It's frustrating. Especially if they broke the vct sprocket loose. If the set the tdc and cam alignment tools up correctly you just have to get the vct sprocket lined back up which is a move a little then check it kinda thing. Good luck and plan to spend several hours finding the right spot.

 

^^Yup exactly what I had to do to Chris's to get it to stop after a botched timing belt job. It took a few days to get it. I would time it, put it back together run it and see if the code popped back up, I would move the VCT gear one tooth at a time till it worked right.

 

There you go two half butt mechanics give you half butt info. Next time as a great trick you grab a paint marker and dot your cam sprockets. Save yourself a headache or three. And as sleepy mentioned possible a day or two.

 

Ya, that was on my blue bitch, many thanks to Sleepboy who did come out to my place so many times over those few days to help me out and bring my SVT back on the road.

 

I wouldn't say it's back on the road but it does run now hahaha

 

buahahaha [clap] well it was on the road for few months, when it was my daily driver, now it's 'down for maintenance'

 

Cboyd. Looks like you need to find a good friend with a little knowledge to help you out. http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=54169&d=1403183243
There's a quick pic of alignment pieces.

 

Too bad you are in Canada us Tx guys would be help ya if you were down here.redo the timing per the factory SVT manual if you need it PM me, Ive done 3 SVT Timing jobs now , fellow forum members.no code, doing it properly does require you to break the VCT gear bolt I only break it free just enough where I can spin the gear, I do not remove the bolt.The KEY is THIS.

When you time make sure the crank is resting against the Crank pin "RESTING AGAINST"..........time it and after you set tension correctly, rotate motor clockwise 3 times and put crank pin back in again make sure its resting against that pin and then go up top and put the cam bar in if you can...motor will be timed correctly.If you cant get the cam bar in with ease... redo timing again. PM me and I can go into greater detail over the phone with ya

 

I got mine right the first time using this exact method. I had two of the most meticulous mechanics by my side, (and I mean meticulous like surgeons). It took 4 hours after obtaining the E18 socket that my buddy thought he had.

The job isn't mystifying, it's just time consuming getting timing OCD perfect and I think that's where most people get frustrated/impatient with it. If there were flats on the cam for a wrench I think it would be easier to get some precision while tightening the cam bolts.

 

I've done it both ways, loosing the gear and not loosing it. Either way us Texas guys have the SVT and Zetec down lol. I have done at least if not more than a dozen zetec timing belt jobs myself.

 

I have the tools. Reason I had to loosen everything whoever timed the car before me didn't have it set.. So I'll take my afternoon pull out my ford manual s again rest against the pin, and align the cams.

So that bein said the vct sprocket self sets to pds?

 

People make this far to hard to fix , I have never use a crank pin ever to get the VCT set , If you read there is 50 way to do this in the Focus forums and they all seem to give issues to some people

Once you have it back up and running and get a code ( over-under advance )90% of the work is done all that needs to be done is remove the valve cover , take the vct cam bolt loose and SLIGHTLY move the intake cam in the opposite direction of the code

No taking the belt back off
No crank pin to deal with
No bar in the cams
No turning the engine over and over by hand only to have the code come back again and again

I have helped dozens of guys to fix there SVT VCT timing issues like this , its much easier then going back over the timing over and over only to get the same codes setting

If you want to give me a call I will go over what I am talking about if you dont understand

Tom

 

Tom

I'm confused as to which way I should roll the cam. It's retarded timing so is it towards the windshield or the bumper

 

I wont answer that question , I will say this , bump the starter and see what way the engine turns , moving the cams the way the engine turns is going advanced , op direction is retard

Tom

 

FWIW - I figure Tom put it this way to avoid any confusion, while answering any question of which way to move the cam to adjust for a cam position code.

If the code shows retarded, advance the cam a little as his prev. post mentioned & the opposite for an "advanced" code.

"Advanced" & "Retarded" are often confusing, whether old time ignition adjustments or the cam timing discussed here.

Moving something in the direction of engine rotation "advances" it's timing - meaning it will happen SOONER on each engine rotation.

Moving something away from the direction of rotation "retards" the timing - making it happen later on every rotation.


Another thought for any with cam timing that ends up too retarded. Think of which way the belt pulls on the pulleys - what happens when that belt is loose when set or stretches/wears a little during use? It's NOT going to pull the gears around quite as soon, and as we looked at earlier - that means they'll end up "retarded" a bit more as they come around later in the cycle.

Now these belts don't stretch/wear much in use, but if the setting is close to the edge when set it might not take much for the sensor to say it's out of spec. either when first run in or even much later down the road.

Hope that helps explain Advance/Retard a bit, never saw a decent explanation when I was first trying to figure out ignition adjustments.

 

Tom

It's still not working properly. I no the vct phaser is rare to fail. My question can you tune it out so it doesn't flash the vct code if I change to adjustable came gears and a vct delete?

 

You can tune it so it doesn't flash the vct code. How many miles do you have on yours cboyd? Honestly, I would buy a couple cam sprockets, vct delete kit, get it tuned on the dyno and go from that point. The way I look at it is, you've had the car for this long obviously things are going to start going bad. Some things that aren't meant to go bad sometimes do. Wouldn't hurt to try something different.

My svt has 112,000 miles on it. My vct went bad a month ago and i had everything that needed to be replaced at the time my timing belt was being changed. Now I wasted $350 on a new vct solenoid that didn't care the problem. Had my mechanic check out everything, cams and everything are positioned correctly. After reading through all the different posts and threads on p1381/1383, you know.. it was nice having vct for the last 10 years of ownership of the car but .. time for a change.

 

106 000 kilometers. Same boat as you tho, its 12 years old and time is taking its toll. Which cam gears did or are you going with ? Im thinking of cfm s and then the massive vct delete kit.

And as for dyno tuning. I wish the shops in my area wont touch this car. Strictly JDM stuff only. That's why I was asking tom it he could tune it out.

Im just wondering if I set the cam gears at dead 0 and time the motor if that's all I have to do in getting it to run correctly.

 

I went with fidanza cam sprockets along with massive vct eliminate kit. Cfm makes nice stuff, massive had everything i needed.

 

It isnt the VCT gear or that something is old , give me a call and just do it right

The 2 VCT Elim from massive I installed were not made right and the gear was going up and down slightly , If you plan to go that rought check it closely

Tom

 

I'm still fighting with it now it is over advanced and I only moved it less than a quarter turn.

I'm about to give it to the local ford dealer cause I'm so frustrated

 

Did you move the cam like I said to ?

Tom

 

PM me i have a factory manual i can email you and my cell i can try to walk you through it over the phone

 

"Less than a quarter turn" sounds like a LOT of movement for something that was probably only off a touch.

Tom's advice & qweesy's help should get it straightened out for you without too much difficulty.

 

LOL you shouldnt be moving the cam less then a 20th of a turn , you only want to move it barely enough to say you moved it

Tom

 

pm sent qweezy . Tom , yes I did it the way you explained , I just didn't know exactly how far to go each time.

Now if the rain would stop I could complete this

 

The factory manual is wrong I wouldnt go that way , your close now just every so slight move the cam

Tom

 

Will do tom.

Im gonna send my stuff thru this week to start a tune process as well with u

 

I haven't had a chance to fix my VCT issue, now that I suffered a bad knee injury, I won't't be able to drive my SVT for months to come. Hope you find a solution to your problem.