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2005 F150 SCAB 2WD with 91,000 miles. I'm the 2nd owner & bought it in April 2018 with 59k on it ($10k cash) and the original owner maintained it to the nth degree. He was old school - oil change every 3000 miles/90 days & I have the receipts from Day 1 from the dealer. They screwed this poor guy repeatedly - there were instances where they changed oil & filter with less that 1500 miles between intervals. They changed fuel filters twice in under 4000 miles and the list goes on. Interestingly enough with so few miles I'd have expected the exhaust system to have rusted due to not warming up enough but it still has the one from the factory.
I'm a bit OCD about PM and that's how I got 257k out of my 2003 Escape. I commuted 120 miles / rt daily for years & always used Mobil 1 synthetic & their best filters. I finally traded it in on a Flex in 2014 simply b/c I was tired of looking at the same dashboard.
I'm now hearing the dreaded ticking noise on startup but it usually goes away in about 2 minutes but not always. Everything else is fine & the mechanic I use worked at the dealership where the truck was purchased & I've never had a "go back". Plugs were changed to the latest version w/o any problems and I use full synthetic & a high quality filter. It has the 7600# tow package & I've pulled my 4000# trailer from OR to AZ for the last 3 Winters but age & a physical handicap have caught up so I'm selling the trailer (completely customized 12' x 8' toy hauler set up for living in vs. hauling toys - another saga). I'd planned on selling the truck but was too optimistic on the value. I'll eventually need to use hand controls & was planning on buying a good used Escape Titanium with the fly-by-wire accelerator however I discovered a bolt in set last night that'll fit my truck & they don't get in the way & can be quickly disengaged so an able bodied driver can use the truck.
Do I let the ticking noise keep going or do I bite the bullet & spend an estimated $3k to have the phaser issues resolved? Will the ticking just get worse and eventually cause a catastrophic failure or will it just become more annoying. I average under 1000 miles / mo & that includes the annual 2500 mile r/t to AZ so my 36 gallon tank often lasts me 5 - 7 weeks between fill ups when I stay local (small town). If I have the work done as a preventative measure it'll also include the water pump, all of the belts & pulleys, etc. because my theory is a few bucks up front while everything is torn apart will save me on the back end. My mechanic also lets me buy the parts & just charges labor so I don't worry about the huge mark up other shops charge.
Opinions / advice is welcome. Glamor shot from a couple of months ago.
its hard to say without hearing it in person, but a ticking at startup that goes away after a couple minutes sounds more like an exhaust leak to me. Its pretty common for an exhaust leak to be present on a cold start and then go away after about 30 seconds once the manifolds start to heat up and the gaps start to close. There can be noise from leaky chain tensioners at startup but that is usually a grinding noise that goes away after a few seconds.
I'd have your mechanic check for an exhaust leak at the exhaust manifold / gasket.
It has the 5.4L correct? On my 2004 truck the ticking phaser noise doesnt show up until the truck is fully warmed up, and is only there at idle. The noise is not there if the engine is cold nor above around 1200 rpm.
its hard to say without hearing it in person, but a ticking at startup that goes away after a couple minutes sounds more like an exhaust leak to me. Its pretty common for an exhaust leak to be present on a cold start and then go away after about 30 seconds once the manifolds start to heat up and the gaps start to close. There can be noise from leaky chain tensioners at startup but that is usually a grinding noise that goes away after a few seconds.
I'd have your mechanic check for an exhaust leak at the exhaust manifold / gasket.
It has the 5.4L correct? On my 2004 truck the ticking phaser noise doesnt show up until the truck is fully warmed up, and is only there at idle. The noise is not there if the engine is cold nor above around 1200 rpm.
Yes, it's the 5.4L & only happens when it's cold. I'd never even considered an exhaust leak but the noise going away with the heat expansion makes complete sense. I've never heard a grinding noise so that makes me feel a lot better,
Maybe the $3000 I wouldn't have spent will pay for the hand controls. I don't use if often but have a wheelchair that uses a Segway with the steering column removed. Nobody in the US builds a seat and parking stand mechanism so mine came from Greece in 2018 at the low, low price of $6000. Add that to the $3000 for a good used Segway and even at $9k it's at the low end of the market. It's fun to watch people's reactions when they see me rolling along on two wheels; 'How the heck does that keep from tipping over' & it'll do 12 mph but it's scarier than sh**. Insurance doesn't pay for anything so it's all out of pocket. It ain't cheap being a cripple!!
