My buddy is moving to florida and is trying to unload his 07 lariat 4x4 5.4 triton. It has all the bells and whistles...185k miles...and is asking what I believe to be a great deal of $4500 (I'm not sure if this is the place for this, but can someone confirm if that sounds to be a great deal or not?)

Anyhow, other than minor issues...the only thing I have come across that concerns me is this tick/knock sound that happens on a cold start. It sounds like it is coming from the passenger side, and last for 10-15 seconds and then goes away. I did a little bit of research last night and came across all the people with this issue. I know it can range from loose/damaged plugs, leaky gasket, exhaust manifold...or even the chain rails or cam phasers. I'm attaching a link to video, so hopefully someone can narrow it down for me. Does the fact that it goes away shortly after startup eliminate one of the those issues?

He leaves Friday and is asking for an answer from me soon. The book on it is ~9k...is $4500 low enough for me to roll the dice...or should I steer clear of the 5.4 triton nightmare ppl seem to claim it is? Any help is appreciated...here's the link:

 

Sounds like the ticking on mine which has been there since around 100k and hasn't gotten any worse in 65k more. The ticking completely goes away after about a minute once the oil pressure has come up. With 185k my guess is the timing chain is due.
The plugs can be retorqued and the plug hole can be repaired with an insert.
The intake can be replaced.
In your video there is an interesting "whine" which may be an idler bearing.

 

Just spoke with a friend of a friend who is a ford technician who also said that its probably timing chain. He said it's a "big job". Any idea what I would be looking at? And assuming the truck did need a timing chain....would you stay away from it for $4.5k? btw...thank you for the response

 

Mine took about $900 in parts, $200 in tools, and 30 hours of my life over a holiday weekend...

but that was oil pump, timing chain set, tensioners, guides, phasers, solenoids, lash adjusters, and roller followers.

and another $100 to get the A/C re-charged after.

 

not sure where to put it exactly, so I posted in both engines forum and this one...sorry if that's bad etiquette. TBH...I have to make a decision on truck today so I'm kind of desperate for clarification.

 

Eric: same sound that mine is making? Any chance that mine could be exhaust manifold leak or bad gasket? I just started it up again and it sounds like it is coming from the passenger side front section of motor.

$1100 for all of that sounds pretty good to me, I've read ppl on here saying cam phasers alone being a 2k job. Did you follow the sticky "Final repair guide to fixing 5.4 tick/knock sound"? If so, is this something a novice such as myself should attempt?

 

And if this were you, what price point would you need to buy it at for it to be a good deal. Assuming I have to do this job and the rest of the truck is solid? Is me buying at 4.5k, plus 1.5k ish in work make this no longer a good deal? And at 185k miles on this trition engine...is more work waiting for me just around the corner?

 

I have a van that makes a ticking sound that goes away after heating up.
Does yours have any broken exhaust manifold studs/missing nuts?
I don't think there's a manifold gasket in there.
A stethoscope will clearly point out the difference.

 

What brand parts did you use - happy with them?

 

Could be passenger manifold ticking until it gets a little warm and closes up. If manifold, look around the manifolds for any visible cracks or black soot
Could be timing related since it does it at cold start.
I also hear what sounds like an idler bearing going out. (or an accessory bearing)