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VCT Solenoids are integral to the timing system. As engine varnish builds up, the solenoid screens can get plugged off, or may even break off the solenoid. Want a quick test to see if the solenoid may be faulty? Watch this video for what you have to do:
! No longer availableTranscript (done automagically, so there will be errors)
QuoteEnglish (Automatic Captions)
0:00yeah
0:09what's happening guys today we're going to go over yet another common issue on
0:14the 5.4 liter 3-valve engines and just how to diagnose it quickly and
0:19effectively not a concern we're going to go over today is where you're driving
0:23along everything is just fine no check engine light thing runs great no
0:27problems
0:28you get to a stop sign stop light and just start shaking violently the whole
0:33truck is just shaken
0:34dyeables with low it's just miss firing like crazy
0:37you take off that stop layer stop sign and everything is just fine again until
0:41you get to the next stop sign
0:43now the reason this is occurring is because this BCT solenoid that supposed
0:48to allow our oil flow to the phaser in advance the time while you're driving is
0:54sticking in that advanced position when she go back down to base timing on there
0:59at seven hundred rpm so we're which we should be at at a stoplight
1:03therefore the timing is essentially off intermittently because that's sticking
1:08VCT solenoid and the reason that sticks is because of years of gunk build up in
1:13general but if you don't maintain your vehicle you go through extended oil
1:18change intervals and it gets a lot of varnish inside of there it's really
1:22sticky varnish and that bore inside of there is very very precise it's like a
1:26valve inside a valve body and transmission
1:29they're made and i have any seals the metal to metal is so precise the boar in
1:34there that the metal piston inside of there actually seals the bore and that's
1:39the same with the VCT so nights where as a transmission
1:42that's ultra clean all times these can be it can get sticky from just not
1:48changing your oil the carbon that goes through the system from the then blow by
1:52in the engine and of course like i said that the high heat and then that
1:56well just coming up in there in general now the obvious fix for this is just a
2:00change that BTW so light out and everything to be running just fine again
2:05but the problem is
2:06is if your system is fully varnished up in there you're going to need to either
2:10use it oil cleaner system in there like from the dealer that will actually break
2:14that down and get most of it out like BG has some good products for that they
2:18will clean the system up and I would do all that before you actually change the
2:23soul night out get clean as possible and then use a high quality oil that I as
2:28always
2:29detergents and like the pennzoil ultra platinum in the platinum
2:34those are the best oils not only because of the only detergent central but
2:37because of the molecules being all the same size even more close in size than
2:43even let's say since play synthetic oil made from Dino oil the stuff to make for
2:48natural gas between those two different things and changing the solenoids out
2:53you should be good to go okay we're here for you now a short little clip showing
2:57exactly how to diagnose this quick and easy
3:01no scan tool multimeter nothing special is required just your senses and you'll
3:07be able to tell right away if the concern is still there or need to going
3:10further with the diagnosis so check it out
3:13bestway a check you have a sticking VCT solenoid is to turn the car off put in
3:18part
3:18turn the car off come out here to your soul by itself it's an affront the valve
3:22cover both sides same place
3:24disconnect them to the side and then go for a drive again
3:29now if you go for a road test with these VCT soul is disconnected and you're
3:34going to lack power of course but you can be able to take a drive for the high
3:38rpms the higher speeds and they come back down to an idol a stoplight or
3:43whatever and is going to run just fine perfect idol
3:47it won't be running a rough or dying out that's how you know that your solenoid
3:51is sticking when it's a being activated plugged in now also if you go for that
3:56drive with these disconnected and everything's fine
3:58you also rolled out the phaser itself from being stuck in it over advanced
4:03position on occasion I've had a few that the souls were sticking so bad even a
4:08key turn the key off this old man there is still be stuck so I start the car
4:14would be running horrible right
4:16these two pins right here I put Berry voltage to the moment
4:19barely give it a full 12 volt shock 'it and the soul night will fix itself and
4:24the board in there and all of a sudden you run a rough rough you shocked it
4:29with those shows up at 12 volts and all the sudden engine is running rough and
4:34smooth out these are all good test
4:40quick test that you can do and its a good indication that the soul mate stick
4:44and now it's usually happens in higher mileage vehicles as well as a hundred
4:48thousand miles on it and once that are maintained - well they get varnished up
4:53in there and it's all pretty precise inside of there so they're going going
4:57to stick eventually if the engine is not maintained with oil changes and all that
5:02not so bad right it's a pretty quick easy diagnostic process that you can
5:06take with you wherever you go so the concern starts happening
5:09I gotta do is jump out try these tests and you'll know right away if the
5:13concern comes back or not and if you need to change those BTW solar lights
5:17out
5:17now there is the off chance that phase for themselves are coming up heart
5:21internally and I've never seen this in the forward units but i have seen a
5:25doorman units so if you have the students certainly wouldn't be looking
5:29at you if someone in the past has changed amount of the doorman units but
5:33also there's usually is a noise associated with that them coming apart
5:38internal you here to look at the knocking noise a rattling type noise and
5:42of course now you're going to have timing type issues also the one other
5:46thing to check if you had this kind of concern any kind of concern with the VCT
5:50system is the well pressure at a hot idol is 15 psi or higher
5:57we used to have the speck of 25 psi are higher but ford recently change it
6:02dropped down to 15 psi it from experience I've seen systems run 13 18
6:08psi somewhere in that range and the PCT system did work just fine but if you're
6:13having this concern where you have erratic BTW operation
6:17it can be due to the low well pressure in your engine and you can't go by the
6:22gauge on the cluster because that's a dummy gage all the will
6:27well pressure sending unit is on
6:30ford vehicles is a switch so as soon as the oil pressure built enough all it
6:34does is it flips over and it sends a ground out to the cluster and the
6:39cluster you may even see it slowly rise up like its building will pressure you
6:43started
6:44that's all built into the cluster it's fake they can't just go like this right
6:49away so the cluster is not a good indicator
6:53if there's proper will pressure or not you need to actually tap into where the
6:57oil pressure sending unit used to be and get a manual gauge on there and look at
7:02it and make sure that even at a high idle it's about 15 psi or higher
7:07so hopefully as helps i know these systems are pretty complicated
7:11there's a lot of different areas to look at hopefully you're not having this
7:14concern you're just trying to watch this for some information because it can be
7:17really frustrating
7:19and if you do have low oil pressure it could mean you need a new engine or at
7:23least to rebuild that's a lot of money so hopefully it helps
2007 Ford Edge SEL, Powerstop F/R Brake Kit, TXT LED 6000K Lo & Hi Beams, W16W LED Reverse Bulbs, 3BSpec 2.5w Map Lights, 5W Cree rear dome lights, 5W Cree cargo light, DTBL LED Taillights
If tuned: Take note of the strategy code as you return to stock (including 3 bar MAP to 2 bar MAP) -> take car in & get it serviced -> check strategy code when you get car back -> have tuner update your tune if the strategy code has changed -> reload tune -> ENJOY!