Thanks for the tip & I'll pop the hood & listen for the noise. I started working on cars when I was about 12 & know what a leak sounds like. Maybe headers & dual exhaust would fix it.
I believe I found my VERY noisy problem: A bad tensioner. You can see and hear it in my video above. My question then was that tensioner supposed to 'bounce' around as it does in the video. After a nasty fight with Covid, I was finally able to get back to my engine and decided to yank the timing cover. I'm thinking it lost some oil pressure in it somewhere and possibly trashed my phaser. I've since replaced the phaser and pretty much everything up top. Unfortunately that didn't solve the knocking problem, so I dove deeper and found the left tensioner as the next suspect.
What else could it be? The chains and guides have been replaced. The only thing left are the tensioners.
I have the ratcheting type. Should I be able to move the ratchet rod/mechanism up and down BY HAND? It won't 'grab' at all like the right tensioner.
I'm thinking maybe the spring or whatever inside may have weakened or broke. I can't get it apart (yet) to look. There's a plug that appears to be pressed in, so I don't know how much effort I want to put in to investigate. Probably not worth my time.
That right side appears to be holding tight as it should. I'm replacing them both anyway, but i was curious about that ratchet system. I think it failed.
Also note that IMMEDIATELY after running the engine, this tensioner wouldn't hold the chain tight - further proof (I think) that it failed.
Next question of many: Did I get another fake part? I have no idea. I wish I had the money at the time to buy directly from a dealer, but we ALL know how much our wallets enjoy that... . Whatever happened to honesty? Long gone I'm afraid....
It sounds (regrettably) like the tensioner is _failed_ or was _'fake'_ from the get-go. If they are the ratcheting kind, once they extend a little bit - they should latch and not go back down. The ratchet mechanism must be faulty.
I believe I found my VERY noisy problem: A bad tensioner. You can see and hear it in my video above. My question then was that tensioner supposed to 'bounce' around as it does in the video. After a nasty fight with Covid, I was finally able to get back to my engine and decided to yank the timing cover. I'm thinking it lost some oil pressure in it somewhere and possibly trashed my phaser. I've since replaced the phaser and pretty much everything up top. Unfortunately that didn't solve the knocking problem, so I dove deeper and found the left tensioner as the next suspect.
What else could it be? The chains and guides have been replaced. The only thing left are the tensioners.
I have the ratcheting type. Should I be able to move the ratchet rod/mechanism up and down BY HAND? It won't 'grab' at all like the right tensioner.
I'm thinking maybe the spring or whatever inside may have weakened or broke. I can't get it apart (yet) to look. There's a plug that appears to be pressed in, so I don't know how much effort I want to put in to investigate. Probably not worth my time.
That right side appears to be holding tight as it should. I'm replacing them both anyway, but i was curious about that ratchet system. I think it failed.
Also note that IMMEDIATELY after running the engine, this tensioner wouldn't hold the chain tight - further proof (I think) that it failed.
Next question of many: Did I get another fake part? I have no idea. I wish I had the money at the time to buy directly from a dealer, but we ALL know how much our wallets enjoy that... . Whatever happened to honesty? Long gone I'm afraid....
Thanks,
has parts comparable to the cheap stuff fkrdtechmakrsuloco has a great video warning people on fake parts and using non ford parts.
I have 303k on my engine did the compete timing
job using Motorcraft parts and melling pump
used the steel adjusters. I guess you could use the melling chains and gears. But no to Dorman phasers he has a nice video on a few companies selling phasers. Do it right the first time. I did this I think at 250k and no probs. Dojng the fuel pump now with Motorcraft part. Do not use China crap.
if you know you are going to have to do this and don't have the money buy the parts over time.
But use Motorcraft stuff and not off ebay. You can get hosed..asked me how I know.lol
Cam phasers do make noise on tip in, this is normal. Most engine have some sort of noise at idle, I would not be worried if you can only hear it outside beside the engine or in a drive thru.
