2000 Ford F150 5.4L Part 4, Head Installation

More talk than action in this video guys, really wanted to get the information out on how to do heads in-frame on this engine. Thanks for bearing with me.
Edit 4-30-22: If you want to skip my observations and thoughts that led up to the solution, the answer begins at 12:48 This is the proper way to do this job.
Procedure write up I posted at the Ford trucks forum:
Okay, I have it figured out and I'll post it here to help anyone else that's looking for this information. It's actually quite simple, but I waded though a LOT of vague and inaccurate info before the proper procedure became clear. Cams do NOT have to be removed for this procedure.
Haynes says to pull the head with the tool, which is not possible, but we know Haynes and Chiltons often take short cuts when they write up their books.
The Service manual says to pull the engine then remove the cam rollers, lol that's no help at all.
Here's what you do:
1) Clock the woodruff key on the crankshaft @ 12 O'clock. In this position all the cylinders are way below deck and will not interfere with any open valves in your head.
2) Install heads. (Do not worry about cam position at this step.)
3) Install cam lock tools and clock R/S cam @ 11 O'clock and L/S @ 12 O'clock. At this point the valves for #1 and #6 are closed.
4) Turn the crank counterclockwise and use the crank tool to align with block pin. STOP at the block pin per proper tool position. You MUST turn counterclockwise as this will bring #1 and #6 to TDC and will have no interference with pistons/valves. If you turn it clockwise you will rotate other pistons into the other valves in the heads that are open.
That's it, install new timing set per instructions at this point an you're good to go. Hope that helps someone.

[@mariapeluffo6986]

Great tip I just star doing the same job on my 2000 Lincoln Town Car and with your tip help me a lot, thank you.👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Glad it helps!

[@robbydiamond8779]

This has been extreamly helpful. Thank you for sharing your wisdom on this issue. The shop says you have to remove the cab from the body. They also want to charge accordingly. Over $6000, hell at that point may as well spring for a brand new long block and all brand new accessories.

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Ouch, there's no way my truck is worth even near that much. IIRC one of the manuals I looked at also said you had to remove the cab. Fortunately this isn't accurate obviously. Thanks for watching and the comment!

[@jonathancook2114]

I cracked those 4 bolts loose pulled them out put on my holding tool then pulled off my chains. It had me stumped for a bit as well. Your video has been very helpful, thank you.

[@davessmallenginerevival2847]

I agree with Dave the split hose is a great idea. How you did it makes sense to me. I hope it helps somebody who's looking for an easier way

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Thanks Dave, it's an old timers tip that still works. Still no fun doing the heads in this thing though, I miss the old inline 6's.

[@randallstewart8487]

Or you could use a zip tie or tape,but I like the split hose better,easier to get on and off!

[@mr.raider_8632]

I’m planning to service my engine also please keep it coming it really helps out.

[@StasMan1982]

Hey Mr. Ubiquitous, great video! Glad I found actual footage of the cam/head bolt/timing issue. I'm about to do this project myself on a 98 F250 5.4 2v. I'm a novice but have recently learned to replace intake gasket and valve gasket. Turns out heads need to be done as well. I've researched everything possible and timing is definitely area of biggest concern as you say. Your procedure here seems to finally be making sense, I'm most confused as to locking the cam tool. Does this procedure also refer to removing the heads? With crankshaft key @ 12:00, meaning pistons are down, then valves can't contact even if cam violently turns, would the cam lock tool be unnecessary for removal to get out all bolts? To install you say to put the heads on, then use the cam lock tool, then clock the camshafts at 11:00 & 12:00, but do they turn when the lock is in place? And turning the crankshaft, without the timing chain, does that still turn the cam shaft? I sincerely appreciate any feedback, thanks in advance! Matt

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Hi Matt. Yes, you could in theory remove the heads like that, with the pistons below deck you're not in any danger of the valves hitting the pistons. The problem you might run into though by not locking the cams that will put a lot of tension on the timing chain possibly making it hard and/or unsafe to do so. There is a lot of tension on that cam as the valve springs are very strong. On turning the cams with the tool in place, you have to slightly loosen the bolts on the tool, just enough where you can turn the cam to clock it, then tighten them back down. Too loose and the cam will spin. Yes, with the chains off turning the crankshaft will not move the cams. Hope that helps.

[@StasMan1982]

Thanks for the reply! Yes it definitely helps, thanks for what you do :)@@MrUbiquitousTech

[@heycoolbeats1872]

Dude you saved my entire project! Thanks so much for the super helpful video!

[@dannypalmer7701]

Thanks for the mesurement of the 3/8 hose lenth and showing the bolt from the bottom!

