E350 6.8 V10 .... Passenger cam cover removal

[deezdrama]

6.8 V10 E350.... Just replaced timing chains and tensioners 6 months before I started getting a bad ticking noise that I pinpointed to the rear of the passenger head using my stethoscope.

So I figured a rocker bearing gave out and with the knowledge that the passenger cam cover wont clear the firewall roof enough to be removed I avoided tearing into it and just parked it.
It sat for about a year and a half. Just this week I pulled it out and ran seafoam through the vac,in crankcase, and 2 cans in the gas tank and took it for a drive. It runs fantastic but the rocker tapping has gotten worse.
When I got home I changed the oil and parked it again....

Its time to sell or to fix it. I want to fix it out but ive read that the whole body needs raised in order to get the clearance needed to remove the passenger side cam cover.
I just recently watched a couple videos on youtube of guys with e350s with the 5.4 (which should be the exact same minus 2 cylinders) But by removing the intake they were able to rotate the cam cover inward toward where the intake was and then able to pull it out.
Im wondering if anyone has ever tried this with the 6.8 v10?

Ive never replaced rockers, and lifters/lash adjusters on a modular ford motor. Say I do get the cam cover off.... Will I need to remove the front timing cover again in order to pull the cam out or can it be done without front timing cover removed?

What if I still cant get the cam cover off? Can i remove motor mounts and drop the motor a couple inches or does the body really need lifted just to remove the cover?


Hoping someone has some experience with this but im sure its a long shot.


Thanks!

[doublevan2]

Greetings deezdrama -- very sorry to hear of your rockers/cam problems. Interested in viewing that YouTube video re removing intake/cam cover, etc. Can you copy/paste and include in an update or PM me ? GLWT project ! Thanks --

[carringb]

Have you checked the spark plug yet? A spark plug backing out makes a pretty good tick too! The #10 is also the most likely to do it I've found out. On mine, it would loosen up after spending extended time (like 10s of minutes) above 5k RPM. So something to do with harmonics.

You can probably get enough access by pulling the motor mounts and letting it drop down, in conjunction with pulling the intake manifold.

But FWIW.... reman V10s are relatively cheap (you can buy 4 for the price of one high-pressure fuel-pump job on a 6.7L PSD), and swapping one is only a little more labor then tearing into one of the heads.

[deezdrama]

Originally Posted by doublevan2

Greetings deezdrama -- very sorry to hear of your rockers/cam problems. Interested in viewing that YouTube video re removing intake/cam cover, etc. Can you copy/paste and include in an update or PM me ? GLWT project ! Thanks --

https://youtu.be/OUKgMhWZoHA?t=7683

[deezdrama]

Originally Posted by carringb

Have you checked the spark plug yet? A spark plug backing out makes a pretty good tick too! The #10 is also the most likely to do it I've found out. On mine, it would loosen up after spending extended time (like 10s of minutes) above 5k RPM. So something to do with harmonics.

You can probably get enough access by pulling the motor mounts and letting it drop down, in conjunction with pulling the intake manifold.

But FWIW.... reman V10s are relatively cheap (you can buy 4 for the price of one high-pressure fuel-pump job on a 6.7L PSD), and swapping one is only a little more labor then tearing into one of the heads.

I did when I first noticed the ticking but before I dig in I will re-check.
Ive owned 5 or 6 of these ford modular motors and never had a plug back out, Ive always added a very tiny film of anti-seize and torque them more than they call for and never had an issue.... but I think this may be one of the only ones that only has the 4 threads in the heads so its possible I guess but when poking around with stethoscope It didnt seem to come from any plug bores but would be great if thats all it was lol. (my luck is never that good)