f150luke

On my 02' 5.4, i noticed a very light ticking noise on the passenger side but can only be heard in the wheel well. It is a steady pattern-like tick. the engine just turned over 120,000 miles. Almost 2 weeks ago i sprayed the belt and pulleys with the belt dressing to help keep up with the condition of the belt. I noticed the noise shortly after that. Also that same day i sparyed a little engine cleaner/degreaser throughout the engine compartment. I hate doing that due to the coil pack problems Ford has. Anyone have any idea what that might be?

Dirtbuster1

Sounds like an exhaust leak. Check all of your studs to see if any have broken. Does the tick seem to go away after the engine is warm?

f150luke

No you can hear it best when its warm. You cant hear it at all on a cold start.

Ice-Cable

I have the same problem and everyone I talk to says its a manifold leak.....and appearently a common problem with the 97-03 f150's.....

f150luke

And its always the right side. My '98 did it real bad and my '02 is just starting. Im going to replace both sides with either Ford Racing or Gibson shorty headers to improve flow a little.

Dirtbuster1

When I had my leak it was on a cold start. Rear manifold bolt broken, the other one was cracked off in the head. I backed out the broken one, but the other one cracked off inside of the head. After 5 hours of trying to drill & tap, I said screw it. I left it in, reinstalled the manifold with no leak.

jferg92

Having same ticking issue. I just bought a 2003 f150 5.4L with 104,000 miles. It is starting to tick from the passenger side and getting worse the more miles I put on it. It is loudest and most annoying after sitting night and cold and will go away after two minutes or so of driving. If the motor is hot and I turn it off then restart a minute later the ticking returns quietly. Also, it gets louder upon acceleration. Here are some of the theories I have heard:
1. Lifter tick- ticks when cold because lifters aren't getting sufficient oil upon startup. Possibly change over to synthetic.
2. Exhaust leak- exhaust manifold leak, broken bolts, etc
3. Injector Clatter
4. Belt Tensioner/Idler pulley?
5. Piston Slap
I've looked into these issues and am still not for sure leaning towards manifold leak probably. If you've had any experience or found solution with this let me know. Thanks

DownTown1

One thing to consider. I had a light tick that I figured was a lifter. A month or two later a spark plug shot out of the head. I think the plug was loosening up. Good luck.

jferg92

Thanks for advice Downtown1.. I made sure the previous owner had the plugs changed without any problems before i bought it. I had a mechanic check it out and found two broken exhaust manifold bolts that had rusted off. I bought new gaskets and studs and am hoping to get it fixed this week along with true duals.

JulieOffRoad

Thanks for the info jferg92 and DownTown1. That list of potential problems is what mine boiled down to.. and I think I'm left with a loud case of piston slap. Injector clatter is the only thing I dont know much about.

The ticking noise has gotten a lot louder in the past week or so. Any slight acceleration from a stop or from idle makes a loud ticking. It still sounds like it's coming from under the wheel well, but all the exhaust systems check out.

Is there anything you can do for piston slap? I'd love to fix something on the truck before the whole engine explodes. It's a 4.6 '98 with 240k miles but overall it has run great for years. If my problem is piston slap, does it make sense that other than the noise, the engine feels like it runs great?

This is an audio link my friend posted. The sound is worse now. Any suggestions?


Thanks,
Julie