Hi every body and Merry Xmas,

i bought a 2002 f150 fx4 with 5.4 engine, right now i have 110000 miles on it, i bought it in august, i dont know if this noise was there when i bought it but now i am hearing this ticking noise from passenger wheel area,(cant hear anything when sitting inside the truck) ( can hear it when parked next to another car or going through drive through)

whats strange is that its not there in the morning cold start , its more like a hiss or air and not a constant tick or sound but as it warms up for like 2 minutes there it becomes the tick or whatever you call it lol, then it stays like that,no loss of power or Mpg or no CEL,

i live in alaska and we get -50 F in january , right now we have like 15 below at night, is it because of our very low temperatures? if it is then it should go away after it warms up right?

i took it to a mechanic yesterday to check if exhaust gasket leaks or the studs r broken or whats wrong, he says exhaust everything is fine, it might be vvt noise or lifter or internal tap something,( is he missing this fine exhaust leak or broken stud?)

when i first got it, i changed the oil, didnt change the filter cuz i was tired and it was kinda pita, i added lucas to the oil too, did it cause the debrees to go in and stuck under lifter or vvt or the small pores? now i have 5 w20 motorcraft oil with K&N oil filter installed in it, and i just ordered 2 Auto rx engine cleaner to clean it.

any ideas (what it can be? how to find it and fix it ) and suggestions are appreciated, and thanx for looking.

Thank you .

 

Howdy, I have a 01 SuperCrew that does the same thing, was told it was a cracked exhaust manifold, I'm letting it go until the other one goes and then replace them both. Sorry I couldn't help....

 

Check 2 back bolts on passenger side exhaust manifold. You can see them by looking through wheel well behind tire.

 

how to check those bolts? r they gonna be sitting free n loose? or do i try to tighten or loose it or whats the exact way because they r rusty.

 

this is a video of the sound
2002 f150 5.4 strange ticking noise - YouTube

 

Sounds like a faint exhaust leak. Get a piece of garden hose 3 - 4 ft long, put one end to your ear and move the other end around where you think the noise is coming from. You may be able to narrow down the location with this poor mans stethoscope. Good luck.

 

That is not an exhaust leak. You have a valve train issue on that side. More than liklely a collapsed HLA or broken valve spring.

Did you switch to a different oil recently that made this occur? Did you recently run low on oil? Did you by chance stsrt the engine to find a severe miss and decide to rev it up to clear the miss? Often the HLA will bleed overnight which is harmless. However, when started people make the mistake of thinking it is an over rich condition and decide to throttle it, thus damageing the HLA, possible knocking off the roller rocker, or possible bending the valve stem.

 

i tried blocking the tail pipe but the sound stays the same, the thing is that thish noise isnt there on the first cold start for couple minutes, after 2 minutes its a inconsistant hissing air noise but gradually it becomes a tick, im trying to make a video of it from the cold start, and let you listen to it, thank you all for your advices, hope we will find it

 

hey all, good morning
listen to al these 3 videos see if you can give me any ideas.

5.4 ticking cold start - YouTube

5.4 ticking cold start - YouTube

5.4 ticking when warmed up - YouTube