Locked 3.0

[Justins87]

Ok so it's an 07 3.0 2wd auto and the motor locked up. Well I got it out and found the the gear on shaft where the distributor would go has about 3 teeth missing and the rest are about 75% gone. What would cause that and is there a fix? Is it also possible a misfire would also cause that much damage?

 

[Uncle Gump]

The camshaft synchronizer seized up.

Fairly well documented here on the site...

Do a search and you should have lots to read about.

 

[fastpakr]

Sad but true.

 

[Curious Hound]

Yup. What they said. That probably caused a misfire before it totally seized. Not the other way around.

 

[Justins87]

Ok here what is weird, I was rolling it died and I couldn't get it started. Sat for a couple days put a new battery in it and it was idling for about 10sec then lock up and no start.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Not sure I can explain your particular scenario... but when it quit... that synchronizer said I'm done.

It's possible you have another issue also...

 

[Dirtman]

The synchro drives the oil pump. The synchro has oiling issues itself so the bushing seizes, then the synchro gear strips and stops spinning, then the oil pump stops running, and then engine seizes. Chain reaction of failures. Engine probably initially locked up and after cooling down and a fresh battery it was able to spin, but having zero oil pressure 10 seconds was what it took to finally lock it for good.

 

[Curious Hound]

It is now "brokeded pretty bad".

That's a technical term. You can quote me on that.

 

[Dirt Squirt]

At work we call it busticated.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The synchro drives the oil pump. The synchro has oiling issues itself so the bushing seizes, then the synchro gear strips and stops spinning, then the oil pump stops running, and then engine seizes. Chain reaction of failures. Engine probably initially locked up and after cooling down and a fresh battery it was able to spin, but having zero oil pressure 10 seconds was what it took to finally lock it for good.

We had a guy seize up a tractor three times. It would run awhile and stick then cool off and run awhile longer and stick. Then he drove it into town so we could figure out why it kept seizing up.

 

[Justins87]

Ok with all that going on what can you do or check to make sure oil is going everywhere it should be going? And if you have a misfire, will it always pretty much be the camshaft synchronizer if the plugs and wires and coil pack are good, depending on compression per cylinder?

 

[Dirtman]

Misfires can be caused by a multitude of issues so no, you cannot always assume it's a cam synchro issue. A bad or leaking fuel injector, bad plug, bad wire, bad coil pack, ECU issue, vacuum leak, bad head gasket, cracked head, bad valve, bad valve spring, carbon buildup, bad valve seal, and on and on and on...

The engine can actually run just fine without the cam sync, it's mearly there for improved feedback to the computer to help with emissions. The engine can run on the crank sensor alone. Not that you can just remove it because as previously stated, it drives the oil pump.

As for making sure the cam synchro is being oiled, they typically begin to squeak when the bushing is failing. Replacing it before it seizes is the key. There are some articles in the tech section about replacement, and how to prevent failures.

 

[Bgunner]

As Dirtman mentioned: they typically begin to squeak when the bushing is failing.

Most times as they start to squeak they sound like the serpentine belt is squeaking causing the owner to ignore it for a while but as it gets worse you will hear once in a while metal on metal squeak this is a sure sign you are on borrowed time.

It is common for the 3.0L distributors to do the same thing, squeak and go bad due to the same oil starvation issue. They removed the distributor in '95 and went to the synchronizer with the same fail point. I have the distributor and had a hell of a time finding the squeak due to the belt would squeak then the distributor would squeak at the back of the engine so I was bouncing front to rear trying to find a single squeak when there were 2 but they sounded the same. It wasn't till I heard metal on metal that I knew exactly what was squeaking. It wasn't till after I found my issue did I found all the write ups here about the failure point and the signs.

IF teeth are missing the cam gear is most likely damaged along with loose metal pieces in the the engine. These pieces will destroy the interior of the engine quickly and need to be removed by removing the engine and a tear down done. since you locked up the motor you are in for a used motor or a rebuilt.

 

[bills4065]

Justins87 just curious how many miles on your engine when this happened?

 

[pjtoledo]

Ok with all that going on what can you do or check to make sure oil is going everywhere it should be going? And if you have a misfire, will it always pretty much be the camshaft synchronizer if the plugs and wires and coil pack are good, depending on compression per cylinder?

the top bushing in the synchronizer is not lubricated by the engines oil system.
it's sort of a bronze like bushing.