Im kind of in your shoes right now too. I just replaced my VCT solenoids which helped quiet my truck a lot but once it warms up I get the dieseling sounds. My truck has 169000 on it right now and runs fantastic but wondering If its worth it to fix this engine or opt for a whole new long block??

 

I have a 2006 f150 5.4l. bought it with 108,000 km's. It now has 122,000 on it and has started the dreaded ticking. I am not sure if mine is the same as the others or not, or if maybe it was self inflicted. I just did a 1500 mile round trip to Michigan to pick up a fifth wheel trailer with it. Ticking started on the way home while pulling the trailer. Trailer is not heavy, only 5500 pounds. I have the heavy hauler 9300 pounds with the 373 gears. I just did the serpentine belt and idler tensioner and one pulley. I also just did the rear end fluid. It always had the quiet tick, now it is much louder. It ticks hard on start up and when under load? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

I am having the same issues at 154,000 miles. The solenoids, phasers, timing chains, tensioners, guides were all replaced. The oil is 5w20 and a Motorcraft filter. The MAF and throttle body were cleaned. For kicks I bought an SCT X4 programmer and raised the idle 100rpm in drive since it seem to do it when I stop and the idle drops when it is hot out and the truck is at normal running temp. It idles great, runs smooth, and has good driving manners. I am about to throw in the towel.

 

I think a lot of people overlook replacing the lash adjusters and roller rockers. Especially on high mileage engines. I didn't do them the first time at 160k. When things were still not right 30k later I redid the whole job including the lash adjusters and rockers. Only an additional $300 and about 30 minutes time. Turns out most of my lash adjusters were worn out and sticking to some degree.

 

Usually (not always) the phaser tick is much more present after the engine warms up. Another possibility is the dreaded exhaust manifold leak. That is known for loud hard ticks on start up and quieting as the engine warms. I don't think your trip "caused" the issue. If its going to happen its going to happen sooner or later.

 

Usually (not always) the phaser tick is much more present after the engine warms up. Another possibility is the dreaded exhaust manifold leak. That is known for loud hard ticks on start up and quieting as the engine warms. I don't think your trip "caused" the issue. If its going to happen its going to happen sooner or later.


Are there any checks or tests I can perform to eliminate some , or all of the potential problems. I want to fix whatever is needed,( and or should be replaced while engine is open) but I have a bad habit of starting at one end and replacing stuff until the problem stops.

 

Agreed. Metallic tapping sounds are lash adjusters and followers not phasers. The phasers are responsible for the soft dieseling sound. Most of us have a combination of the tapping and dieseling and often confute it for one sound instead of two distinct sounds. I know because I went the route of only changing my adjusters and followers and got rid of my tapping sounds but still have the slight dieseling after warm up. As far as the dieseling is concerned I believe the cause in most cases is that worn cam journals cause oil pressure loss to the phaser resulting in the dieseling sound at idle (in cases with no performance issues and codes). Unlike other heads that have cam bearings that can be replaced, our cams ride right on the head and once that wears then only fix is replacing the head. There are numerous posts in here from folks that have replaced everything except the heads yet have not been able to resolve the dieseling. My advice is to replace adjusters and followers if you engine is ticking and leave the dieseling sound. I've had the dieseling sound now for about 80k miles with no issues other than the annoying noise.

 

Yeah well I'm leaning my issues torwards the cam phasers. My truck is perfectly quiet when I start it up cold. After it warms up the dieseling sounds starts to occur. I just dont know if I want to drop $600+ on getting the timing set replaced and a whole weekend worth of my time lol.

 

You can try unplugging your solenoids when the engine is warmed up and driving around the block. That should pinpoint the phasers. But if you are going to go through the effort of opening her up to replace the phasers, you might as well replace all the known problem causers while she is open. Scan through this thread and look for the longer posts for the people who have done the repair to see what they all replaced.

 

Originally Posted by Dano1965
Are there any checks or tests I can perform to eliminate some , or all of the potential problems. I want to fix whatever is needed,( and or should be replaced while engine is open) but I have a bad habit of starting at one end and replacing stuff until the problem stops.
You can try unplugging your solenoids when the engine is warmed up and driving around the block. That should pinpoint the phasers. But if you are going to go through the effort of opening her up to replace the phasers, you might as well replace all the known problem causers while she is open. Scan through this thread and look for the longer posts for the people who have done the repair to see what they all replaced.

I warmed up the vehicle and then unplugged the VCT solenoids (2 right?) there was no difference in the ticking. I did notice however, that I think the noise is louder from the passenger side. I drove around alternating windows up and down. The noise is loud on cold start, then dulls down, noise returns when under load?

I am thinking maybe exhaust manifold? It opens up when the engine is cold, then maybe it seals itself part way as engine warms, but when acceleration pressure is applied it reopens?