Ford Camshaft synchronizer’s are a common failure. Some techs aren’t familiar with them so they may not be comfortable with them. Unfortunately the service m…
Installing a Ford Synchronizer
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.How do you get the #1 cylinder to TDC on a 2004 taurus v6? The spark plug
holes are sideways and #1 cylinder is between the fire wall and block.
I just did this cam synchronizer on the 1999 Ford 3.0litre Vulcan engine.
The only reason Ford replaced the distributor is because this part is
deliberately made CHEAP and designed to fail costing you bucks at the
Dealership. All you need to do is find Top Dead Center by removing the #1
Sparkplug which is easy to get at because there is lots of room between the
firewall and the block. Once you have removed the #1 sparkplug that is next
to the Serpentine belt on the rear cylinder bank, put your finger over the
Sparkplug hole and have someone spin the engine over with quick clicks on
the ignition switch until you feel the compression pressure build up on
your finger. Then find the Top Dead Center (TDC) marks on the Harmonic
Balancer on the crankshaft by removing the splash guard in the fender and
clean these marks off. It is usually easy to see the TDC mark and the 10
degrees before mark. Set it on the 10 degrees mark and drop in your Cam
Sycronizer in where it belongs. One tooth in either direction will be
clearly wrong when you see the orientation 20 degrees off of where it
belongs. So it is pretty hard to mess up once you have found the 10 degrees
BTDC. That is it. Replace the 10mm bolt hold down for the sycronizer shaft.
Removing the intake manifold makes it a ton easier, since there is only 8
bolts holding down the intake manifold and it makes this job so much
easier. This is a critical skill to possess when you own a Ford Taurus with
the Vulcan motor.
I’ve done all as stated on my 2001 Ford Taurus. After 30-40 miles my CEL
comes back on. I am puzzled because I’ve done the “Stab” step by step.
I’ve even tried 3 different Sensor Manufactures. Any ideas are GREATLY
appreciated!
great video one thing that should be said is TDC on the compression stroke
update after watching your follow up i understand more than i did previous
to today and appreciate learning more from you than you’ll ever know thank
you very much for teaching me all of this new info =D
THANK you doug gyver for pointing out that it doesnt really matter where
the housing of the cam synchronizer, i was wandering what the whole degree
thing was really for if i already installed the synchronizer with the
little tool and with the engine at TDC. anyway my scynchronizer only went
on one way anyway.
100 thumbs up. Awesome teacher.
Very well presented, explained, and much appreciated. I just did one today
on a 2007 Taurus with a 3.0 Liter. To bring the engine to TDC on the
Taurus with front wheel drive, I removed the passenger tire, and went
behind the splash-guard to access the engine’s damper pulley. I used a
21mm socket, with a 1/2-inch drive, and short extension to turn the engine
to align the interrupter.
why not put tool on old one before you pull it. line it up with the
centerline on the motor . pull it . put tool on new sensor an drop it back
in same position. that way theres no guessing on angle . you could actually
mark a spot on fire wall or motor for a referance point . but ya im
impressed with his videos overall
I saved this one. Great! Send others. Thanks
Great video. Thank you!
GREAT VIDEO TANKS
I have watched a lot of videos on here and I think ol man duane forgot more
about wrenching than most young guys will ever know,and a great teacher
too.
Good video
Great video Dwyane. I like where you take the extra time to illustrate
installing the synchronizer in an engine with the upper components removed.
Really helps out a lot. Thanks for taking the time to make this video.
wouldnt it also be just as easy to remove the old sensor cover, and place a
mark on the intake and then pull the unit and use the mark to stab the new
one? I use this techince on distributers and it works ther so why cant it
work in this situation unless someone has already done it and screwed up
the placement?
Your a great teacher. I love how you use a lot of visual aids for us visual
learners.
I dont watch full page ads
you can get the syncro and tool kit at oreilly auto parts, I just ordered
both for 44 bucks and they’ll be in tomorrow.
Good god. Look at the gears. Crank gear has half as many teeth as the cam
gear, and is the one doing the driving..one revolution of the crankshaft
equals 1/2 revolution of the camshaft. This isn’t rocket science, man..
The whole “15 degree” installation position is a load of BS. If you are
using a tool (the little plastic doodad with the arrow) that locks the
rotor position relative to the housing, it DOESN’T MATTER where the housing
is clocked relative to the engine. So long as there is sufficient wiring
harness to connect to the sensor it won’t matter where the housing is
clocked so long as the crankshaft is at #1 TDC and the little “rotor” tab
is locked in the correct position relative to the housing.
as the synchroniser body is not keyed into the engine block, why can you
not rotate the synchroniser until the metal tab in the reluctor is in the
home position? 15 degree alignment would be there for to make sure the
wiring plug would reach the reluctor. am i missing something?
is this a 4.0l SOHC or OHV? i though in 1998 they started using the SOHC
Nice improvement over the last video showing this, real professional
looking. 😉
Can you make a video of the best way to find TDC?
