I have an 03 f150 with the 5.4 triton in it. On start up the truck revs to about 1600 rpm and makes a loud ticking noise occasionally. My brother in law say this is normal for these engines but im not so sure. Can anybody tell me what this noise is/what it is coming from.

 

ya its normal! the shop forman at the local ford said that when ford made these motors they used a thicker ring on the piston then a normal older v8 so at low rpm the motor has some piston slap. it sounds bad but is nothing to worry about. my friends expedition has 180000 miles and he says its done it since day one and it hasnt got worse or caused any problems.

 

yeah mine is the same way..same engine as yours, ticks for about 30seconds then stops.. sounds like a lifter problem but was told it was a regular noise with some 5.4's

 

Mine does same thing.... Never worried about it..... The 5.4 in the, 04 up tick even more but nothing wrong with them either

 

Alright thanks for the info. I just didnt want to trust my brother-inlaw and then find out it was something major down the road.