albertaford

Hey all!

I'm new the the forums, but I'm having issues with my truck and this seemed like a great place to try and get some advice about it!

I reciently purchased a 2010 F150 5.4 XLT, it has 2400km on it to date...

Anyways once the engine is fully warmed up, if I put the truck into gear and put it under a light load (such as trying to drive over a curb, or pressing the brakes) and I bring the RPM's up to between 800-1100 the engine starts to make a funny noise. I dont really know how to describe it, I guess a "knocking or clacking" sound. It wont make the noise at idle, only when the RPM's are brought up to that range. I also tried driving around, and the noise is apparent even when driving at slow speeds, if I keep the RPM's in this range.

I've taken the truck into my local Ford dealer... and they tell me this is normal. Something to do with the Variable Cam Timing system.

I'm hoping someone out there has had experience with this issue, and might be able to shed some light on this for me! I love my truck, but with only 2400 km on it, you would think it would sound a little better than that!

Lenn

Uh Oh... Another one needing a new engine.













































J/k
I really have nothing constructive to add to this thread, I just wanted to welcome you by playin with ya.

95stepside

hell lenn you even had me scratching my head for a second.

and i would say if you have more than one local dealer id get a second opinion

albertaford

lol, I just about cried there for a second! Thanks for the welcome! Yeah I think I will try another dealership, just wondering if anyone had any ideas what it might be! I'm not much of a mechanic, so I cant tell if they are blowing smoke up my ***, or telling the truth! lol

manic5_2001

I have the same tic, tic, tick noise at idle and at those RPMs, also a slight sliding metal noise at thos RPMs, I would say its normal, others have talked about all the noises the 5.4 makes.

slowpoke

If its under load it sounds more like detonation to me. Try getting gas at a different gas station. You may be getting bad gas or maybe its had a tune installed and you may need to run higher octane

edit: the clarify, if its just a tick tick tick noise that is the injectors and is normal but if its a rattle or a clackity clack noise my bet is on poor gas or wrong octane.

albertaford

Yeah I went in to the dealership again, and test drove 2 different F150s today. One like mine (XLT) and a Lariat. I could replicate the noise in both of them. Spoke directly to the mechanic who serviced my truck and he told me that its a known issue to Ford, its the Variable Cam Timing system. Apparently the only reason I can make the sound appear when the engine is hot is because the Cam Phaser locks when the engine is cold, not allowing it to advance or retard the timing. As soon as the engine warms up, the Cam Phaser releases allowing the timing to adjust, producing the noise. I guess as far as he's concerned I'm not the first person to speak to Ford about it! He said theres not a lot the dealership can do about it, apparently Ford Canada has even sent a memo out to the dealers when they ask Ford for any TSB's on this saying its a normal operating sound of the VCT, and to NOT try and fix it. I guess in their minds "if its not broken, why fix it?" holds true! I can get them to replace the system, but at my expense since its not broken in Fords eyes. lol He also went on to check the system but unhooking the VCT solenoid or something, and presto the noise went away. lol, maybe I should suck it up and just turn up the radio! or get a loud exhaust!

slowpoke

interesting. one reason why my first stop after the dealership was at a muffler shop. i dont want to start hearing rattles here and there. i just want to enjoy my truck and use it as it was intended i guess if its not losing power or coming apart theres no reason to worry

albertaford

Yeah thats my next stop! I just thought I'd let people know what I found out. Better than trying to guess if you aren't very mechanically inclined, like me! lol

manic5_2001

OMG, these engines have been doing this for years, my 2001 ranger 4.0 had the same tic tic at idle and low RPM, Its the nature of the beast anything mechanical is GOING to make sounds. My moms HONDA accord makes ticking too. They cant sound proof the whole engine bay. Unless you want to drive up the price to the platinum your not going to get complete silence in the cab. This is my opinnion.