Tapping in engine compartment
5 Year Member
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 1,290
Likes: 336
From: Calgary, Alberta
Perhaps crankshaft bearing wear has increased the tolerances, or phasers are not locking in place with some wear. In either case, a heavier oil (5w30, 10w30, or 5w40) will help those issues. If it doesn’t help, you are out the price of an oil change.
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 11,854
Likes: 2,559
From: Timbuk3, MI
PlainOldBob - Guy I work with just bought a 2020 F150 5L. He said his owners manual says to use high octane gasoline to eliminate the ticking noise from the engine.
Choosing the Right Fuel
Your vehicle is designed to operate on
regular unleaded gasoline with a minimum
pump (R+M)/2 octane rating of 87.
.
.
.
For best overall vehicle and engine
performance, premium fuel with an octane
rating of 91 or higher is recommended. The
performance gained by using premium fuel
is most noticeable in hot weather as well
as other conditions, for example when
towing a trailer.
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Dielectrically 5w30
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 13,263
Likes: 5,463
From: Oregon
Oh man, that's a really bad one, coming more from the bottom too, do i hear? Needs checking out in my opinion, per jprevat, i'd want to see where exactly that's coming from - tried a shade tree stethoscope?
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 141
Likes: 36
From: WA
I have a 2011 5.0 with 105k miles and it sounds almost identical, maybe a little quieter. Same side of engine too. It gets significantly reduced after oil changes (5w20 full synthetic). I’ve attributed it to the oblong cylinders the early 5.0s had. I haven’t had any significant oil usage either. I’m interested to see if there’s something deeper.
Last edited by ThePugLife; Feb 18, 2020 at 12:45 AM.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
From: Corpus Christi, TX
So update. I did engine flush and replaced oil with high mileage full synthetic 10W-30. No different results as of now. Asked my cousin who has been a mechanic for years and automatically said sounds like a lower engine connecting rod. Worst nightmare, going to take it in and get someone to check it out. Will update later.
Dielectrically 5w30
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 13,263
Likes: 5,463
From: Oregon
Yeah, that's not good. I think the video showing that was in another thread, they had a Mustang up on the lift with the pan dropped, replacing the connecting rod bearings - i think they found one that was bad, you could literally get hold of it and waggle it around, making the same noise you hear when running.
5 Year Member
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 4,574
Likes: 970
From: Chico, Ca.
Based on frequency, I'd wager it's valve related. A rod knock would be much faster, even at idle, unless it's only occurring on the combustion stroke. Sloppy rod bearings usually clack at each reciprocation and therefore you'll hear them at twice the frequency of a valve noise. That sounds like it's occurring at valve speed to me.
Last edited by PerryB; Feb 24, 2020 at 10:34 AM.