ford taurus waterpump gasket and timing chain cover gasket

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thomas harris
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ford taurus waterpump gasket and timing chain cover gasket

Post by thomas harris »

I am in the middle of the above repair on my sons 2003 ford taurus. i have the top clear of assorted parts and the water pump removed. i was about to remove the crankshaft pulley and it will not budge. it has four bolts on it and the balancer has one large one. what scared me was something online mentioned that at some point ford decided to use a taper fit of some type to maintain timing chain sprocket alignment. (ford probes) i don't think this has that, but i want to be sure. if that sprocket slips out of time that could be the end of that engine. so the questions are. does a 2003 have the standard keywayed timing spocket? and how does one get the crank pulley to come off? there is nowhere to fit a puller? or does the whole mess come off pulley and harmonic balancer together? are those four bolts strictly for the puller?
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hammermill
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Re: ford taurus waterpump gasket and timing chain cover gask

Post by hammermill »

Remove belt,4 pulley bolts and remove pulley. Remove harmonic balancer bolt and washer,reinstall bolt with out washer,just in about half way.You will need a harmonic balancer puller.These are not very expensive about $20.00 or borrow one from somebody.You just thread the correct included bolts into the balancer where you removed the pulley bolts and will be pushing on the reinstalled balancer bolt.The balancer should clear the bolt head without the washer.This is so you don't damage the threads in the crankshaft.

this get half of it
thomas harris
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Re: ford taurus waterpump gasket and timing chain cover gask

Post by thomas harris »

ready to reinstall everything. how bad is too bad on a pitted timing chain cover? it has some barely visible pits near one of the water ports to the engine. will rtv be best here, or should i use the stinky permatex sealer? should it set 24 hours before pressure? torque wrench really needed for cover and pump bolts?
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hammermill
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Re: ford taurus waterpump gasket and timing chain cover gask

Post by hammermill »

like wd40 i am not a big fan of rtv on aluminum, it out gasses acetic acid or amonia as it cures, best to stick to the blue or red form a gasket type compounds

some cure time is always a good thing. permates (Permatex) has a solid proven product line also.
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steamin10
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Re: ford taurus waterpump gasket and timing chain cover gask

Post by steamin10 »

Thats Permatex, and I do the same as Hammer. He is correct on the outgassing of vingar smelling acids trapped in the joint, and aluminum doesnt like that. Watch the color code as they are relevant for temperature too, water is coll, oils can be over 400*.
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stevec
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Re: ford taurus waterpump gasket and timing chain cover gask

Post by stevec »

thomas harris wrote: torque wrench really needed for cover and pump bolts?
Not really but it's the best way to ensure the job lasts and doesn't leak. Some positions impede the manual application of torque equal to the more comfortable ones a good "click" type torque wrench eliminates inequality of torques applied.
spro
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Re: ford taurus waterpump gasket and timing chain cover gask

Post by spro »

I certainly agree. In fact, I can get torqued up about this. Torque 1.01 is to establish a holding torque around the whole cover first, then go to final value. There may be OE recommendation about a sequence. They are the same but some are more "the same" than others. This is a place for 1/4" drive, ratchet torque wrenches. Why? Because they are smaller and more sensitive. The range gets to the high end above 10 mm But the good ones allow for recalibration.
thomas harris
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Re: ford taurus waterpump gasket and timing chain cover gask

Post by thomas harris »

I do respect the idea of using measurable torque applied to the bolts, but that said I "snugged them up good". Talking to a few respected mechanics lead me to do this. they admitted that there are torques assigned to most engine covers and such, but also acknowledged that most do not use a torque wrenches to reassemble. Just as tires should be torqued onto the vehicle. this is seldom done as generally they are spun on with an impact. which is exactly what was done with the harmonic balancer. i may pay for these practices. i may not. as a pressman at my day job i probably went outside my own attention to details here, but hey i hadda-get-er-done! And i did.
atlas 618,MM challenger wire welder, 4x6 cheapo bandsaw, assorted junk, spears for hunting mastadons.
hammermill
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Re: ford taurus waterpump gasket and timing chain cover gask

Post by hammermill »

congrats on getting it done. one thing with a torque wrench you have a good indication you are where you hope to be.
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