Could be lifters or vct solenoids.

 

solenoids are new but I guess they could be bad.

 

If you have installed lockouts - the solenoids have nothing to do with anything anymore. All they are designed to do is modulate oil flow between the retard chambers and advance chambers in the phasers. The lockouts now prevent the phaser vanes from moving no matter which chambers oil pressure is directed to. Plus, I suspect (though IDK for sure), the livernois tune probably defeats operation of the solenoids as well as killing certain DTCs associated with phaser non-operation. In the same context, IMO new phasers is a useless waste of money if you install lockouts and defeat their designed advance/retard movement. That of course wouldn't apply if the phaser teeth are all worn off but I've never heard of that.

I believe the infamous "tick" is comming from slack between a lash adjuster and follower. The cause of the slack could be comming from either - though I believe a "sticky" lash adjuster is the more likely source. They bleed down under valve spring pressure while engine is off, and oil pressure in the heads is less than in the low end. If they are 'sticky' they will tick because they don't pump up and remove the clearance between the follower and its cam lobe or the valve stem.

Multiple, repeated, extreem engine flush exercises has quieted the "tick" on my '04 5.4L two times. It has had the "tick", off and on, all its 211k mile life. I ordered Kreen from KANO Laboratories (expensive as hell - but has many good refs). I ran a quart for about 500 miles, change oil/filter with cheap stuff - run another quart of Kreen for another 500 miles - then drained & put in good synthetic oil and Motorcraft filter.

This has stopped the tick for me twice. It might be worth trying.

 

I'm doing a timing kit job on my 08 f15 5.4 and decided to replace the oil pump at the same time. I found this at the end of the crankshaft hanging out. Can anybody knows what it is?


Thanks.

 

I think they are called Thrust Bearings but not sure. The purpose is to prevent crank walk (moving of the crank back and forth). I have known others that had issues with their starter not engaging and just spinning when trying to start their engine. and it turned out to be this part had come out.
Good luck.
Tom

 

Here's a link to some at Autozone, it looks like it includes main bearings as well.

http://www.autozone.com/internal-eng...uestid=7965516

Tom

 

Thanks guys. One more question, do I need to remove engine and remove crankshaft to replace them or it can be done from underneath.
Thanks

 

Honestly, I believe they can be installed with the engine in the truck from underneath. If you do not have a service manual, you can create a log-in account with autozone for free and list your truck year, etc and under the menu Repair Help, there will be the Repair Guide, that can help, I have used it many times.

 

thanks a lot. I'll see what I can do.

Thanks again.

 

So after taking my truck in the other day, for what seemed to be issues with the VCT’s (rough idle when coming down under 1000 rpm), my mechanic told me I needed a new engine. However, I talked to another mechanic and am going to move forward with trying to repair the engine. At under $2000 for parts and labor it seems far better on a motor I don’t really think is damaged vs $8100 for a new one. But I have a few questions about the parts I need to buy and everything I should replace.

This all is for a 2008 F150 5.4L V3.

This was the timing/cam phaser kit I was going to buy ( ). It's the OEM Ford kit and $843 is the cheapest I have found it anywhere (someone let me know if they’ve seen it cheaper elsewhere.) From what I’ve seen throughout this thread, this is best quality kit to buy. But I want to confirm this is the best kit to buy as many other brands are 1/3 the price and I didn’t want to miss a kit that was is as good as the Ford but cheaper (wishful thinking.)

Edit: It appears it would also be good to get the iron cam chain tensioners. However, my googling for 5.4l v2 cam chain tensioners shows after market parts, but I can't find a Ford number for the part.

Going to replace the VCT's (which seems to be the issue, but I kinda hate to have my mechanic rip the valve covers off and then put it back together only to find out it’s more than just the VCT’s) with these ( ) From everything I’ve seen, the VCT’s are the same on all model years, it’s just the process of getting to them is different depending on the engine year.

I know the VCT seals need to be replaced, but is 3L3Z-6C535-AA the correct part number for it? The videos I found are for pre 2007 engines, so I wasn’t sure if the seals are still the same on 2007 and later engines?

As for the valve cover gaskets, I am having issues finding out the Ford part number. Does anyone know what it is? When I search for vale gaskets I am getting mixed info on what actually fits my truck.

Going to replace the oil pump too since the Jasper video shows the huge flaw with the aluminum backing plate. Does anyone know if there are any oil pumps out there that have a steel or iron backing plate instead of the aluminum one? Is there any reason to not replace it? Jasper says one of the issues with this engine is that it’s starved for oil, so I want to make sure I get a pump (and backing plate) that delivers all the oil the engine could ever want. Edit: Just found the page where someone lists the different Melling pumps (https://www.f150forum.com/f4/final-r...2/#post4168858) So should I get the M360 or get the high PSI version which is 10340?

Should I do the Motorcraft or Champion spark plugs? It sounds like from my research that if the Motorcraft plugs are appropriately coated in anti-sieze there should not be an issue with getting them out again in the future. However, I just want to make sure that they are not going to have any issues like the original ones had with breaking.

What I haven’t decided on is doing cam lockouts or not. From what I can find online, when searching for pros and cons of the lockouts, you loose some power and a little MPG, plus diesel engine noise! The noise doesn’t really bother me though. I am most concern with making sure the engine runs well and doesn’t get worn out. I’d rather not do the lockouts if I don’t have to, but if I don’t will the cam phasers just wear out in 30,000 miles again, or will it just mainly be the noise that I have to deal with?

These are the camlocks I am looking at (http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Set-of-C...VTkJ~K&vxp=mtr) So the question I have is, what kind of power do I really lose in my truck if I use them? Most of my miles are interstate with a payload of 500-800lbs of gear between the backseat and bed. Sometimes I am also hauling a 3100lb trailer in addition to the payload. I do drive it maybe a couple of time a week in town, about 20 miles max roundtrip. Let’s put it this way, since I bought the truck two years ago I’ve put about 6k a year on it, mainly interstate. So if I do lockouts, am I really going to be affected by them with the kind of driving I do? Also, if I buy those off ebay, does anyone know how much the tune is for it? I see SCT programmers on ebay for $300, but I think I still have to have a custom tune to make the phasers work correctly with the lockouts. Not totally sure how that works (but I am learning!)

Thanks so much for any help you all can give me to get my truck back working at 100%