Worst Monday in 10 years - snapped a timing chain on a 5.4 Triton

Last Monday I was replacing a water pump on a 2010 F-150 and the customer insisted I also check his timing chain rattle. I told him it was a HUGE job but he said go ahead. 3 hours in I snapped the timing chain tensioner bolt and the whole thing came apart. Had to tell the guy his engine was toast. He tried to blame me but my shop foreman backed me up. Anyone else had a job that just went completely sideways like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_alice9h ago

A buddy of mine runs a small shop out in the country and he had a 5.4 come in last spring for the same rattle. He warned the guy three times it could grenade, even made him sign a napkin saying he understood the risk. Snapped the bolt on the passenger side tensioner about 45 minutes in and the chain jumped time, bent every valve in the right bank. Customer offered to pay for the labor if my buddy covered parts, then tried to sue him for the whole truck.

aaron88016h ago

That 5.4 Triton timing job is an absolute nightmare. Snapped the tensioner bolt myself on an F-150 once, whole engine went clattering. Customer had that same deer in headlights look. You tell them it's a gamble, they say go for it, then act shocked when the dominoes fall.

alicer5314h ago

Did your shop have to eat the cost of the customer's engine or did his insurance cover it? I'm asking because I've heard stories where the shop ends up on the hook even when they warned the customer first. Some guys I know won't touch a timing job on those 5.4s unless the customer signs a waiver agreeing the engine might fail during the repair.