Idle noise -- Normal or phasers?
12-24-2014, 02:27 PM
#31
Member
Thread Starter
I wanted to bump back in here with a few updates, as these threads seem to go silent and the posters never update.
I took the truck in to my mechanic, very honest guy who knows his motors better than anyone I've met so far. I took him around the truck pointing out all the noises and expressed my concern. This was what he told me after he plopped it on a lift and looked around for a while: If there is an exhaust manifold leak, it must be too small for him to notice under the truck. He started it both cold and warm. The noise is too faint and lacks the "metal on metal" clank to identify phaser knock. He also said the first tell-tale sign of phaser failure is a truck that "idles like a drunk chick walks." Same for VCT Solenoids, which will cause unusual driving conditions and reduce power as the truck attempts to adjust for the problems. He said that one thing these trucks can be known for are loud fuel injectors, giving that kind of low-level, non-metal to metal knock that you can hear on mine. He said this is pretty much a moot point as the tests showed near perfect, near factory combustion in all chambers and there were zero bad readouts to speak of. The mounts appear to be aging, but not exactly failing. He said in the next two years it would be wise to do some newer mounts that are built a bit stronger than the original Ford ones. They were evidently not that strong and over time give the engine some movement that can contribute to knocking as the truck's VCT retards/advances the timing system under load and temperatures.
So I purchased a ScanGauge II for $150 and spent about an hour loading up custom codes for the Fords into it. The truck has no codes, no pending codes, and no signs of codes having been wiped out. Her readings aren't just good, they're damn near gorgeous for a 169,000 mile truck! So I am gonna keep on driving with a smile and roll this old girl to 300,000 if I can help it.
I took the truck in to my mechanic, very honest guy who knows his motors better than anyone I've met so far. I took him around the truck pointing out all the noises and expressed my concern. This was what he told me after he plopped it on a lift and looked around for a while: If there is an exhaust manifold leak, it must be too small for him to notice under the truck. He started it both cold and warm. The noise is too faint and lacks the "metal on metal" clank to identify phaser knock. He also said the first tell-tale sign of phaser failure is a truck that "idles like a drunk chick walks." Same for VCT Solenoids, which will cause unusual driving conditions and reduce power as the truck attempts to adjust for the problems. He said that one thing these trucks can be known for are loud fuel injectors, giving that kind of low-level, non-metal to metal knock that you can hear on mine. He said this is pretty much a moot point as the tests showed near perfect, near factory combustion in all chambers and there were zero bad readouts to speak of. The mounts appear to be aging, but not exactly failing. He said in the next two years it would be wise to do some newer mounts that are built a bit stronger than the original Ford ones. They were evidently not that strong and over time give the engine some movement that can contribute to knocking as the truck's VCT retards/advances the timing system under load and temperatures.
So I purchased a ScanGauge II for $150 and spent about an hour loading up custom codes for the Fords into it. The truck has no codes, no pending codes, and no signs of codes having been wiped out. Her readings aren't just good, they're damn near gorgeous for a 169,000 mile truck! So I am gonna keep on driving with a smile and roll this old girl to 300,000 if I can help it.
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beantown617 (12-24-2014)
12-25-2014, 03:52 PM
#34
Member
Thread Starter
Well keep in mind that without the ability to physically diagnose, all we do is listen to videos and speculate. You'll hear several different versions of whats wrong but simply take it to a good mechanic, point out any sounds you may have concerns about, and ask them to run a diag. I am fortunate that I know a very honest guy who will tell you flat out good or bad, rather than jerk you around to chase imaginary problems... I really put heat on him to check everything to the point he told me to just live with it and smile finally... Hahaha. I think we put a lot of emphasis on these engines few flaws, but he made a few valid points about bad drivers:
Don't let this engine sit. The longer it sits unused the more strain it puts on the phasers and chains when you start it. Even if its gonna remain unused for a time, just turn it on and give it some revs for a few minutes a couple times a week.
Lifting them or adding larger tyres without verifying the gear ratios is another way people jack these up really bad, he said. So if you're not lifted and using huge tyres without correcting the mechanical aspect, you should be fine...
He also said there are people who claim that they "just barely" missed oil changes, when usually they went about 8k on old oil with a cheap filter and tore the engine to pieces.... If you treat them good and treat them like a truck, they should run forever. He said he sees several hundred fleet 5.4's and they are well cared for and exceed 250k with ease, so long as you don't treat them like crap.
So drive easy, friend!
Don't let this engine sit. The longer it sits unused the more strain it puts on the phasers and chains when you start it. Even if its gonna remain unused for a time, just turn it on and give it some revs for a few minutes a couple times a week.
Lifting them or adding larger tyres without verifying the gear ratios is another way people jack these up really bad, he said. So if you're not lifted and using huge tyres without correcting the mechanical aspect, you should be fine...
He also said there are people who claim that they "just barely" missed oil changes, when usually they went about 8k on old oil with a cheap filter and tore the engine to pieces.... If you treat them good and treat them like a truck, they should run forever. He said he sees several hundred fleet 5.4's and they are well cared for and exceed 250k with ease, so long as you don't treat them like crap.
So drive easy, friend!