Destroyed Camshaft Position Sensor & Syncronizer

[Quasimo1]

I recently purchased a non-running 1995 Ford Ranger XL with the 3.0 engine. After troubleshooting a fuel issue I managed to get my Ranger to run but was greeted with a check engine light and a P0340 code. When I pulled the camshaft position sensor I was greeted with the below sight. My initial online research indicates that failure of the syncronizer can lead to engine oil starvation. My question to everyone is given the below damage, how screwed am I, and how would I go about checking that my engine is not destroyed?

 

[fastpakr]

Drain the oil and see what it looks like.

 

[adsm08]

First I'd get one of those long 1/4" drill adapters and use it to run the oil pump and see what kind of pressure you can make, measuring with a mechanical gauge.

Then I'd drain the oil and see what it looks like. Drain it into a clean container and then filter it through a coffee filter to look for particulate. Also cut the filter open and look inside.

 

[RonD]

+1 ^^^

You are probably fine, the sensor parts at the top of the synchro tower can disintegrate, as seen in the picture, without effecting the lower end with gear and oil pump drive

You can disable coil pack and have some one crank the engine over, you should see the towers center shaft rotate, that would be a good sign the oil pump never stopped working

 

[Noyz81]

I have had TWO engines ruined by bad sycronizers in my rangers and both times the gear that rides on the cam shaft was shredded, starving the engine of oil pressure. Removing the one bolt that holds the synchronizer to the engine block, removing the sycronizer, and looking at the gear on it will tell you a lot. Both times the cam was undamaged. Mark where it is currently orientated and/or buy the positioning tool for $20 on eBay.

 

[8thTon]

I still want to know the root cause. Is it bad bearings or gears that are too soft, or poor lubrication, etc.? I will be pulling mine for a look soon.

 

[RonD]

Bad bushing is the usual cause

 

[8thTon]

Bad bushing is the usual cause

That has made the most sense to me - it could lead to misalignment and from there to wear on the gear and damage to the sensor. But I wonder if it's really a lubrication problem or something they messed up with the busing? Considering the actual distributors of the earlier engines didn't have a problem it's hard to imagine what they got wrong.

 

[adsm08]

That has made the most sense to me - it could lead to misalignment and from there to wear on the gear and damage to the sensor. But I wonder if it's really a lubrication problem or something they messed up with the busing? Considering the actual distributors of the earlier engines didn't have a problem it's hard to imagine what they got wrong.

But on the other hand it's been a known issue for almost 20 years, if the problem is with the part and not in the block somewhere why has it not been fixed with a revised part yet?

 

[8thTon]

But on the other hand it's been a known issue for almost 20 years, if the problem is with the part and not in the block somewhere why has it not been fixed with a revised part yet?

True - but the block has been revised a few times during that period too, so they could have fixed the issue if it was the block as well.

It would be useful to understand the root cause so as to be able to actually fix it rather than replacing the thing continually. Or perhaps even avoid it. Some don't seem to have a problem - there are a lot of these engines out there and they didn't all fail, and most don't know anything about it.

 

[RonD]

The 3.0l Vulcan ran a distributor in that same hole for 8 years, 1986 to 1994, 3 years in Rangers, and they didn't have the bushing issue.

The Synchro is same setup with different top so it is puzzling as to why the bushing wears out on theses
And why Ford never look into it, or maybe they did and came up with, "Thats Puzzling?" lol.

Yes, if the gear or roll pin breaks the engine can be ruined, but that has been the case on any engines that used this type of oil pump drive, which includes 70+ years of engines, so it was never a common occurrence

And the gear or roll pin breaking shouldn't destroy the cam sensor...............just the engine, lol

 

[Pistlpete44]

The 3.0l Vulcan ran a distributor in that same hole for 8 years, 1986 to 1994, 3 years in Rangers, and they didn't have the bushing issue.

The Synchro is same setup with different top so it is puzzling as to why the bushing wears out on theses
And why Ford never look into it, or maybe they did and came up with, "Thats Puzzling?" lol.

Yes, if the gear or roll pin breaks the engine can be ruined, but that has been the case on any engines that used this type of oil pump drive, which includes 70+ years of engines, so it was never a common occurrence

And the gear or roll pin breaking shouldn't destroy the cam sensor...............just the engine, lol

I realize I'm a little late to the game on this thread but I'm wondering if an oil change should be done after the gear or roll pin breaks. I think I'm in this situation as the oil light came on and now the engine seems to have a loud tick which makes me think it's oil starved. My son drove it about 2 blocks with the oil light on after the engine had initially shut off (he was able to restart it after a minute). I scanned it and got the following codes P0340, P1336 & P0300). I'll be completing the synchro replacement in a few days and I want to be as informed as I can before going into it. Hopefully the engine is still good! Thanks!

 

[pjtoledo]

1st, DO NOT START THE ENGINE

the amount of time it can run without oil is not much. depends on a few things, load, wear, rpms.

I would remove the cam sync unit and inspect the drive gear. take cap off then the bolt holding it down. twist 'n pull for removal.
then try running the pump with a drill and an extension mimicking the lower shaft of the sync unit. see if it builds pressure.

if chunks of teeth broke off I would definitely change the oil. either way I would recommend changing it.

 

[Pistlpete44]

1st, DO NOT START THE ENGINE

the amount of time it can run without oil is not much. depends on a few things, load, wear, rpms.

I would remove the cam sync unit and inspect the drive gear. take cap off then the bolt holding it down. twist 'n pull for removal.
then try running the pump with a drill and an extension mimicking the lower shaft of the sync unit. see if it builds pressure.

if chunks of teeth broke off I would definitely change the oil. either way I would recommend changing it.

Thanks for the quick response. I tried pulling the cap off but can’t seem to get it to come loose. It is so cold out right now so I’ll have to wait until it warms up a bit as my fingers just won’t function. I’ll keep you posted if you’re at all interested. Thanks!

 

[Mechrick]

1st, DO NOT START THE ENGINE

There's no need to start it. You just need to verify the shaft is spinning with the engine. Have someone bump the key while looking at it.

If the shaft spins (and it probably will), the oil pump is being driven.