I bought a 2003 Super Crew with the 4.6 the other day, very nice truck with 60K. It has the afore mentioned tapping noise, at all rpm's hot or cold. It is a little hard to hear untill you run it for 3 or 4 minutes and then its "there". Isolated it to the left front valve cover area, thats where the noise is most pronounced.

I need some imput as to what the problem might be. I had the oil changed to MC 5W20 and MC filter and no help. Before I wholesale the truck I would llike to try and identify the problem. Its a super clean truck and I new the motor was making the noise when I bought it. I am a Car dealer and don't want to sell somebody something thats not right.

Thanks RJ

 

How loud is it? You sure it's not the injectors clicking?

 

How do I check for a injector? Just unplug it? It really sounds more metallic than what I have heard an injector make.

It runs super smooth and holds very good oil pressure. No miss or poor performance, just the tapping. \\Could this be timing chain/sprocket, cam follower or phaser?

Thanks RJ

 

Does it go away when the engine warms up? Could be a cam follower. I have seen some broken exhaust manifold studs that hold the manifold to the head cause an exhaust leak that sounds alot like a lifter.
Just a note, The oil pressure gauge is a dummy gauge. As long as you have enough oil pressure to keep the oil light off, the gauge will read somewhere above 1/2 way up.

 

Noise is always there after intial start up. I used a stefiscope to locate noise. Its right at the front of the left (driver side) valve cover, like where number 5 cylinder would be on most Ford gas motors in the past, FE, Small blocks, etc. Thanks R J

 

Could be a cam follower. Without removing the valvecover, it will be hard to tell for sure. And, yep, it's still #5 on the drivers side.