Shanker

well I have just completed the task of changing out the water pump, timing chains, and plugs, coil packs. figured I am in it this far. The 2 parts that were the hardest was to remove the top bolt on the power steering pump and pulling out the front plate. I went and purchased the steel plates that lock up the valve timing. money well worth spending, never have to worry about anything moving while you replace all 3 timing chains. I replaced all valve cover gaskets as well as the intake gaskets, the car is 2008 with 350000+ km on the car. Make sure you clean both sides of the front plate as this only gets a thin film of silicone, and this is not your ordinary silicone. make sure you use the correct one that states for engines and is oil resistant. Took about 20-25 hours for myself to do it. You will need to get a harmonic balance puller, harmonic balance installer. I did not want to hammer the harmonic balance back on. I also went through 4 cans of break cleaner to get rid of all the oil/fumes off the parts. found the oil pan has some dead spots where there is lots of gunk sitting in the corners. There is a great video you can watch, its a two part. This is for the Ford Flex but its the same engine, Part 1: Part 2: Steve

Thanks for your all your help guys, I will be tackling this on the weekend. I have also went and purchased the servcie manual on EBay $3.00 you can't go wrong. I might have more questions when I dive in. Steve

Seems I have to do both the front wheel bearings and both drive axles as the tone ring came off and you cannot buy just the tone ring. Couple things, where did everyone purchase the 41mm or 1 5/8 1/2 drive socket, having a hell of a time finding a 6 point one. And also I tried to use the link above for the service manual with no luck, the link is not working anymore. If someone can share a link for the service manual that will be great. looking for all the torque specs. Thanks in advance. Steve

Thanks for the info, I was having the same issues as well, the rubber plug does do something, you have on the top the brake adjuster still with the adjust back tight you cannot get the rotor off. First one took a little over an hour, second one took 10 minutes to get off. I have never seen an emergency brake pad like this before? I don't know if I like it or not. I did the same thing as loosen the brake tension first ,then collapsed the adjuster in the drum. What I did was put all the lugs back on and had a bar that used to spin the rotor around as I was pulling out this way it was knocking off the rust that got built up on the lip. once I know I had enough play I was able to pull on each side of the rotor. small trick is to put the opening where the rubber plug was on the bottom and I used a wooden dowel to push out the shoe. just make sure the keep an eye on that spring. Steve