head removal?

[azgolfrat]

If you pull the engine you will have a much easier time getting everything right. I took out the kmember to replace my pan, and I got it done, but working on your back underneath the car, assuming you dont have a lift, is more difficult than with the engine out and up in the air/om a rotating stand.

[daniel.drives]

If you look at pics of the pan you’ll never get a good look inside the pan without removing the pan completely. Plus removing the pick-up tube will require a new o-ring, good luck finding the correct one, it’s not available from Ford and I wouldn’t use any generic one due to the heat/ chemicals it’s exposed to….. I hate to say it, but pull the engine for piece of mind, it will be way easier to replace the cam cover gaskets, and timing components.

Here's my setup. Make sure you jack the car up enough that you're comfortable underneath, you're gonna be there a while.

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Here's how much room you get:

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Here's what you can see immediately:

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Here's what you can see after about half a dozen rags:

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Here's what you can verify after you pull the chunks out:

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Here's what came out. The left pile is what was in the oil pickup screen, the right pile was floating in the pan:

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I haven't heard of single use orings, but if you want to replace it any Buna Nitrile o-ring of the same size should be fine. Even if you don't replace it (I didn't) I'd rather risk it with the oring than have 85% of the intake screen plugged with debris. To each their own. The car has been running fine in daily driver/occasionally flogged status since I did that job in March.

[daniel.drives]

... but I can become a contortionist and somehow reach inside and remove the pickup tube? I'm also guessing I'll be able to slip a new pan gasket in and then re-attach the pickup tube?

Thanks!

Worth noting that this car (165k) had all the plastic on the drivers side fixed guide missing, but still start, ran and drove. As soon as the owner heard the rattle he quit driving it until he brought it to me, under 2000rpm lol. I hope your damage is not more significant. On mine (187k) , the steel chain ate through the plastic surface, through the aluminum tensioner arm, and into the steel tensioner piston, didn't make noise when I left home that evening, couldn't miss it by the time I returned home. If your guide is somehow missing even more material, the cam sensor could be reporting an issue and the ecu could be not allowing it to start, but that's sourceless conjecture.

If you have limited wrist mobility or particularly thick hands, I'd recommend enlisting some child labor, but besides that you should be fine. Once the oil pan is dropped, at the front of the motor you'll see the two bolts that hold the pickup tube onto the oil pump, I'm almost certain there was a third for a brace somewhere towards the back. It takes some patience and possibly luck to get it out, but with enough rotation, wiggling, and jiggling, I was able to pull it out the front. Make sure to remove the oring before blasting the tube with the solvent of your choice, and dont forget to sit the new gasket into place before reinstalling the pickup tube. Good luck!

[nj-marauder]

After I got the timing guides and tensioners in and everything back together, the car started right up but.... It was making a slightly different loud rattling noise which was obviously one or more bent valves (plus whatever other damage). The timing chains never skipped any teeth, guess the plastic of the chain guide and possible tensioner caused the timing to be out just enough to bend a valve (or two, or three).

I shut the car down and I have since sold the car to another forum member for what we both believe was a fair price. (He's welcome to identify himself if he wants). I was not willing to go down the rabbit hole to repair the head, then add this or that while everything was apart.

Almost 18yrs with the car, the wife is bummed but time to move on.

Thanks for the info everybody

[massacre]

A leak down test would have identified those bent valves before disassembly. Bummer to hear you sold it.