Audioguy52

I have a 2006 F150 Crew Cab with the 5.4 Triton V8 that has always had a slight tick from time to time but it seems lately the ticking is more pronounced and all the time. I had it on the rack of a muffler shop to see if the problem may be an exhaust leak, which it wasn't. The tick sounds like it is coming from the torque converter.
What might be the cause of the ticking noise?
Dale Alexander

hms79

There are a thousands of posts about this. It could be cam phasers, exhaust manifold leak, noisy injectors, a lot of things. Unfortunately, the 5.4L Triton 3V is notorious for the tick. I have one, it does it. It will eventually get really bad, or, you could get lucky and it'll run for 200,000 miles. Oil is the most important thing. I'm sure others will chime in with some more sage advice. In the meantime, search this site, you'll find a lot of great advice.

Audioguy52

The truck has 150K miles and has only had Amsoil 20-50 oil changed every 5000 miles. I have found several posts and youtube videos and all indications I see points to the cam phasors. What does it typically cost to have the phasors changed?

hms79

I honestly couldn't tell you. I would assume you are looking at a couple thousand dollars (or more). There are others on here who could give you a more realistic idea. Also, I know it is a bad idea to run any oil other than 5w20 or 5w30. Apparently, any oil thicker than that leads to oil starvation, which leads to the problem.

F150Torqued

Sounds are hard to describe verbally. The 5.4l 3v has several components that can produce some noise / sound. The injectors make a 'very soft' tick or peck, but are not what most people complain about hearing when in a fast food drive thru. Most likely it is coming from a collapsed lifter, or a roller/follower (rocker) that has bad roller bearings. If you remove the valve covers, throw some shop rags over stuff to catch the oil that will get thrown around, idle the engine while holding your finger on rockers - you will probably find something that has slack in it resulting in the 'TICK'. If you do not have codes - you probably do not have Phaser problems (yet).