[@t4cchi]

13:30 This is the information I needed confirmed! i thought this was possible, but no one else shows this! Thank you. so that i can disassemble the heads without removing the camshaft and roller followers.

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Yes, I searched all over too. Glad to help, thanks for the comment.

[@petermelnyk7664]

Thank you so much for this video, I'm starting to get exhaust in my coolant, so I'm going to be changing gaskets...figured I'd throw in trickflow heads instead of stock. Thanks for the info awesome trick with the head bolt!!

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Glad to help, thanks for the comment.

[@ZombieDaveAZ]

That split hose trick is genius!

[@qksilvr73]

Going to be doing this shortly. Glad this popped up for me. :) Thanks

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Glad to help!

[@castawaysmc]

yea the split hose thing is the ticket. I working on a van and to get the heads 3/4 of the bolts on the passenger side and a couple on the drivers side hit and would not pull out all of the way on the removal. I was regretting putting the heads back on because of that. I was thinking about how to hold the bolts up and the hose trick would kick butt.

[@bobbyt3358]

nice trick on the bolt head

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Thank you!

[@ZombieDaveAZ]

I followed what you were doing and saying .

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Thank you Dave!

[@keithwilson8624]

Why did you swap out PI heads for non PI heads , just curious, great video

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

It wasn't intentional.... I didn't catch it until after I installed them :(

[@snakesvt]

Your making it harder then it needs to be. First before you pull anything(timing cover off),rotate the crank so keyway is at the 12 o’clock and the time marks on cam sprockets are as close to the 11 o’clock on PS and 12 o’clock on DS as possible(they will be past 11 and 12 a little) then take out the two head bolts that will be under the cam tool, then look down the cams with the tool. Remove all the time stuff, then pull the rest of the head bolts and remove the head. Now everything is set for rebuild. Once you have the heads off you can remove the cam lock down tool(I slowly turn the cam till it “pops” it will stay in place then). Because you know the piston are below deck on reassemble. When you bolt the heads back down you can put the tool back on the cams so you can preset them at the 12 and 11 o’clock positions lock them down then turn your crank back(counterclockwise)to TDC and apply all the timing stuff.

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Thanks for the input Snake, but there's really no need to try to do a work around. I show the proper way in the video and there's no removing bolts first, moving the tool around, reinstalling the tool, etc. It's just a matter of following procedure. Which is important as when you torque the heads you need to have access to all of the bolts to tighten them evenly. Thanks again.

[@derrickproctor2722]

So did you get it fixed and running? Just wanted to know before I get into this ….. I don’t have much money and just started a business a spark plug thrown out (with the hela coil) for the second time …. So I’m a little nervous into getting into this as you can see

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Yes, it is together and running. I do need to do a follow up video. I understand, it's quite a job. It can be done obviously, just take care to get the timing part right (and assembly), it's the one tricky part to this job. Make sure you see the designated part of this video I flagged above, it _is_ the proper procedure.

[@kchilz32]

I have a 2000 f150 xlt may need to get the Head gasket done. How much roughly in parts and getting the heads machined? Thanks

[@CodyFS1776]

May I have a complete list of every tool you used for this timing chain assembly? I’m confused on where to get the woodruff key…

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

The woodruff key is not a tool, it's in the crankshaft to locate the timing gear. With the exception of the two special tools, cam lock and crankshaft locator shown in the video, everything else was typical tools, wrenches, screwdrivers, sockets, etc.

[@craigtobey9049]

All you need to do is pull the rocker arms and Then the cannot Make contact because now they're no longer being pushed down by the campshaft Cam That will solve your problem then after you've timed it all and put it all back together you can put those rock arms back in there You only need to remove the ones from Those valves That would hit

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Yes, that is an option. I mentioned above that I'm not sure that that could be done with the engine in the vehicle, but focusing on only the interference pistons may be the trick now that we know which ones are the problems.

[@darrenfraley2492]

Well, u can take the 2 head bolts out , then put the cam lock tool on . Then the cam lock tool can stay on while taking off the head

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

I do describe the proper procedure in the video.

[@tunefully1792]

My man!! Thank you for this video. I found the same info on some older f150 forum. My 2002 Lightning spit her passenger rear plug, and I said nope I'm getting new heads. Also some cams while I'm at it 😁 about to tackle this this weekend or the next. I noticed it was like Ford black rtv'ed certain gaskets in place on various spots of the engine. Do you remember which spots?

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

It's wherever the gaskets overlap the seams. Like when you put the timing over on you put the rtv in the seams where the head and block meet. When you put the valve covers on you put the rtv where the timing cover and the heads meet.

