yeah gday.

new rebuild (1.5yrs) but my timing chain is eating away bits of guide and is then somehow hitting/cracking the timing cover which then causes a constant but slow oil leak out the front.

I'm starting to point the figure at the shift-kit.. In my old 180k engine i used the shiftkit constantly and had no problems whatsoever, but becuase this engine is new / different cam/more power/bigger stall, and everything is maybe tighter? could the stresses be caused by the quick gear changes OR
has my timing chain got too much/too little slack/tension on it OR
"insert your theory here"

why i think its the shiftkit because after the first repair (which was crack in timing cover/guides) I ran it while never using the kit, and there were no leaks, dry as a bone, but one day on the highway several weeks later i put the kit on and ever since that day the oil is coming out front around timing cover again.

ideas? thanks.

There is a small oil regulator for the hydraulic tensioner. It sits in a small hole on the top of the block behind the timing chain cover. I guess if this had fallen out on the rebuild it may be causing too much tension as the oil pressure would be alot higher than its meant to be.

i dont think the regulator works like that....

i thinnk its more of a check valve like in a hydraulic lifters, so it allows the tensioner to move out but not in...

if u left it out the tension on the chain would be inconsistant....

dont really know but thats my theory as ive never seen an explanation in the ford repair manual...


u may not have set the tensioner correctly....it is possible to over-tension it...

the cuase would not be the shift kit or anything external to the motor itself.
It is either the chain, the tensioner or guides. You will find the chain is whipping around and flogging everything out.
Have you installed the tensioner correctly, and has it been released correctly?
Is the chain new? is it noisy at all?

it is the shop doing the work, not me. Chain, tensioner, guides, everything is new and no unusual noises from the chain.

im using fully synth Edgesport 0w-40 (was run in on gtx3 professional). lifters also keep going noisy, dont know if they keep picking up debris from the guides and stuff.

I wouldn't be using the 0W40 oil for starters......a 15W40 or 15W50 oil would be better.
I suspect the tensioner may not have been installed properly.

lifters going noisy suggests an oil pressure issue...

oil may be getting bled off somewhere....there are restrictors in the head and the timing chain circuit i think....

If the shop is doinfg the work i would be taking it back and getting them to fix it free of charge

i took it back and guess what type of response i got? anything from over-revving the new engine (to be honest, i have been taking it to 5500) to oil not thick enough.

the oil shouldnt be the issue (15-40 is factory) so 0-40 is spot on factory spec. The zero has no influence except that it is actually better on coldstart than the 15 grade.

I debated the timing chain tensioner issue with him but as all shops do, blame it on something else. Because they had fixed it once and its happened again they are wiping their hands of it.

whats doin my head in is the fact that is was running great with no leaks at all for 2months until the day i used the shift kit. So there's got to be a relationship between the extra strain the kit puts on the timing chain for it to be whipping around too much and breaking the guides/cover.



as i said above oil "shouldnt" be a problem, but it is unusual for them to go noisy again only 2weeks after a full flush and oil change.

Because i have no job and dead broke, i am so temped to throw some oil stop leak in and change to 10w-60 and see how that goes,
but I know that damage has already been done (i dont know how much is left of my bottom chain guide) but maybe the thicker oil may be more compatible with this tensioner and regulator valve???

Dude, there is a fluid cushion between the engine and the tranny.....a torque convertor.
The shift kit ain't gunna do that.
I still reckon that 0W40 oil is too thin. I use 15W60 oil in mine.

find a new mechanic...
We've wrung the s**t out of these i6's and never had chain problems...
Clutch and diff problems yeah, but not the motors

yeah ok,, the power of deduction makes you think strange things.

I'll dump the 0-40 for some 10-60 and pray that ive got enough chain guide left
and that its thick enough not to be pressurised out the gaps.

after the last excuse fest, i will be finding another tech.. cheeers