Anecdotal Cam Phaser Noise as it relates to oil

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full-race geoff

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chains aren't necessary. Neither are rockers, etc. The guides are made of plastic that is designed to be bathed in hot oil, and again, they are not a problem area on these engines.
That is correct if you’re talking about gen 3

But that has not been my experience with the gen 2
 

letsgetthisdone

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That is correct if you’re talking about gen 3

But that has not been my experience with the gen 2

What failures have you seen on the Gen2? Aside from the phasers I haven't seen chain or guide issues, or issues with the valvetrain. I've done probably 15-20 of them at my shop, including mine. And just as many valve covers for the cracking issues, so I've had eyes on the valvetrain.
 

full-race geoff

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What failures have you seen on the Gen2? Aside from the phasers I haven't seen chain or guide issues, or issues with the valvetrain.
The more common valve train failure is the Gen 2 plastic guide, it can fail at the pad where the tensioner pushes on it. Ford updated the tensioner and went to a metal guide on the Gen 3

Gen3 Metal Tensioner Arm - Driver's Side (LH): ML3Z-6K255-A
Gen3 Metal Tensioner Arm - Passenger Side (RH): ML3Z-6K255-B
Gen3 Right Timing Chain Tensioner: ML3Z-6L266-B

1725995062388.jpeg
If the engine spends a lot of time at rev limit or if the engine is seeing high boost levels and a worn tensioner, the plunger on the tensioner can push itself into the pad on the back of the guide (red arrow) and bury itself which causes the chain to get slack. I will try and get a photo of a bad one

The hl3z lifters and followers (rockers) are also not as robust as the bl3z. They do break, seen some posts on here recently even. Probably an issue For higher abuse levels with a side of increased rpm
 

julien194b

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The more common valve train failure is the Gen 2 plastic guide, it can fail at the pad where the tensioner pushes on it. Ford updated the tensioner and went to a metal guide on the Gen 3

Gen3 Metal Tensioner Arm - Driver's Side (LH): ML3Z-6K255-A
Gen3 Metal Tensioner Arm - Passenger Side (RH): ML3Z-6K255-B
Gen3 Right Timing Chain Tensioner: ML3Z-6L266-B

View attachment 466460
If the engine spends a lot of time at rev limit or if the engine is seeing high boost levels and a worn tensioner, the plunger on the tensioner can push itself into the pad on the back of the guide (red arrow) and bury itself which causes the chain to get slack. I will try and get a photo of a bad one

The hl3z lifters and followers (rockers) are also not as robust as the bl3z. They do break, seen some posts on here recently even. Probably an issue For higher abuse levels with a side of increased rpm
Interresting, what's @FordTechOne opinion about these metal tensioner updated on gen 3 ?
 

julien194b

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perhaps "plastic" (which is in fact not really simple plastic) is not the best choice , but plenty engines with timing chain are equiped with "plastic tensioner" my old 1994 opel Frontera was like that...and it was a reliable Izuzu engine ! Future will show that metal tensioner create another unexpected issue...Hope I am wrong, we never know !
 
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