[@tunefully1792]

@@MrUbiquitousTech gotcha! That makes sense! Do you have a faster reply social media I can find you on in case something comes up?

[@danielmillard3762]

🧐 I purchased the valve spring compressor tool off eBay Think of it like $20, I wish I had it to disassemble the motor, it’s design to push the valve spring down and pop the rocker arms out, It takes the load off the camshaft, you can not torque the camshaft down properly with the rocker arms install they have to be removed, I also noticed the timing cover has a top dead center mark and a 10° before top dead center mark on the timing cover itself, I put my crankshaft about 12° before top dead,

[@carbonfibercreationswashin7213]

Thanks, I need to do timing chain job on my 5.4 2V

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Glad to help! It's quite a job compared to older vehicles.

[@jl456]

Just curious if your using the same heads couldn't you just mark everything with a paint marker to line up all the timing marks? Because your basically putting it back on exactly how you took it off right?

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

That's kind of what you're doing with the factory marks. The key is there is two steps involved in tearing down and reassembly so your valves don't come in contact with your pistons.

[@VicenteRuvalcaba]

I have 3 questions and I was hoping someone here can give me some info please. 1. Before you remove the heads, can you mark spots on the timing chains and sprockets to put the chains back together when your done replacing the head gaskets and putting the heads back on? Secondly, can you put the cam holder tool on before removing the timing chains so that you can put the heads back in place without having to go through the pain of getting the sprockets in the right clock position? Lastly, I was wondering if you can just get the heads off without having to remove anything on the heads (like the cam or springs) besides the head bolts? Sorry if I asked too many questions but I want to do the head gasket replacement on my truck myself. Thank you.

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Not a problem, questions is how we learn! You really have to follow the step by step procedure as it's not just as simple as lining it up, take it apart, then reassemble. You have to get the pistons in position so there's no interference, then lock the cams, then pull the heads. When you replace the head you have to be sure the cams are locked int he same position and after everything is back together you set your timing with the use of the crank alignment tool. This video here really shows and explains why it has to be done this way.

[@itsmeray01]

Hey I just did My 1st Valve timming Chain Job on a 5.4 2v svt lightning . was a sucess. Just an idea, can you pull off your rockers this way all your valves will stay closed. Then install your head, torque it down . Then time and install your timming chains then after you can re install your rockers, and rotating your crank cl wise to let your cams be in the right position , off the lobes to make it easy to re install the rockers.. would this work??

[@manueltovar4821]

Ok so when you put it at 12 and after you do your cams do you go back to the 11oclock position by going backwards counterclockwise ? Or do you go a whole 2 turns clockwise because tdc is not every time the piston goes up its every other time please get back that's the only thing I'm not sure about

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

You turn it backwards just enough to go from 12 to 11 oclock.

[@manueltovar4821]

@@MrUbiquitousTech thank you I found your video the most helpful out of all the vids on KZbin thanks again

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

@@manueltovar4821 Thank you, I appreciate that! Glad to help!

[@joseagrispin1999]

Thanks so much. I actually have a problem with a broken camshaft on a 01 f250 super duty 4x4 5.4lt. I have no ideas what type of tool it's need it to remove the timing chain gear from the broken camshaft

[@randallstewart8487]

If they have a bolt you can remove them,if they dont,you have to replace the whole cam!

[@dq2623]

Hey when removing timing chain did you have to set the timing to its marks before disassemble.

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

The marks on the chains themselves? No, only on reassembly do you bother with that. All the other marks follow the instructions in the video. Thank you.

[@jybaker73]

When removing the heads can you put the crankshaft at 12 o'clock position to place all the cylinders down and remove the timing chain?

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Yes. The reason at this point to lock the cam is that is will want to spin to a different position. It's the chain that holding it in place until you lock the cam.

[@skyartrc8286]

Thanks for the advice

[@thorthunder3227]

Before you roll over the engine make sure the tensioner plungers are charged up with oil pressure or they might slack off and the chains will loosen and bend the valves. Hold some wood or plastic against the chain tensioners to keep them tight and then turn the engine over to get the oil pressure up or prime the pressure from the sending unit with an adpater and pump to get oil to all the areas so that you will not bend the valves by or dropping the chains. This happened to me a a Dodge 2.7 engine.

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Thanks for the input, but that's not an issue with the modular v8s. It's a common problem for the tensioners to blow out on these and the engine will run just fine but make noise due to chain slap. The Melling replacements are spring driven rather than the original hydraulic style.

[@thorthunder3227]

@@MrUbiquitousTech I had the 2.7 dodge and the tensioner did not get the pressure fast enough and it dropped the chain and bent a couple valves. Fixed it again this time held the tensions tight and turned the engine over and once i saw the tensioner tightened up it was fine, no issues. On this engine you have to make sure the tensioners are filled with pressure first for sure.

