2001 GT Timing Chain Issues. HELP!!!

[slap8up]

I have a 2001 GT 4.6 SOHC which started developing a tap on the passenger side of the motor. It started out as a light tick at around 3000 rpm and slowly progressed over about a month to a constant tap over the entire rpm range. A friend suggested a lash adjuster was probably going bad so I purchased a set from summit racing for $160. I removed my valve covers and low and behold, the passenger side timing chain was !!EXTREMELY!! loose (I guess I found my ticking noise). I tore the front of the motor down, removed the timing chain cover and found that it had almost 1/2" of play between the guide and the chain. The tensioner on the left side does not seem to be getting tight for some reason (possible hydraulic issues???) while the right side is fine with absolutely no slop at all. I am the original owner and the car only has 60000 miles on it and gets oil changes and routine maintenance religiously. Other than spanking the occasional ricer it absolutely does not get beat on. It has BBK block huggers, flowmaster cat back exhaust, BBK cold air kit, BBK 86mm MAFS, and a BBK 78mm throttle body. Can someone please tell me if they've heard of this happening before and what would cause only the left side to go bad. Do I need to replace the whole chain set or is it ok to just replace the tensioners and guides. This car is my daily driver and I need to get it back on the road asap. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Mike97gt]

I have a 2001 GT 4.6 SOHC which started developing a tap on the passenger side of the motor. It started out as a light tick at around 3000 rpm and slowly progressed over about a month to a constant tap over the entire rpm range. A friend suggested a lash adjuster was probably going bad so I purchased a set from summit racing for $160. I removed my valve covers and low and behold, the passenger side timing chain was !!EXTREMELY!! loose (I guess I found my ticking noise). I tore the front of the motor down, removed the timing chain cover and found that it had almost 1/2" of play between the guide and the chain. The tensioner on the left side does not seem to be getting tight for some reason (possible hydraulic issues???) while the right side is fine with absolutely no slop at all. I am the original owner and the car only has 60000 miles on it and gets oil changes and routine maintenance religiously. Other than spanking the occasional ricer it absolutely does not get beat on. It has BBK block huggers, flowmaster cat back exhaust, BBK cold air kit, BBK 86mm MAFS, and a BBK 78mm throttle body. Can someone please tell me if they've heard of this happening before and what would cause only the left side to go bad. Do I need to replace the whole chain set or is it ok to just replace the tensioners and guides. This car is my daily driver and I need to get it back on the road asap. Any help is greatly appreciated.

I have not logged in for awhile but I noticed nobody responded to you so I figured I would.

Yes replace the timing chain and the guides and tensioner.

I have seen a few mostly high mileage 4.6's have tensioner go back and some with broken guides. Last one I had was a few weeks ago another tech got it with misfire codes replaced all four plugs and coild on bank 1 and guess what.. it still had a rough idle and would throw codes. I got it and found compression down on that bank equal on all cylinders. Tore down and found bank one tensioner went bad and guide was shattered into peices. The funny thing is it did not make much noise.


So yes I have heard of it happening but it is somewhat rare.

Another thing you might want to check is your spark plugs, they are known to make tapping noises before they get ejected from the head.

BTW sorry if my spelling and sentance structure is really poor right now, it's late here and I am really tired and heading to bed..