You'll never see my truck being pulled by a Toyota.

 

My 2014 has this issue but over the last 10,000 miles or so, maybe 2/10 starts it makes that noise. I Had a talk with the dealer I use and they happen to be the largest commercial service center also.

They recommended I switch to a synthetic 5/30. They explained to me thats what they run in the fleet vehicles and it seems to clear up the noises on startup.

The oil spec for 2016 6.2's also switched to 5/30, that leads me to believe Ford maybe discovered an issue...

 

I'm about due for an oil change in my F-150, I might try switching to 5/30 and see if it goes away.

I remote start it 99% of the time so I'm not near it when it starts, but last week I was standing next to it and sure enough I had the little bit of noise for a few seconds.

 

The ticking is a low oil-pressure 'issue' but it is not harmful to the engine. The lifters have parts inside that utilize oil pressure to make the lifter automatically self-adjust to the correct length. If a lifter has a tendency to leak out overnight or over a few days, then when you start it up, the lifter will rattle in there because its a bit too short and loose between the cam and valve (or rocker depending on engine type). Once it gets adequate oil to repressurize it to the correct length, the tick goes away.

The reason why hydraulic lifters like this are used is because they are self-adjusting over the life of the engine. This saves us having to take the valve covers off and frequently readjust the valvetrain.

Sometimes when lifters are a bit tired or on the looser end of spec internally, they can even tick a bit at idle due to low oil pressure, but even then, the parts can still live a long, long time. Usually the lifter pressurizes adequately as soon as you give it a blip on the gas pedal and the oil pressure goes up during normal driving RPMs.

If you have a tick only at startup for a short while, then I'd leave it alone or just do 5w30 like some of the others already chimed in. But if anyone has a tick at idle on a warm engine, you can run other thicker grades of oil, as the thicker oil will maintain higher oil pressure at all rpms, including idle.

If you live in a cold climate, instead of the spec'd 5w20, you can easily run 5w30, 5w40, or even 0w40 such as the synthetics that are intended for european cars. In a warmer climate, the previous oil weights along with 10w30, 10w40 or 15w40 won't hurt it.

There are countless mixed fleets across the country that put bulk 15w40 CJ-4 HD diesel motor oil into everything without issue, including cars that are spec'd for 5w20, and they do perfectly fine for 200k+ miles other than maybe losing a little MPG due to the extra drag of pumping thicker oil.

 

My tick on start is only when warm and it has sat for 20 minutes up to an hour or so. If the motor is cold, it will not tick. If it just sits a few minutes, it will not tick. I did my oil change and added the STP. I let the truck run for about 15 minutes, then shut it off for 30. When I started it, there was no ticking. I'll keep my fingers crossed and listen for it, and update you guys later.

 

I'm due for an oil change in the next few weeks.. I will post back!

I already have 7qts of mobil1 5/30 I can put to use!

 

This morning it was cold 25 degrees. When I started my truck it ticked a bit for about 2 or 3 seconds and was quite afterwards. I think if I had 5w-30 oil in it it would have been worse so I'll stick with 5w-20 for now.

 

Hmm.. well now I'm interested, well either way I'm almost due for a change and it's been getting colder here in Chicago.

My whole thing is since the 16's are calling for 5/30 what's different about one model year?

 

I'm coming up on my first oil change. Anyone see a problem going to synthetic right away? I have the occasional tick too.

 

I switched to mobil 1 full synthetic right after my first oil change at 3400 miles. I know others on here have done the same. Really can't see any issues with using full synthetic oil.

 

I've always been a believer of synthetic oil. Synthetic blend oil is good oil too, its really whatever you prefer.

As long as you stick to the service manual intervals, you'll have no issues. My Uncle still runs conventional 5/30 in his 01 F150, on 5,000 mile intervals, 227,000 miles and no issues since off the lot in 2000!

The key is sticking to motorcraft filters!

 

So my truck sat for a week when I was at SEMA, Came home it was around 20F and I remote started it. Not a peep no odd noises, mine only happeneds on warm/hot re-starts.

I picked up 5w-30 today at Sams club and I have about 500 miles before I change it out. I always use Motorcraft filters.

 

I've come to the conclusion that this engine does not have lifters. Looks like the rocker arm has a roller that follows the cam lobe.





Other possible sources for the tick have been suggested injectors, purge valve, etc. I'm ruling out the "lifters".

 

ENGINE for 2013 Ford F-250 Super Duty

 

It is a very proven motor, I would not worry about it. Mine has about 5500 miles on it and I have never even noticed this tick that you guys talk about.