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

@@thorthunder3227 No, this engine isn't built that way, they run, noisily, with no pressure at all in them. The chains will not jump.

[@randallstewart8487]

@@thorthunder3227 On these engines the chain tensioners have a pin you pull when all timing componets are where they supposed to be,allready loaded with tension and takes out the slack when you pull the pin,they may leak some after sitting a long time,but where they are pre tensioned,the problem you had wont happen with these kind!

[@thorthunder3227]

If you use only a torque wrech and not turn the head bolts any degrees what would be the exact torqueo to set at? Or what is the last torque pressure on the bolts final set?

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

I don't know what the final torque would be. From what I read when I researched it you really have to follow the instructions and degree it out. I think it's stupid and makes the job harder, but I think it's best to do it right instead of doing it again as these modular engines are not real easy to tear apart and put back together. Torque to yield bolts was really a dumb idea.

[@thorthunder3227]

@@MrUbiquitousTech Thanks, but i am 100 percent positive there is an average torque pound in the final turns.

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

@@thorthunder3227 Oh I agree, I'm sure there is. It's just not how these are done. And on a simpler engine I might experiment, but not on this thing.

[@zonedigitalecuador296]

Hi.. please confirm the if I understood. This will be my first time in an ford van 5.4 2v 2003. 1.- Before remove head the cramshaft positions is 12’ clock 2.- For install head still in 12’ clock position and passenger head in 11. Clock and driver head in 12 cloxk 3.- Once installed properly, rollback cramshaft to 11’ clock and install time chain.

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Yes, you got it! #3 should be roll the crankshaft to 11 oclock, but I'm sure that's what you meant.

[@zonedigitalecuador296]

@@MrUbiquitousTech yes it is.

[@ZombieDaveAZ]

Hey, where are you? Are you okay?

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Hey Dave, I'm still here, just haven't done anything worthy of filming. Hope all is well with you, thanks for checking!

[@xMikeLynchx]

You can just remove the Roller Followers. That removes the spring pressure and closes the valves.

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Yes, that is an option, but after looking at it I don't think you can get them all off while the engine is in place. Could be wrong though.

[@goofyinestherville]

How about just taping it if you don't have the hose?

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Absolutely! Or a zip-tie even, whatever you can get to hold that bolt up.

[@spec1923]

What about cutting the bolt with a sawsall and then replace with a new bolt?

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

No need, I explain the proper way in the video. Thank you.

[@Max-wy2dl]

You can save alot of money if you just buy a Aries 15031 valve spring compressor for like 20$ and pull the rooler flowers. No need for the cam lock holder or the crank shaft position tool.. I just look to see what cam lobs are not compressing a valve and with a long skinny extension check for the pistons that are at the top and remove evey rooler not compressed by cam that i can. Begin sure not to touch the ones for the 2 piston at top. Then turn crank and repeat until all are removed.

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Yes, there usually are more than one ways to do something and that is possibly one as long as there's clearance for the tool at the rear of the RS head. I did mention in the video that the crank positioning tool is optional, you can register it off the oil pump and 6 o'clock with the crank shaft pin.

[@mmiller1188]

I have to do this on my 2001. It's leaking a LOT of oil out of the head gaskets. Just not looking forward to it. it's to the point that I have to put oil in more than I fill the gas tank!

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Understood, it is a pain in the butt. There's so much to be said about older and simpler engines.

[@mmiller1188]

@@MrUbiquitousTech I don't understand why ford had to make the engines overhead cam! At least I don't have AC so that's out of the way. It's a manual trans so I was thinking of pulling the engine but you have to remove the entire oil cooler to pull the engine. And the engines are under the dash in the Super Duty - like a van. Except we don't get a doghouse.

[@steveg4776]

How was the end project ? Did it run fine?

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Unfornatly the project is stalled. I found out after I got these new heads on that they are the wrong ones, they're not the PI ones and I didn't catch it in time. So it's going to have to wait until I get funds for the proper heads and another set of gaskets and head bolts. :(

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Update, 1-2021, I did finish putting this back together with these heads and it does run fine with them not being the PI heads.

[@dannypalmer7701]

I have a 03 2vavle.

[@fargenvonwitbier]

In regards to the topic of the first minute of the video: it's because the 2V is bullet proof and the 3V is a god damn boat anchor. They're turds.

[@curtisgore1611]

Just pop all those rockers out with a screwdriver and you won't have to worry about it

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

There's always more than one way to do a thing.

[@DonavanPlummer]

Mazda remove Head gasket