Greetings,
I have a F-150 XLT 2016 3.5L V6 naturally asprated engine truck with 52000miles. I change oil every 5000 miles and use sythetic oil. It ran well until abour 51000 miles and one day after start up, the engine felt low on power and makes noise past 1600 rpm or when I give it more than a light press on the gas peddle. I checked the code initially, and it was P0016. So I replaced the four cam position sensors and the check engine light was gone. A week after the light came back on but no strange noise, engine power felt sightly low. The code was P0018 and P0019. I replaced the crank sensor myself but the light engine light is still on. I took it to ford dealership and they said they re programmed the PCM for 280$ but when I went to pick it up, the light came back on 5 seconds after I started the truck. The loud strange revving noise also came back above 1500 to 1600 rpm or when I give it more gas. The engine also cranks 4-6 times during start up compared to the usual 2-3 cranks. Ford dealer said they will take it back and fix it but I am really interested in knowing what's wrong? The code now is P0019 and P0018. I have the truck parked now worrying if the physical timing is off and may cause damage if I drive it more. Do you know what the issue maybe and if this engine is an interference engine?
Replacing the cam positioning sensors, which also control the ignition timing, can change the ignition timing and requires a high level scan tool to reset the timing. The days of connecting a timing light to the battery and pointing it at the balancer while turning the distributor are long gone. Except for me, I have an old truck. It doesn't even have an OBD port.
Turns out to be failed cam phasers. Big job replacing them...