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HELP!!! Timing chain broke????

the grooves on the valve covers?

There are seals that go around the spark plug holes on the valve covers, if that's what you're talking about.


Also, you may want to reconsider the Ford racing wires. There have been a decent amount of complaints about them in the past in regards to reliability and longevity. I use Bosch on mine and never had an issue.
 
69Boss302 said:
the grooves on the valve covers?

There are seals that go around the spark plug holes on the valve covers, if that's what you're talking about.


Also, you may want to reconsider the Ford racing wires. There have been a decent amount of complaints about them in the past in regards to reliability and longevity. I use Bosch on mine and never had an issue.
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Point taken on the wires. I'll try to get a picture of the grooves I'm talking about, they are down past the valve cover.
 
Here this is what I'm talking about circled in red. The leaking oil in on the rear side accumulated in these grooves:
plugtube.jpg
 
That's a scary sound. You need to pin it down before any real damage is done (and it may already be too late). I suspect it is a starter to flywheel noise.

Try turning the engine over without the starter to see if it is noisy. If it isn't noisy without the starter, pull the starter and inspect the starter drive and flywheel. If it is noisy without the starter, it could be any of several things, including a broken flex plate (flywheel) broken crank (broken in a bearing journal and digging into a bearing), or even something as simple as something out of place and rubbing flywheel or crank.
 
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I guess I should put it like this:
Could the starter/starter solenoid or flywheel be worn to the point where it cold turn the motor but not start it?
 
I had a similar issue with my Duratec earlier this week. I feared something awful had happened to the engine. I even suspected the starter had died. After some poking around, I determined that my battery needed to be replaced. The (7-year) old battery just didn't have the power to properly crank the cold engine. A visit to Wal-Mart and $60 later the engine immediately fired right up (after choking on 'flooded' cylinders for a few seconds from previous starting attempts).

If you have a battery charger with a higher amp 'boost' setting, you might try to see if that allows you to start the engine. If it does, then you may need a new battery and/or cleaner battery contacts. If replacing the battery, it'd be a good opportunity to check your alternator's output. Cold weather can really have an adverse impact on battery performance, especially if it's an old battery.
 
96_98_SE said:
I had a similar issue with my Duratec earlier this week. I feared something awful had happened to the engine. I even suspected the starter had died. After some poking around, I determined that my battery needed to be replaced. The (7-year) old battery just didn't have the power to properly crank the cold engine. A visit to Wal-Mart and $60 later the engine immediately fired right up (after choking on 'flooded' cylinders for a few seconds from previous starting attempts).

If you have a battery charger with a higher amp 'boost' setting, you might try to see if that allows you to start the engine. If it does, then you may need a new battery and/or cleaner battery contacts. If replacing the battery, it'd be a good opportunity to check your alternator's output. Cold weather can really have an adverse impact on battery performance, especially if it's an old battery.
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That's kind of what I feared. I just put a new battery in maybe 2 months ago. Its a two year free replacement on it so I'll try to jump it with a charger and see what happens. Of course I still need to replace the rear valve cover gasket so after I do that I'll give it a shot.

THANKS!
 
xtascox said:
Ughhh...

Here's two more views of it.

http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j4/xtascox/car/?action=view&current=carproblem.flv

Also how would I start it without the starter and without rolling it and popping the clutch?

Oh and I can't seem to find the starter under the bay, does anyone have a picture of its location? My chilton says how to remove it but I guess it assumes you know exactly where it is:shrug:
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I didn't say start it without a starter, I said turn it over without a starter. A socket on the front crank bolt or a large screwdriver on the teeth of the flywheel.
 
Big Jim said:
I didn't say start it without a starter, I said turn it over without a starter. A socket on the front crank bolt or a large screwdriver on the teeth of the flywheel.
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Ok I got that, my bad. I read that too quick. By doing this am I going to have to realign the crank to the starting position or is that only for timing purposes? Also where exactly is the starter in relation to engine?
 
You don't have to realign anything. You want to turn the engine over without the starter to see if that noise is present without the starter. Find a place to turn the crank, and turn it.

The starter is on top of the engine where the engine and trans meet. That would be on the driver's side, under the edge of the throttle body and intake manifold.
 
Big Jim said:
You don't have to realign anything. You want to turn the engine over without the starter to see if that noise is present without the starter. Find a place to turn the crank, and turn it.

The starter is on top of the engine where the engine and trans meet. That would be on the driver's side, under the edge of the throttle body and intake manifold.
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Thank you I finally get it! Sorry for the trouble understanding but I've been working on the car every day since Christmas night and I'm a little out of it:crazy:.

Well I'll post up and let you know what happens. I'll try to get compression test done tomorrow but I have a very short time gap that the tool will be available to me tomorrow and I doubt I'm going to be home during that gap.
 
Used the charger/jumper and no change. I'm going to try to get a look at the starter. Is there a way to turn the flywheel without removing the starter or will it have to come off?
 
I just want to get this thing running already. I miss driving it. I'm going to turn it over manually and listen for BAD sounds, if none then I'm going to pull the starter and inspect it and the flywheel. If I still can't make any progress then I'm going to get a 3 liter ASAP and get to work on it.
 
Laying in bed all night I've decided it has to be a start/flywheel issue. It all adds up: First of all it happened when it was starting. Second the noises I heard when it would start before all came from around that part of the engine. And third, from all the searching and people's opinions everything seems to point in that direction. I think that's what happening is that the starter isn't making solid contact with the flywheel and isn't turning the engine enough to turn the engine over correctly. It may be due to slippage or worn teeth. I will be able to better answer that once I get the starter pulled. Does anyone have a picture for reference of the starter location as I really can't see the one in my chilton manual very well. I think I can see the solenoid but I'm not 100% sure since I have no experience with starters.
 
not the best pictures but it should give you an idea.

I have the heads pulled on my 98 SVT so I took a couple pictures at different angles.

From where the RH head would be. Located to the left and under the coolant bypass in this picture.


From where the air filter is located. Seen through the coolant hose/wire harness and past the bracket for the intake tube/filter.


From over top standing at driver side fender. Seen below and to the right of the coolant bypass.


like I said, not the best pictures as they dont show the starter in its entirety but it gives an idea of it's location. Hope it helps.
 
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