Noise, engine, annoying the "blank" out of me.

2003 Ford F150 screw 5.4L (2 valve)

Weird thing is it I noticed it less after replacing the plugs (definitely worn, 140k miles) and had the injectors cleaned (this seems to have made the diesel rattle go away on cold acceleration). Both at the dealership. All of the plugs were identical light brown so I didn't think I had any problems going on in the cylinders. The plugs were amazingly clean and uniform (based on my experience changing car plugs). Since this maintenance the truck has noticeably more power. But, there's that tick.

Can fuel injectors cause this. After the fuel injector cleaning I noticed the engine will do a slight shudder every now and then when idling. Opening the hood it sounded "like" one of the injectors was making racket. This is purely subjective though and I'm no mechanic. I meant to stick a mechanics stethoscope to each injector this last weekend but didn't get around to it.

 

Could be injectors, but the plugs will also tick if they are loose. The torque spec is way too low, and that is why they tick and blow out of the head. Torque all the plugs in at 28 ft/lbs and check back.

 

It was there before I had my plugs changed.

* Tick has been there since I bought it 6 or 8 months ago.
* During cold weather it was worse, during warm weather it's hard to notice and almost non existent when it is hot outside

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Last week sometime:

* Plugs where changed and they did a cleaning service on my injectors at the Ford dealership.
* Ticking (and slight engine studder at idle) became more noticeable after running some "Justice Bros." injector cleaner through the system two days after spark plugs and injectors were cleaned. The dealership was going to put it in the system for me when they cleaned the injectors but I forgot to leave the key to my gas cap. I also noticed a slight studder at idle after they changed the plugs and cleaned the injectors. Just became more noticeable when I ran the Justic Bros. through the system.
* now after about a week it is nearly back to normal. Slight ticking when it's cold outside that almost goes away after it's warm.

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It sounded to me like one of the injectors was ticking noticeably louder than the rest but as I said, this was a subjective perspective.

 

Mayb a sticky lifter.. Sounds like the problem my dad had .. He just poured marvel mystery oil in his oil n ten minutes later it was gone n hasn't come back

 

That doesn't hurt my brain much. I'll read up on it some and give it a try. Now that I think about it the lifters make sense and this would be an easy fix.

on another note. After I bought the truck I started using full synthetic penzoil 10w-30. Is that good? I know they recommended 5w-20 but from having read the forums here and visiting Bob the Oil Guy's site I thought that after 140k miles the synthetic would be a good match.

 

Yeah I run 10w-30 Mobil 1 synthetic after 100k I think it's recommended u run a thicker oil

 

No reason to go up in viscosity unless there is usage. There's not a special mileage number to warrant the use of it. A 5w20 or 5w30 will provide better cold flow than the 10wX.

Now with the additional info it could be injectors, exhaust manifold, or lifter. You can try some Kreen for a little and see if it helps, and get the injectors flow tested to see if those are the causes.

 

i have the same tick but was told by a few members on this forum that our trucks have hydraulic lifters and not the standard lifters other cars have?

I was also told that this marvel mystery oil (which i haven't tried yet) can help, you just put in one quart in with your oil as long as your oil level is almost halfway or if you get an oil change, do 4 quarts regular oil and one quart marvel

 

Otto,

Is MMO a good idea? If not, why? Hate to bug you but I've learned some good stuff from your posts. Oh, and thank you, thank you for the spark plug information. When I went to have my plugs changed I had no fear...

 

I don't like the use of MMO in the crank and here's why. The only additive in it is phosphorous, this means that any oil you pour it into gets its additive package diluted and phos alone is not enough to retain proper lubrication. The rest is just mineral oil, naphtha, and chlorinated hydro carbons. Those things really don't add much and are just weak solvents. Many use it, but it's a slow process. I prefer Kreen just because it is a quicker solution, add lubricity, and doesn't harm any seals.