So my 2018 has the cold start rattle, other than a little noise, it doesn't bother me. My question is around the real meaning of that rattle. Is it something that is going to decrease the life of the motor, killing it before expected? Is this a repair (seems like it costs ~$2500) at some internal, say every 30k miles? Do some 3.5s have it and others don't? Is there a performance loss that happens because of this phaser rattle?

I'd love to get this truck where I want and drive it for years, but I don't want to invest in a time bomb. thoughts?

 

I just had a service advisor from the local dealer call me back, I asked them the same question. He read the bulletin and it says the cam phaser rattle does not effect safety or performance (nothing about longevity). If it's a something that I have to fix once or twice during the lifetime of the truck, I'm ok with that. If it's more, I'd consider moving into something different. I think the question still remains, does this effect longevity of the motor in some manor?

 

Get it FIXED..Tons of info here on the possible cost..(or not)...Do a search...

 

The startup cam phaser rattle is due to the edge of the hole the locking pin sits in wearing down. The entire purpose of this pin is to lock the VCT gears in position so you don't get the startup rattle. Once the oil makes it up the gallery and into the VCT, it slams it into the cold idle position and the noise stops.

There is no damage caused by this, the surface area that limits the rotation of the VCT's is pretty large. You're not going to break a VCT, or wear down the surface if you leave it as is.

While the sound is loud and annoying, it's like gently tapping a hammer on an anvil.

 

https://carmodnerd.com/what-happens-...hasers-go-bad/

 

Two different stories unless I'm missing something. Flamingtaco says its just a noise, not a huge deal, if that's true, cool, I'll ignore it and move on. Barry posted a link that sounds pretty serious.

History of this truck, I bought it used in 2020, had ~ 21k miles. I didn't really notice a rattle then, I feel like its build up over time. We had the ford recall where they reprogrammed stuff to help with the rattle, didn't seem to in my case. Truck is still under factory warranty as I now I have 33kl on a 2018. I go to 1 of two ford dealers for regular maintenance, not they they have checked the cam phasers but I would expect a note if they were not operating within specs.

I'm just wondering if once you hear the rattle if that's the end OR if they fix they, is that the end of it? Is an a It Depends answer?

 

I had the cam work done on my Raptor...was there three days at the Ford Dealership....It was free as it was warranty work..(2019). If yours it out of warranty the out of pocket cost was relative to how long it has been out of warranty..., I don't quite remember, but August 22nd 2021 had something to do with it, (free cut off date ?) ...Get to a Ford Dealership this week for some advice...They have a new computer fix (??) that doesn't mess with your transmission as the old computer fix did..On the FordRaptor site there is literally tons of info...Regarding the issue ....Mine sounded like a Cumming Diesel on start-up..There is a service bulletin regarding the issue...(Google it )...

https://www.fordraptorforum.com/

 

I seem to recall seeing multiple posters say they went literally tens of thousands of miles with the rattle, with no discernible impact other than the sound

My truck has a recall showing in the ford pass app right now, about a software update to supposedly help avoid the rattle...I'm not getting it done, the thing runs great, "if it ain't broke don't fix it" IMO it's not worth the risk of Ford screwing up something else (like they did with the first software update for this that basically broke people's trucks/shifting logic)

 

Sort of related to my original question, but how does all of these updates ford issues effect off the shelf tunes like 5star? They have say a 93 performance towing tune, does that have to incorporate the ford changes or are they not really related? Meaning the 5 star tune or whatever tune sits on top of ford's cam phaser software fixes? (still learning here)

I think I'm just going to build the truck the way I want it and hope I get a normal life out of the motor.

 

BarryR's link is about the phasers going bad, not pins that lock them into position until the oil gallery is pressurized. The locking pins only serve to prevent start-up knock so you don't have to hear it, not to prevent damage, as reaching the limit of motion doesn't cause damage. A cam phaser spinning at 250rpm hitting it's range limit, which is designed to take the force of the phaser reaching that limit, is not the same beast as a phaser spinning at 2000rpm with a bad shaft bearing or a crack preventing the phaser from reaching proper working pressures.

Even Ford says this is just a NVH issue.