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Friction Gear Spring Pictures :) with commentary....ugh!

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  • Friction Gear Spring Pictures :) with commentary....ugh!

    So for all of you considering the friction gear spring replacement, here are some photos of what we're talking about and some comments on what to watch out for.

    First off is the part itself....

    Friction Spring (65KB)

    Next....all the parts of the rear camshaft friction spring assembly. Notice the shiny areas on the inside of the spring washer and the outer ring of the nut. These areas show much greater wear than the contact points of the spring washer and friction gear....meaning it probably spent more time spinning on the nut then on the gear like it's supposed to....which is why it was redesigned...which you'll see later below.

    Friction Spring Mechanism (48KB)

    Now where the fun begins. You can take the FGS apart without removing the timing belt. HOWEVER, this poses several problems. First, the end camshaft thrust journal that holds both cams down can not be fully removed because it's too large to pass by the timing sprocket and gear on the belt driven cam.

    This is the part I am lifting to it's maximum here.....

    Rear Cams Thrust Bearing (101KB)

    Why a problem? 3 Reasons.

    First, you have to seal the mating surfaces of the thrust bearing and cylinder head with silicone. There's about enough room for a small pinky finger between them at max. Remember, you have to clean out the old first and can't get any of the new silicone on the cam itself (yeah...sure Houdini).

    Second, you're not supposed to clamp the cam seal between the two halfs...it should be pressed in once they're assembled (which requires removal of the timing belt and sprockets). If you end up going the route of not removing the timing belt...put a thin coat of silicone on the cam seal to prevent it from being snagged and pinched when assembling. Wave a dead chicken over it as well :razz:

    Third....there are end plugs in the cams that don't protrude....same problem as above....pressed in after assembly usually and no room to press them in once you put the pieces together. Once again, clean and silicone or replace and silicone.

    Here is another shot of the journals and thrust bearing. The cam end plug seals the end of the cam on the right. Keep in mind...you need to apply sealant between these two aluminum pieces and it only lifts maybe 1/2" at most..........

    Rear Cams Thrust Bearing -Side View - Cam Out (162KB)

    Now the serious fun and the begins.

    You will notice that your replacement FGS has two little tangs where it's supposed to slip over the collar on the nut. Why? To keep the FGS sliding on the larger area of the spocket instead of just spinning on the nut side. Looks like this.....

    Old & New Friction Springs Side By Side (39KB)

    My first thoughts .....

    How will this fit on the nut? Well, there is a newly designed nut with notches in it. One problem though......it's special order at Ford and Mazda (at least around here). Not the time to find this when the engine is apart

    What now? Die grinder. Used a dial indicator to find the center of the sides of the nut and cut a "U" shaped notch in two places....looks like this....

    Notched Friction Nut(10KB)

    Fit just swell.

    Other outstanding issues....

    Hope you have a serious tool collection or a trusting mechanic friend. The nut and flats on the camshaft are bigger than 32mm and on really tight. I have nothing over 1-1/4" or 32mm. Had to use a plumbing wrench and towel.

    Make SURE you have the Friction Gear...this thing.....

    Friction Gear (32KB)

    ...and the cam gear teeth lined up with each other at the marking point for aligning the two cams together. You will not be able to install the cam if the teeth are misaligned and it's just about impossible to turn the FG with the new spring on. Look for the painted marks and punched circle in the cams to see the alignment point. Good luck holding the FG from turning while tightening the nut....you almost have to anticipate the amount it will move and misalign it that much before tightening.

    Lastly, remember to rotate the engine so the cams are not under any spring pressure from the valve springs. It should be off all HLA's and you should be able to spin the HLA's in their holes...if not, it's still under pressure. When you loosen the bearings, you'll chance bending them this way.

    That's all I can think of right now.














    1995 PGT F/S.... car listed in forums...

  • #2
    On Saturday November 17, 2001 3:03 AM, leska wrote:
    ....lined up with each other at the marking point for aligning the two cams together.

    Lastly, remember to rotate the engine so the cams are not under any spring pressure from the valve springs. It should be off all HLA's and you should be able to spin the HLA's in their holes...if not, it's still under pressure. When you loosen the bearings, you'll chance bending them this way.

    That's all I can think of right now.


    Add this to the faq.

    If the cam marking points are aligned per the the book this will be a no load condition on the cam lobes.
    Rick_96PGT #62
    "I never apologize.
    I'm sorry, but that's just the way I am."
    - Homer J. Simpson

    Comment


    • #3
      Rick,

      Are you sure about this?

      I remember lining the two cams up according to the tech manual and thinking....well that's weird...it's still pressing against a few HLA's.

      I also remember having to line the two cams up with each other with the journals off and then rotate the engine so the rear exhaust cam was off the HLA's to complete the install.

      Maybe I'm nuts. It was a long night. I started around 9pm.
      1995 PGT F/S.... car listed in forums...

      Comment


      • #4
        I am trying to decide whether to replace my friction springs too.....but it would be a waste to do so unless I also took the opportunity to replace some of my HLAs at the same time.....but then the $$$ starts to add up.

        Here is a question, though -- one of my camshaft seals on the rear bank is leaking, and the manual seems to indicate (without directly saying so) that there's no way to pull out the old seal without first removing the end cap that sits on top of it. Is that correct? And if you remove the endcap, you might as well do the friction spring and HLAs too....and come to think of it, you may as well install phenolic spacers too....

        This is why I hate the Probe, because it's one of cars where you have to save up $$ and do everything at once. If you do things piece-meal, you end up re-doing the same labor over and over.

        Comment


        • #5
          GT's build on or after Jan 1997 do *NOT* have the friction gear problem. My 97 GTS is whisper quite at 40k miles. I had a 94 GT before this so I'm well aware of how noisey the 'normal' mX6/GT V6 engine is thanks to HLA's, FGS, wobbly cam lobes, etc (my 94's engine was rebuild with new cams, HLA's, and new FGS 2 years after I got it at 35k. However they used the old FGS design so it was back 2 years later).

          Really, if you can, find a MX6/GT with a V6 manufactered on or after Jan 1 1997. Your jaw will drop to the ground in amazement on how QUIET the engine is. It's an unbelievable difference....

          Took bad it too Ford/Maza until the very last year of production to get it all right....

          Ted
          1997 Ford Probe GTS (Alpine Green) [winter]
          1994 Dodge Stealth RT (Firestorm Red) [summer]

          Comment


          • #6
            I posted this info [giving you credit/praise of course] on the MX-3 board in the V6 forum. The only reason I didn't link to PT is because I've done that in the past and not kept alternate copies of data, and since PT has erased everything more than once...it kinda sucked.

            Thanks again man.
            David Coleman #1891 - Fastest of any Gen @ MMIV:
            1993 Mazda MX-3 GSR Special Edition - PINK POWA! - KLZE powered!

            The Idiot Post Patrol :
            Fighting ignorance one post at a time [this public service brought to you by Nikki and David]

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by b4tn
              Remember a long time ago when Leska made that kick ass timing belt and friction gear write up? Well I downloaded all the pics And just now....I finally put it all together in one place

              http://pages.sbcglobal.net/b4tn/fric...ion_spring.htm

              or get the word document version here

              Awsome write up...Thanks Leska
              1996 Boysenberry Probe GT MTXtreme
              2014 Fusion SE MTXtreme
              2005 Mountaineer Premier

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