a possible problem as well? The engine is in the car and it gets started up tomorrow so please chime in.
 
That sounds not right you sure you put the correct caps on the cams. I always installe the cams before I put the lifters in so I can make sure the cams spin by hand. I hope you did mark your cam caps and returned them to there original postion from factory.
 
They were, or at least should have been, put in the correct places from factory. I have a donor 2.5L that I can remove the cam caps from if necessary. What if I transferred the 2.5L ones to the corresponding ones on the 3L to ensure that they are correctly placed. Can I transfer cam caps like this or is the cam cap fitted for the specific head that it is placed on.
 
what i understood is you should use the caps from that specific head because they are line bored?? on the head , basically they are drilled when they are already installed on the head, am i right here?
 
While I cannot answer your question, today I pulled the valve covers and I ensured that the cams caps were installed in their original positions. Sure enough every cap was exactly where it was supposed to be. I slightely retightened the cam caps to spec and we'll find out tomorrow when I try to start up the engine.
 
svtkev said:
what i understood is you should use the caps from that specific head because they are line bored?? on the head , basically they are drilled when they are already installed on the head, am i right here?
Click to expand...

No, they'll work.
First choice is to use the cam caps with the engine but if something is wrong just swap one out.
Best to put them in and test it by hand first, then if you have issues you can plastigauge them or do it like I said by tightening one at a time and see which one locks up the cam.

Oh well. If he fires it up like that, one of two things will happen. I will work...or it won't. :shrug:
I think it will suck if he has a binding cap and it melts the aluminum into a piece of slag on that one cap/head journal though.
 
Well, I think everything is working fine. I fired her up after ensuring that the cam caps were from their original positions and it works great. There are no abnormal sounds coming from anywhere in the engine and with the exception of a few annoying coolant leaks everything is working great. Is there any chance that the cam is still binding in there and I don't know about it or since it runs fine now the problem is ok? I really don't want to ruin this engine.
 
I'd keep an eye on the cap to make sure they don't come loose. The cam might have become slightly bent, causing the binding under the higher torque. If its running fine then everything should wear together, hopefully with no problems.
 
Ok, speaking of problems. I had to take the valve covers off today due to a minor oil leak on the rear cover and I decided to torque down the cam caps to spec since the engine had already been running fine and oil had a chance to get in there. When I tried to start it back up the engine was running very rough and stalled out. WTF is going on with the cams? I'm guessing one of them is binded and I'm about to take it all apart and put the 2.5L cam caps on there. If I do this, do I need to pull the timing chain off this engine and completely redo all the timing to ensure that the cams work fine? I have another car so right now I'm more concerned about getting this running the way it should. Thanks in advance for your help.
 
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