I’ve had the annoying “can of marbles” noise at startup for about 40k miles. It would usually happen on a cold start when I ran 5W-30 oil. I switched to 5W-20 oil about 20k miles ago and cold starts became mostly quiet but starts later in the day would still rattle. The rattle would always go away in 2-3 seconds, as soon as the oil pressure came up (seen with my real oil pressure gauge). I only use Motorcraft oil + filter.
Now, at 162k miles, I decided to open up the engine and replace the tensioners, chain guides, etc. I read a lot of accounts about how to do this and found this one to be most helpful:
[URL="http://unitedpantherownersassociation .us/Forum/Thread-Marauder-front-timing-cover-removal[/URL]
Using a ratcheting wrench for one of the power steering pump bolts allowed me to remove the pump without removing the pump pulley. Using instructions in the above link I was able to leave the cooling system undisturbed.
Before removing any tensioning components I tie-wrapped both chains in place to ensure the chains stayed on the gears.
I found one chain guide down to metal. Some slight wear on the front cover showed the chain was slapping against it at times. The nylon on the other chain guide and both tension guides were very worn in places. Some spots were down to about 0.5mm. Both tensioners had torn gaskets. Timing chains and gears looked OK to me.
I replaced the stock tensioners with ratcheting tensioners as suggested by CTRLRAVEN. Thanks for this good idea! See post 50 in this thread for part numbers: [URL="http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=92299&page=4[/URL]
I also replaced both chain guides and both tensioning guide/arms
A few of the posts I read said the crankshaft bolt is a single use item. I purchased a new crank bolt from my local Ford dealer but could not use it because it was the wrong diameter – too large. I called the parts dept of two dealers and neither could find any notation in their systems that the crank bolt is single use so I put the old one back in.
Several starts later and no more noise! So far, no leaks. Hopefully the nylon and aluminum from the guides and tensioners is all in old oil filters somewhere and not on the pump intake screen.