cole_ford

The other day I took in a trade. Its an 04 FX4 with 77k on it. And the cam phasers are knocking to beat hell. I didnt believe it, because I didnt have it running long enough to notice. SO i went back to service because they had said they were going to change them out. And sure enough they were pretty bad(way worse than mine). So the service advisor, and a tech and I got to talking about reasonings why they go bad. And nothing ever came up about Fords mistakes. They both said its lack of proper maintenence. They know the springs go bad, but they say its lack of good oil getting there. Any one else heard of this?

cole_ford

Anyone??! Just curious

Ruprecht

The lack of responses to this thread is telling. No good reason as to why the cam phasers fail, other than improper oil type and poor design. That's what my Ford mechanic told me after I had mine replaced last month.

DanKam81

when mine went i was told bye numerous mechanics its just a poor design on fords part

Neggy

not using the proper oil (5W-20 Synth) not using a good filter ( motorcraft, Purolator, Wix, NAPA Gold) not changing the oil often enough (never more than 5K interval IMHO) and a crappy design by Ford.

HiVoltage14.4

ive used motorraft from day one every 3k miles. Had the phasers replaced under warranty at 60k noise is back at 70k oh well out of warranty I just live with the noise.

Trapper

VCT via cam phasers are a bad design. That's why Ford is moving away from it and back to pushrod engines and variable displacement engines. The loading on the locks in the phasers are subject to tremendous forces and the oil film is relied upon to release the phaser. That's asking a lot of an oil....any oil. The condition worsens with parts that are subject to tolerances that fit tighter than others. Once the phaser is in the lock position and run for any length of time in the forward/advanced position- it won't unlock/unload. I've seen test data that is showing that there maybe some help by using an oil that is ester based or ester fortified. I've even heard of some of the phasers unlocking by using a lanolin based ester after just a few heat cycles. But I wouldn't run to the bank that it will work every time. Cam phasers are a bad design and the 5.4 has never been a good engine. It's also at the bottom of its class for reliability and power produced per gallon of fuel. Top of the class is GMs 5.3 flex fuel.....unfortunately you have to buy the rest of the GM truck to get it.

KenM

Do both the 4.6 and 5.4 motors use this system, and what years are most troublesome?

My dad has the 4.6 in his '06 F150, so I want to be aware of the problem and the warning signs of impending doom.

Thanks.

Trapper

The 4.6 did not get them in an F150 until YM 2009 and only with the optional 3V engine or as a standard engine in the Supercrew. Any years before that and there were no production 4.6 engines with the phasers for the F150. Phasers came out in YM 2004 in the 5.4. Your dad does not have them in his 4.6.

camohr

my 05 with 64k isn't very loud but i use synthetic blend and a always put a quart of Lucas in it and it runs quieter than just oil alone