Coyote Timing by Generation: What Actually Interchanges

Ford has built four generations of Coyote since 2011, and the timing drive changed at almost every one of them. Some parts carry straight across. Some look identical and aren't. And the differences that catch people out are rarely the obvious ones — it's usually a bolt thread direction or which cap you're allowed to replace, not a whole assembly.

This is what we've learned making timing components for this engine, laid out by generation, so you can order the right part the first time.

The generations, and where the lines fall

Gen 4 is not one thing

This is the single most useful thing on this page, so it goes near the top.

Gen 4 Mustang and Gen 4 F-150 are different engines as far as timing hardware is concerned, and they didn't even arrive in the same year. The truck went Gen 4 in 2021. The Mustang went Gen 4 in 2024.

• Gen 4 Mustang (2024-2026) carries Gen 3 timing hardware across the board. Same VCT lockout, same cam cap, same timing chain arms, same cam sensor block-offs. If you have a Gen 3 parts list, it works.
• Gen 4 F-150 (2021+) does not. It takes a different timing chain arm, and the Gen 3 cam cap will not fit its head.

If you take one thing away: check the chassis and the year, not the generation number.

VCT lockouts — three part numbers, four generations

Our lockout is EN019, and it comes in three versions covering all four generations, because Gen 3 and Gen 4 share.

The lockout itself is the easy part. The hardware is where generations actually differ, and it's worth reading this before you order bolts.

Gen 1 — ARP outer bolts on both intake and exhaust. Grade 12.9 centre bolts on both intake and exhaust.

Gen 2 — ARP outer bolts on the intake only. Grade 12.9 centre bolts on both. The exhaust outer bolts are left-hand thread — reuse your OE bolts. This one has cost people time and cam covers.

Gen 3 and Gen 4 — ARP outer bolts on both intake and exhaust. Grade 12.9 centre bolts on the intake only. Reuse the OE exhaust centre bolt.

All three versions are CNC machined 6061-T6, black anodized, with a cam positioning pin. Hardware is a separate option — if you're sourcing your own, the notes above are what you're matching. There is a full walkthrough in our guide to VCT lockouts.

Cam caps — and the one we don't make

Factory cam caps were designed around factory spring pressure. Add valve spring load and RPM and they flex; keep going and they crack. When a cap moves, the camshaft moves with it, and your valve timing goes inconsistent exactly when the engine is working hardest.

Our billet caps are EN033, and they split by head generation, not by chassis year: Gen 1 heads (2011-2014), Gen 2 heads (2015-2017), Gen 3 heads (2018-2026).

The Gen 3 cap runs all the way to the 2026 Mustang, because the Gen 4 Mustang head takes the same cap. It does not fit the 2021-and-newer Gen 4 F-150.

A Gen 3 kit is fourteen caps, and that is deliberate. On a direct injection head, one cap position carries the plunger that drives the DI pump. We don't machine that cap. You keep your factory one in that position and run BPS caps everywhere else. The Gen 3 head doesn't have fewer caps than a Gen 1 — we just don't supply that particular one.

Two things to plan for on any generation:

• Cam caps must be line bored after installation. This is not optional, and it is not a step you can skip because the caps measured well on the bench. Budget the machine time.
• Front caps are direct replacements for the factory parts and work with both OE and our heavy duty timing chains and guides.

Billet front caps and ARP hardware are both available as options on Gen 1 and Gen 2.

Timing chain arms and guides — where Mustang and F-150 part ways

EN047 covers Gen 1, Gen 2, Gen 3 and the Gen 4 Mustang: 2011-2026 Mustang, plus 2011-2020 F-150. It works with both styles of tensioner, including Boss 302.

EN056 is the 2021+ F-150 Gen 4 arm. Different part, different geometry.

So a 2026 Mustang runs the same arms as a 2011 car, while a 2021 F-150 doesn't.

Two materials, and the choice is about fuel, not about power level.

• 6061-T6 aluminum with OE liners — for pump gas, race gas and ethanol blends. The liners give you the wear surface; the billet gives you the stability through high RPM and high oil temperature.
• One-piece methanol-resistant polymer — if you're on methanol. Methanol attacks conventional guide material: it softens, swells and breaks down, and your timing goes with it. The polymer guides are formulated specifically to resist that.

There is a full breakdown of that choice in billet aluminum vs polymer.

Note the difference in what's included. EN047 comes with liners preinstalled where applicable. EN056 reuses your factory liners — they are not supplied, and you transfer them off the original arms during installation. Plan for that before the engine is apart.

Secondary chain guides — one part, every application

EN045 fits across the range and handles every fuel type including ethanol and methanol.

This is the part that fails on locked-out engines. Once the cams are locked and spring pressure goes up, the load on the secondary guides climbs sharply, and the factory plastic wears through. When it does, the chain follows, and then the engine.

Ours are machined from a proprietary plastic resin, lubricated through the factory oiling holes, with redesigned geometry that spreads the load more evenly. They won't wear the secondary chains, and they work with factory or heavy duty chains.

We've run these in multiple 2000+ horsepower cars where the factory guides were lasting about ten runs. The BPS guides went a full season with no failure.

Heavy duty secondary chains

EN015 fits all years of Coyote and Voodoo. Where they differ from factory:

• .020 in thicker inner plate
• .010 in thicker outer plate
• .030 in thicker chain pin

If you're locking cams out and running serious spring pressure, the chains and the guides are a package. Upgrading one and leaving the other is how you find the next weak link.

Camshaft sensors — Gen 1-2 and Gen 3-4

When you move to a standalone ECU you don't need all four factory cam sensors, and the open ports need sealing.

Our block-off sets are EN007: EN007-GEN12 for Gen 1 and Gen 2, EN007-GEN34 for Gen 3 and Gen 4. Sold in sets of three — one sensor stays functional for the aftermarket ECU. Billet aluminum, black anodized, OEM-style O-ring, factory hardware.

That the split lands between Gen 2 and Gen 3 and then holds through Gen 4 is the same pattern you see in the lockouts: the meaningful change in this engine's top end happened at 2018, when direct injection arrived. On the Mustang side, Gen 4 is barely a change at all.

Quick reference

Everything above lives in Billet Pro Shop Engine Components.

If you're not sure

Fitment on this engine is genuinely confusing, and the cost of guessing is an engine apart on a stand waiting for the right part. Every product page lists the years and generations it covers. If your combination isn't listed, or you're working on a swap that crosses generations, call the shop before you order.

We machine all of this in house in Napierville, Quebec, and we build these engines ourselves — so when you call, you're talking to people who have had the same parts in their hands.