2000 F150 4x4 with the good ol 4.6. Just bought the truck from a mostly-hearing impaired man for $1250. runs good but truck has what seems to be an upper engine tapping/slapping noise. previous owner was told it was manifold gasket and has been driving it for 20k+ like this. removed belt to verify not a pulley. tone does not change hot-cold but does of course with rpm. Im thinking broken timing chain guides, mostly passenger side. Have not had time to pull valve cover to check tension. To me it is not worth putting new guides on because at 200K the rear end and master cyl are also going bad. Here is my question; how lon do these engines usually last like this? debating on parting out or selling as is OR replacing rear end and riding it till the Triton calls it quits. thoughts?

 

Hey, you didn't pay that much, I think this motor was pre cam phasers right, there is no solenoids on the front of the valve covers right? Rear end is cheap, you could swap out the hole thing with one from the bone yard, or rebuild it, its mostly spider gears, the axles will be fine worst case ring and pinion. $500 bucks. You could have a stretched timing chain, there are 2 on this motor, 1 per side, Take a long screwdriver 24" and put the handle to your ear and place the other end around were you hear the noise, they are machined surfaces, they dont use cam bearings. Just please be careful you have a serp belt spinning and the fan, take your time and hold the screwdriver in different places till you find the noise. Could be a stuck lifter or bad lifter, even a timing chain job is not that bad. could be worth holding on too.

 

Yes this is pre cam phasers. I didn't know if a lifter would be this audible on the modular but that is another thing to check I guess. Tried using pry bar as stethoscope and couldn't pinpoint but does sound like passenger side front cover middle area. Only code in truck is egr and o2 no misfire so I figure it hasn't jumped time or anything. The oil was nasty I put new 5w20 and motorcraft filter but noise didnt change at all

 

No more input? I've been driving the truck all day today and really like it. Planning on a used rear end and keeping it. Engine is strong to be making noise too and still hits 60 in about 10 sec lol

 

Mine has 244K. I just changed the oil yesterday to a 5w30. Noticed a little more noise on startup this morning, but went away after a few minutes warming up. I love this truck, If I were you, I'd definitely keep it. Great truck and you've got very little in it.

 

Mine had a tapping as well but only on start up. Went away after a couple of min. Now it's on the bench (rebuild) and What I see is stuck "OIL RINGS", in the compressed position.
Carbon build up. Everything else perfect.

 

Mine never stops lol I wish I could post a video it sounds a lot like a diesel especially from the cab. If it'll make it to 250k like this it'll have paid for itself

 

Since nobody had had this exact scenario I guess ill be the test dummy. Lol it's at 215,200 let's see how long it'll go. I will keep updated every now and then

 

Also a local ford mechanic agreed with me on it being a timing chain noise via a stethoscope. So either it's gonna jump time, break or eat thru the front cover we will see

 

If that's the only noise, I'd really think about making repairs. Like others have said, a rear end and a master cylinder are cheap fixes. Sure , other stuff may go, but you are still in it really cheap.