ClassyPeopleRacing

So I just purchased a 2008 f150 5.4 xlt from a coworker, it had a few issues but I was able to fix them in a day. The new (to me) issue I'm having is that the engine ticks/ sounds like a diesel. Also when my wife was driving it yesterday and pulled into the driveway it started knocking and idling really bad. I had he shut it off and restart it and it went way, didn't knock at all just back to its normal ticking. I can't recreate the knocking noise. The engine only ticks when it is up to operating temp.

I ended up doing a lot of research on this and have read many different expelations as for why it does this, the first and most common one that I have read was that the cam phasors are bad and need to be replaced along with all the timing stuff. I also read it could be the timing chain guides which I would replace when doing all the timing/ cam phasor stuff. The second thing I read was it is a vct sensor, I read that unplugging it would tell you if it is bad or not but when I unplugged it, it sounded the same. The other thing I read was that it could be fuel injectors or bad plugs but in my mind if it is a bad injector it would act funny all the time not randomly.

I will also mention that i changed the oil/filter when I purchased the truck about 2 weeks ago and I didn't find any shavings in the oil or filter. The guy I bought it from was only selling it because he purchased a new 2015 f150 and not because he was having major issues with it.

Please help! I've read so many different fixes for this problem and some work and some don't, I'm looking for a conceive answer so I'm not just dumping money into it and continue to have the same issue.

kinda sounds like this
or

Thanks!
Mike

OldMansTruck

The knocking could be a misfire, the ticking is because it has a 5.4 3v under the hood. Mine started ticking at 60k miles. I'm now at 154,000 and still the same old ticking.

ClassyPeopleRacing

OK cool. Mine is at 91k miles and i really don't want to take the front of the engine apart if I don't have to. and the knocking was loud and random and the truck was stuttering, but once i shut the car off and turned it back on it was back to its normal ticking. I didn't think it was a misfire because the engine light never came on/threw a code.

lol yeah i really don't like the 5.4s because I know they only lasted to 100k miles in the lightnings but i was under the impression that they fixed it in 06. My father-in-law has about 215k miles on his 5.4 and it runs perfectly fine.

OldMansTruck

Go find a long steady hill. As you begin your approach settle the throttle into a spot where it is under a steady load. Not shifting up, not about to shift down, just a good steady RPM. As you climb the hill and the load on the engine increases if you have a misfire the truck will begin shaking and sputtering. Now is where you have the choice of keep going until it throws the code and then go have the code read and address the issue directly with a new plug and COP on that cylinder or you can let off the throttle and head home and trouble shoot manually until you find which cylinder it was. If it does not misfire under load climbing a long steady grade then odds are that's not what was causing your sputtering. My truck got 17 mpg the whole way from Atlanta to Orlando with an unknown misfire because it was a steady down hill drive with very little uphill. The return trip home was 80% slow steady uphill grades and i got around 12 mpg with the occasional misfire. As far as the ticking goes, everyone i have spoken to says deal with it because if you pay half the price of a new motor to have the repairs done then there is still no guarantee you won't be back in the same boat in 5, 10, 15 or 20,000 miles.

ClassyPeopleRacing

yeah I'm not too worried about the ticking more or less the knocking, my in-laws driveway is at a good 35 degree angle and that is when it happened.. and as for climbing a good hill, I'm in south east texas and we have 0 hills.. I will prob have to diagnose the misfiring at home and hope i can find it.

OldMansTruck

Not quite as easy but find a long stretch of road and same thing. Find a sweet spot where you're at the peak of the rpm's just before it shifts to the next gear and hold the throttle steady while going down the road. Not as much load but you should still get the same results.

ClassyPeopleRacing

I will try it tomorrow and see what happens and let you know. Thanks for your help