This repair is done when the noise is "Diesel-ish"
some of these loud tick you hear on the youtube videos... this is not "normal"
and the 5.4 is not suppose to make this noise!!
After the repair, this adresses a few reasons I have seen them tick.
The phasesrs are not aways worn. The phasers and the chains will make noise if the oil pressure is low due to blown seals or the chain is slack causing slap.
You guys know your trucks. obviously take this guide with a grain of salt and diagnose the problem before starting anything, so not to waste yoiu time and money
replaced entire timing set with ford oem parts and melling hv340 pump. Started truck after builing oil pressure and enging came to life without the chain noise hitting the cover! Found that the RH chain guide had broken apart in about 10 pieces. There is now a loud tick on the RH side and I suspect a collapsed lash adjuster. It is an 09 and a rebuilt engine with 45K miles. Any other ideas as to what this loud tick may be? It could have been there when it was making a hudge racket with the loose timing chain. Just bought the truck and knew it needed a timing set. Any feedback appreciated.
Very likely a lash adjuster that is NOT reliably taking all the slack out between cam and roller/follower. They can get 'carboned up' or crud caught in them or just get tired and leak down. BUT, a small exhaust leak many times sounds almost identical. Eliminate that possibility first. They will quiet down slightly as engine heats up. Lash adjuster will usually get louder with heat as oil thins.
Hey y’all. I purchased an 07 f-150 Lariat few months back. Guy I bought it from did coil packs and plugs. Coils yes, plugs? Maybe the easier ones. I drove from California to Georgia had no issues at all. On way back a month later it started tickin. Noticed it at a drive thru before I got on road. No engine light. No weird idle.
But tick got little louder. Thanks to f-150 threads I suspected a plug or injector. Today I did stethoscope and #8 was a clickin a lot
Plug was loose and old. Put in a new one correctly and now beautiful sounding. Check plugs before suspecting a major repair.
Happy owner again. Took 1 hour
Hey y’all. I purchased an 07 f-150 Lariat few months back. Guy I bought it from did coil packs and plugs. Coils yes, plugs? Maybe the easier ones. I drove from California to Georgia had no issues at all. On way back a month later it started tickin. Noticed it at a drive thru before I got on road. No engine light. No weird idle.
But tick got little louder. Thanks to f-150 threads I suspected a plug or injector. Today I did stethoscope and #8 was a clickin a lot
Plug was loose and old. Put in a new one correctly and now beautiful sounding. Check plugs before suspecting a major repair.
Happy owner again. Took 1 hour
Sweet! An 'easy' happy ending! We don't get those very often on this engine when ticking shows up. Usually it's several hundred dollars later, scarred-up arms and sailor talk before we're smiling!
Last edited by stankyjeans; May 31, 2021 at 03:55 PM.
This is fantastic. I want to get this done this spring. I have a question.. starting up the engine when the job is complete, I see that some guys have had the timing jump on them....is this something I, or we, should be concerned with?..Sorry for all the questions I just want to make sure I do this right...I don't know if the problem is if the engine is under compression or if it is something else...thanks...and again fantastic write up..Cheers..Spike24
I would suggest you unplug your Crank positioning Sensor before firing the engine the first time and crank the engine for 10 seconds or so about 3 times giving the engine a chance to build oil pressure which will in turn pump up your new tensioners prior to the initial cranking, also its just good practice to prime your oil pump before it has a true dry start which is not good. Do this especially if you installed a new oil pump. I haven't performed this repair yet...but am right now buying the parts needed to do so on my 2006 F 150 FX4 Supercab with just over 120k on it. It has the Triton 5.4, 3 valve engine, I purchased this truck as it sat knowing it had an engine issue, however the owner had no idea what the issue.was, I never drove the 100.miles.to go look at it, I saw pictures and liked the truck, it looks very good, super clean with.a single Magnaflow muffler and pipe not too loud, but does sound off if you so desire! I have done my research and homework on these Triton engines and feel confident My issue is tensioners and phasers, im gonna replace it all, even a new Melling HV oil pump. Best of luck on your repairs keep us updated.
. Whatever happened to honesty? Long gone I'm afraid....
