I recently completed a timing and head gasket job on my 2004 4.0L SOHC engine and have put close to 1000 miles on it, breaking it in. I did not use OEM parts. I bought the Cloyes timing kit which came with new tensioners. From the very beginning I had what sounded like a little tick, but I believe it to be the chain slapping around a little. I reused the static chain guide on the front of the engine, which didn't appear too worn. I suspect the tensioner is the culprit. I did prime the tensioner before install, and I primed the engine before firing it up. is there anything else that could be contributing to this sound. It is not too loud. With the windows down going 45 you can't hear it, and it goes away at idle. But when accelerating from a stop, or revving from an idle it is definitely noticeable, and I'm not sure I would say its getting worse or not, but Its making me nervous. I will order the Motocraft tensioners, but is it a risk to keep driving it how it is? I had blown apart guides in the rear and front when I tore it down, and who knows how long I drove it in that condition before I popped the head gasket for good during a tow. Thank you for your consideration as this is my first complete rebuild and I know I did many things unsatisfactory.

 

Reusing the chain guide is not a good a idea. Mine looked fine but when I removed them, I could tell they were very brittle. Hopefully, you can get very lucky, and it is just the tensioner.

 

Yeah I think I’d better tear down the front of the engine and get that new guide in there. It’s the 6” one between the crank and jack shaft.

 

Oh, you are talking about that one. That guide was fine on mine when I did the timing chain system rebuild. I replaced it anyway. However, the mechanical tensioner for that guide was totally broken off. That was the only thing broken in the entire system and looked like it had been broken for a while. Surprisingly, I had no rattle or noise from it. The engine didn't suffer at all without that mechanical tensioner in place.

 

That one was busted up on mine as well. The rear was broken off, slid down, and wedged sideways in a way that kept enough tension on the chain to not rattle at all. I had chain guide material all over the place, wedged inside of my oil pickup etc.