Can you pleace tell me which is the right tool for the synchronizer
assembly for 2001 ford taurus 3. lt.I’m will be very thankyou
so after watching this i get out of the whole thing thing this is basically
just a fancy crank position sensor correct?
I find the hard part is locating TDC on this 99 Ranger by counting back
from the gap on the crank (where the engine crank sensor is reading engine
position.) Some people say you should count back 5 “fingers” or “teeth” and
others say count back 6 “teeth” for TDC on this engine. You can go though
this whole process, but if you’ve located the engine on the wrong “teeth”
at the crank sensor your Cam Synchronizer will be incorrect even if you’ve
installed it perfect. It is still a good video 🙂
Wow! You are very luck. 431000 miles!?. The best answer I can give you is
that they last as long as they last, but the majority of the water pumps
I’ve replaced are usually sometime after 100k. There are so many factors to
take into account when it comes to parts longevity. Like, Is the part high
quality/ Does the owner keep up with the maint/ and the list goes on.
Apparently you’ve taken care of your Ford. Kudos.
That’s why I like the older Fords that had the distributor on the front of
the engine. Great video.
Seriously? I’m just going take my old one out, mark the positions of its
location and put the new one where the old one came out. I’ll report back…
Okay, I’ve been wrenching & racing all over this fine ol’ US of A for
35-ish years, and this is the first time I’ve ever heard a distributor
installation (or cam synchro, or whatever) described as “stabbing.” Is this
some kinda local slanguage, or what?
Nope. The crank position sensor is on the front of the engine, picks up a
signal from the harmonic ballancer. This is a cam position sensor..turns at
half crank speed.
Great video, easy to follow, simple, covering every question that might
come up especially the fact that you filmed at the very end where it is
located and how difficult to reach and film.. You are by far my most
favourite teacher.
The actual overall orientation of the syncro really doesn’t matter. As long
as the tool is on top and the engine is at TDC #1 when it’s installed it
will work in any orientation. So the whole 15º or 60º thing is just a
general guideline for installation rather than a critical adjustment. Most
people run into trouble when they try to replace the syncro without the
alignment tool (it does not come with the part) because the vane rotates as
you drop it. In that case visual alignment is critical.
Good video Duane, my question is where did you get that synchronization
tool kit and how much please let me know asap. Thanks.
i know im noisy and such but you can get that synchronization tool on
amazon just type camshaft synchronizer tool and a whole heap will come up
they like $20 something dollars i hope it helps
I have a 2008 E350 Super duty Econoline, 5.4 L gasoline. I have 431000
miles 99 % highway miles. Still have original water pump that shows no sign
of any leaks or problems. How long do these water pumps last? Anybody know?
need to buy a kit? can’t hold the synchronizer in place during
installation? thanks for the video
good vid
Or Remove spark plugs Rotate engine to top dead center #1. Have a friend
handy to hold finger in #1 spark plug hole. Use nylon tie in spark plug
hole to find TDC Make sure the synchronizer tool fits on original still in
engine so its indexed for removal Mark a reference point on block where the
arrow points with the tool Remove old synchronizer Replace new synchronizer
with it pointing at original reference mark on block It’s that easy, did it
in the college parking lot a couple years ago.
Andrew Miguelez try to put a protractor with the engine on the car and see
if you can do it, its easy to tell the 45 degree like the way he show. Its
all about paying attention in what you doing!
Great job on the video- that worked out great that you had all those
resources available for visual demonstration.
Nope, you’re dead right. The “15 degree” marking in the manual is a
suggested range of installation in order for the connector to plug in. The
installation tool locks the reluctor relative to the housing, the engine
being at #1 TDC (or wherever it’s spec’d for) completes the equation. Ol’
dude’s making it MUCH more complicated than it needs to be,
You cannot see the gears in this video. ALL camshafts turn at half of crank
speed. They have to in order for the valves to perform four functions
within two revolutions of the crankshaft. It’s the basis of a four cycle
engine..
Because of the tight space between the engine and firewall what are the
chances of getting a small protractor in there? Great video. I’d never even
heard of a cam synchronizer before. Learned a lot thank you.
Actually the cam turns twice the speed as the crank. 1:2 ratio
Ezrxdoug my bad, got my facts wrong, btw couldn’t see the gears cuz my
iphone quality sucks.
I’ve tried and tried to understand this procedure, and just couldn’t get
it. This video was just what I needed. I finally get it! Great
presentation. Thanks!
good vid thanks
video no correcto,- el sincronizador (abertura) va en linea recta con el
motor , la pestaña va directamete con el grado especificado por el
fabricante del motor, el sensor va directamente com el sincronizador a cero
grados .- piston Nª 1 en PMS,. listo—– este señor engaña haciendo creer
que lo esta colocando.- para colocarlo hay que retirar la tapa (SENSOR) y
ver el grado a colocar previo a esto hay que poner piston Nª 1 en PMS