I'm assuming its a valve.

2004 F250 with 5.4L. 128,000 miles. Oil changed every 4K but its my work truck. She works hard for a living towing landscape trailers 98% of the time.

When the engine is first cranked, there is a ticking sound from the right side. Its quite noticeable but only does this until I get going. Once I get to driving, it fades away. If I turn the engine off and let it sit for a little while, when I start it, the ticking is back again. As long as I keep it running, it stays quiet.

If this is a valve or rocker arm, how big of a repair is it? What happens if I don't deal with it until the winter (off-season)?

I've tried Marvel Mystery Oil and now with this oil change, I have Rislone in there. Both have made no difference.

 

First, drain all that snake oil crap out of the engine, it does nothing. There is no rocker arms in these trucks but cam followers instead. I would look for broken exhaust manifold studs. They tend to break over time and can cause many strange noises. Other brand oil filters have been known to cause issues as well due to a bad design. Run a motorcraft FL820s if you don't already.

 

I echo Kdr advice , put on a motorcraft filter and check for broken exhast studs..

 

Id say exhaust manifolds

 

yes exhaust manifold bolts do break all the time in these and few of the other engines but I'm sort of skeptical due to the fact it's intermittent. common spark plug issues on these too, by spitting them out and breaking COP... sometimes generates a ticking noise when a plug could be walking out. Have you checked for any pending codes in the system? Just curious.

 

I would say you have some broken exhaust manifold studs,Normally you here ticking when engine is cold once engine warms up noise goes away because heat expands metal sealing the leak .If you have broken studs causing the ticking noise it will only get worst and if you let it go too long you could cause head damage

 

My V10 does the same thing and it is NOT an exhaust stud. Mine has about 115K on it ans it sits for days between uses. When I first start it, it seems like it takes a few seconds for the ticking (mine isn't one tick, but several, just like lifter noise) to subside. I quit worrying since the oil looks clean and is changed often and it hasn't gotten worse.

 

Just a long-term follow-up. It actually took me this long to get it into a shop. I bought a new F350 so I finally had time to park this truck long enough for a repair. Fortunately it held on through the summer.

It was indeed the exhaust manifold studs. She's already getting new ones installed and should be ready the first of next week. Thanks everyone

 

Most likely not a broke exhaust bolt. As the engine warms up, the components within the engine expand and the tolerances/gaps between certain components closes. With the valve train, many problems/noises cease or clear up once the valvetrain has warmed up and everything has expanded but reappear when things cool down again. This is often times and indication of worn valve train components and needs to be addressed quickly.

My primary experience is with OHV motors and you can simply take the valve covers off and run the motor to check for slop in the valve train and adjust accordingly. Im not sure if you can do that with an OHC motor, but my first priority would be to check your clearances within the valvetrain.

 

How are you going to adjust the valve train since it consists of hydraulic lash adjusters?

 

Glad it wasn't anything major, thanks for the follow up

 

wow...amazing it took that long to get in the shop. The only reason it did hold up so long was due to the fact the problems were broken bolts. Had it been anything else, it more than likely wouldn't have made it. Glad to hear the update as well and all is well now @Lawnspecialties

 

No, it WAS an exhaust stud. I had them go ahead and replace them all on that side and they had the header smoothed down to make sure it wasn't warped.

Now quiet as ever. She's back to work now.