Hey guys! I have a 2010 Ford Flex 3.5 non turbo that the water pump failed on! I finally got the front cover off but noticed the timing may have jumped! I set my cams to 11 o'clock and 1 o'clock but noticed my crank was at 12 instead of 4) and now I believe when I manually turn it over I'm having valve to piston contact! I can only turn the engine maybe 90° before the crank just stops! What I noticed is the bearing must have went on the water pump because the shaft has a bunch of play causing the chain to be loose! It ran fine prior to noticing this failure as it didn't give me warning before shutting down and me checking the oil to find coolant! So I guess my question is, how do I get it back into the right timing now that it's possibly jumped!? I understand these are interference engines so there may be damage I have to take a scope to n find! Any help is much appreciated thank you!!

 

So when the crank and cam marks are in the correct position the engine is at top dead center.
Im pretty sure you could remove cylinder 1 spark plug and put a screw driver in is, then rotate the crankshaft slowly till you are at top dead center.
You can rotate the cam shafts using the wrench on the flats, this will only work if the secondary timing chains have not been messed with.

You could rotate the crank and both cams till all three marks are all in the correct places and you can put the cam holders on.
Remember the engine rotates in the clockwise direction.

1. As a post-check, verify correct alignment of all timing marks.
   • There are 38 links in between the RH intake VCT assembly colored link (1) and the LH intake VCT assembly colored link (2).
   • There are 27 links in between LH intake VCT assembly colored link (2) and the crankshaft sprocket link (3).
   • 

 

Alright great info!!! Thank you!! Looking at the paint marks on the primary chain, are off about 5 links and from what I've read and watch those paint marks should line up with the cam and crank marks when at 11, 1 and 4 correct!? Or is that just how you put the new chains on!? I should be able to remove the primary and reset my crank to 4 and my cams to 11 and 1 o clock position and then check #1 cylinder to verify im at TDC and if thats the case I should be good to go to put all the new timing components on!?

Paint and Timing mark on L sprocket

Timing mark on R sprocket

Timing mark while cams are at 11 and 1!

 

You need to line the painted marks up with the corresponding pulleys, the paint marks can be hard to see when its higher mileage, you can count the links based on the measurements between each cam I posted to make sure they are the correct links and remark them with a paint pen so its easier to see.

 

Great thanks so much for the help!! I appreciate it!!

 

You have my sympathy having one of those poorly engineered engines in your vehicle.I cannot find a good reason for putting a water pump inside an engine.

 

Okay I got the timing all back in place! Upon spinning the crank to make sure it's spinning freely I noticed the primary tensioner clicks and compresses and creates snack while spinning the crank at certain points! Is this normal!? I've spun it a bunch of times and I have no valve contact anymore but thought it was weird it did that! Any help is great!! Also noticed the marks aren't lining up! How many revolutions does I need to go before the timing marks line up again? Or is it normal for them to be off and as long as it spins freely I should be good to go!?

 

Depending on the mileage you would be best to replace the guides and tensioner.
Honestly I have never needed to rotate the crank after installing the timing chain so I can't say whats normal for the tensioner.
If you turn the engine over enough times the marks and painted links will line back up again but I have no idea how many revolutions that will take, when the marks are in the right spots you can count the chain links between each of the marks to check if its correct.

 

Thank you for your help Scott! The only reason I rotated in was just to confirm I was hitting piston and valve anymore! I'm positive I have it timed right but was concerned on the tensioner compressing cause I though it would keep constant pressure and not release giving slack to the chain! I am manually turning it over so it's way slower than running the engine so in all it might not be as bad as im seeing it!! Thanks again for your help!!

 

@hanky any chance you would know about how the timing tensioner works when turned by hand?
The tensioner has oil pressure when the engine is running which auto adjusts the tensioner.