That isn't likely to happen. A really sore point is the timing chain mess. A friend had one of these. It developed a cracked cylinder head. We replaced that and had both of them gone through by an engine machine shop, and due to the mileage, we replaced the timing chains, guides, and all the variable cam parts as a kit for $1800.00. Also had to buy a set of special tools to lock the cams in position during reassembly. Those didn't work. One gear was off by a half tooth one way or the other. Had to guess and take a chance.
Then we found out we forgot to install one of the camshaft position sensors on the back of the driver's side head. Installing that in the no-clearance spot turned into a four-hour, two-man job. Would have been easier to remove the dash and cut a hole in the firewall.
Engine fired right up, but the Check Engine light came on right away, with about a half dozen fault codes set related to camshaft timing. Spent another two days tearing the front cover off again to recheck our work. Moved one phaser one tooth, then reassembled with a second set of gaskets. No more Check Engine light, but now it has a horrendous valve tick. The engineers have given us hydraulic lifters, hydraulic lash adjusters, solid lifters with easily adjustable rocker arms, but with all that technology available to the Ford engineers, they opted to go with the same valve adjusting procedure used on motorcycles from the '60s and '70s. That involves switching a cap over the top of the valve spring with a thicker or thinner metal layer to achieve the right clearance.
So solving the very noticeable ticking means taking the valve covers off, measuring the clearance for each valve, documenting the amount of correction needed for each one, then you have to remove the old ones to see what you have, then calculate the new ones you have to buy. Here's the clinker. To replace those selective caps requires lifting up, (essentially removing) the two camshafts. You can't do that unless you remove the timing chains, and that means tearing the entire front cover off again and buying another set of gaskets. We were fed up with the pile, so now it sits in his yard with expired license plates and a "For Sale" sign in the window.
During the many days I helped with this project, the conversations included a comment that to run this size vehicle with such a relatively small engine, it is turbocharged and is pushed very close to its limits for power for ordinary driving. For fifteen years I used an '88 Grand Caravan to drag around an enclosed tandem axle trailer that's bigger and heavier than that van, but it wasn't fun. I never needed or connected the trailer brakes, but 60 mph, even down a really long steep hill, was the best I could do due to wind resistance on the trailer. This was a once-a-year round trip of 110 miles to an old car show swap meet. I was always relieved to get back home. Keep my experiences in mind when you think about pulling a trailer with an engine that's pretty much used up just pushing the vehicle around. I don't know if a Journey or Acadia would do any better than an Expedition. It depends on the size of your trailer.
As a side note, the owner of the engine machine shop got really excited when he saw my friend show up in a Dodge Journey to drop off the cylinder heads. He wanted to buy it from him. GM and Chrysler have variable valve timing engines similar to Ford's design, but he said only the Dodges don't have issues. Be aware I'm a Chrysler fan, and I'm driving two of them now, both with variable valve timing, so I'm biased, but I always try to give an honest assessment for any brand and model. I have reasons that I'll never own another GM vehicle, but those reasons may not be valid for others, so I keep quiet about that. Unrelated, the friend I was helping owns a body / repair shop where he specializes in rebuilding smashed one and two-year-old Dodge trucks. (That's one of my vehicles). When things were slow, over a two-year period, he bought three GMC Acadias to rebuild. Once the crash damage was handled, all three turned out to have major engine trouble, all related to those timing chains. Then, the daughter of another friend had her Acadia's engine quit in the middle of rush hour traffic. Turned out to also have timing chain trouble. Instead of buying all the parts to fix it, they found a used, low-mileage engine for less money. Installed that, then that one developed the same trouble after 10,000 miles.
Throughout all these soap operas, he's rebuilt four Journeys and has had no engine trouble. Fix the crash damage, change the oil, and deliver it to the buyer.
I don't roll my eyes at anyone's choice of vehicle. If I recommend one brand or model, you buy it, and have trouble, you'll be mad at me. If I tell you to avoid a model, your friend buys one and gets a super deal, you're mad at me for avoiding it. In this story, I just couldn't let these comments go unshared because two models have caused so much frustration and wasted money. Perhaps some of our other experts will share their experiences. I'd also like to see some positive comments to offset mine. If you do buy this vehicle, consider posting an update and let us know if it's doing okay. That can help others researching this topic.
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Monday, October 21st, 2024 AT 9:29 PM
