Since you have eliminated oil filter and exhaust leaks and with the rattle only lasting for several seconds, it sounds as if one or both of your timing chain tensioners are bleeding down.

 

Nope, used the cast iron tensioners they shouldn't bleed down.

 

Howdy.

Some actual data would help - namely an oil pressure profile on cold start, warm start, and running

Other ideas - just tossing these out fer discussion, aight? No particular order - still working on waking up, lol.

- oil pump?

-oil change to 5w-30 ( or 10w-30 )

- item most overlooked - cleaning /inspecting the VCT valve bodies ( the castings the valves insert into ). Fresh VCT's are of no use if the bodies are occluded

- Drop the pan, inspect the pickup/pan fer detrius

- Dorman, eh? Don't understand why, given the massive amount of warnings on this site and others to avoid their cam drive/timing/VCT components.

Here's a Dorman phaser after less than 1,000 miles:




-new tensioners - even cast iron ones - have been known to go bad too.

- I've posted this elsewhere recently, but it bears reading to perhaps cherrypick ideas:

http://www.f150online.com/forums/v8-...-problems.html

- Personally, I think you'll be opening it up again and installing MC components. I sincerely hope I'm wrong.

-Lastly, consider lockouts - from LMS, or the new offering from 5Star:

http://5startuning.com/product/freed...-4-6l-5-4l-3v/

( inexpensive if you already have an SCT device )

Best o' luck
MGD

 

Thanks for the ideas as that's what I'm looking for.
I will first start with the oil change to 5-30 or 10-30 and see if that helps.
I didn't have any parts break so I don't see the need to take the pan off, if I'm wrong let me know.
I took the solenoids out and checked the screens they seemed ok.
Yeah I need to get some data on the oil pressure, what's a good scan tool that shows oil pressure since it seems like I'll be needing the tool a lot for this truck?

 

Hey.

Ok - if yer confident you didn't have any parts self-destruct ( mainly the guides), put dropping the pan last (but would of course still be required to inspect the oil pump, if suspect).

Scanner - I defer that recommendatioon to others; as long as it can display Ford-specific PIDs and has recording capability. (I use an SCT X4 device with Livelink for all my datalogging - suffices fer my needs).

Here's the VCT valve body casting I was referring to:



...from this thread: http://www.f150online.com/forums/chi...g-problem.html

This is what it looks like inside (and why it needs to be removed an inspected):

http://www.modularfords.com/attachme...1&d=1314337755

G'luck
MGD