got a question for you fellas, my 02 f150 with the 5.4l has a bit of clatter. Not so much you here it with the hood up, but idling say against near a wall I can hear some tapping underneath. Now I know its not piston slap cause the tapping doesnt go away after warm-up, not very loud either but your ears get trained to every little sound your truck makes. The noise has been there for quite some time now and it hasnt become any louder but it makes me think either sticky or worn lifters or maybe worn cam lobes but I'm not sure. The truck runs like a champ with no engine problems accept the noise. This normal or shoud I be concerned?

 

A lot of miles? Using 5-20 oil? Moving or at idle?Injector tap?Left side or right side?

 

I thought the 5.4L didnt have lifters?
Octane

 

they use Hydraulic, roller finger

 

I dunno, never delt with these modular motors before, the old 300 I used to have was a cinch though. To answer the other questions it has 95000kms and the noise is on both sides of the motor. Ive done alot of maintenance to it including new mc platinum plugs, put mobil1 10w30 oil with mc filter, cleaned maf, iac and throttlebody, also ran some seafoam through the combustion chambers, all made the engine run nice and smooth but the tick never went away.

 

is it a constant tick from all over? the tick is most likely the fuel injectors. the injectors are the loudest part of the mod engine.

 

The sound is more like a single tick, like you can hear the cam lobe hit the roller finger as you said. Its more pronounced when your beside the truck on the lower half of the engine, but in front of the truck nothing. Ive had advise from the service dept. at ford and my exhaust guy and both said its a normal occurance in these 5.4's but I want a second opinion, anybody else with the same thing?

 

so is it more noticeable if you listen from the wheel well? is it only one tick or many?

 

Just one tick on both sides, just checked exhaust manifold for leaks, they are both nice and tight and sealed. The tick sounds more internal in the heads, one revolution of the cam shaft and it ticks.

 

Ford calls them tappets- aka lifters- just put a set in a 04 Mach 1( for a ticking noise, Ford hotline wanted to do this before eng. replacement)- 16 in each head on that one!!! Also stick with the weight oil on you engine lable or on top of oil cap, esp when weather turns cold. Mod engines run MUCH tighter bearing clearances than push rod engines!!!!

 

this is the year that ford is having problem with worn valve guides.causing a ticking noise.the single cam 5.4 is somewhat common and the dual cam is even worse.i usually do 1-2 a month for this problem

 

Is it a serious problem I have to address immediatly? I dont do any heavy work with the truck its mostly my personal transportation to work and the odd stop at home depot. Like I said before the noise hasnt got any worse for quite awhile.

 

if you want to know if it is serious send in a oil sample to blackstone and have it tested this will confirm the enigne is in good condition or has a serious problem. i would guess the engine is fine.

 

I-m tech, is there a TSB or bulletin out on this? The repair is a new head right?Are you doing customer pay or are they warranty repairs? I only ask because we haven't seen any in for guide noise , just oil leaks at rear of right head. Used to see alot of 351cs and ms and 400s for guide noise in the 70s and early 80s though!!!

 

i dont remember the tsb # but i beleive the 01 or 02 navigator has redesigned heads for there noise issue,but the singal cam 4.6 and 5.4 are having the same problem with premature guide wear.i'll get on the ford sight and see if i can pull up some info. i havnt see any valves drop and cause engine damage,we just replace the whole engine because of the warranty price cap.