02 F-150 SCrew w/ 4.6 to 5.4 engine swap.

When I first start my truck in the morning or after it's been sitting a while, it sounds like it has NO oil with metal to metal clanking noise. Then after a few seconds I hear a grinding/low pitched whining noise similar to a power steering pump noise and then the truck stops the metal to metal clanking but continues to have the low pitched whine.

I know it's not the PS pump because I replaced it. I took the serp. belt off and started it and it still makes the noise. A mechanic used a stethoscope and the whine was loudest at the oil filter adapter. I know there are no moving parts there but whats making the noise and why does my metal to metal clank stop as soon as the whine starts?

I want to sell this truck but with these bad noises I don't know who would buy it.

 

Just a guess but a good chance it is the cam chain tensioners wore out.
If the noise changes as the motor runs a short time, it may be the tensioners taking up the slack because they are operated hydraulicly off engine oil pressure.
Quite often but not always this is the results of not using the factory reccomended oil weight of 5w20.
Many people still live in the past as far as oil weight goes and with this engine design, that is totally different, they insist on using the old heavey weight oils that cause the chain tensioners to put 'too much' tension on the chains causing a lot of extra wear, especially on cold starts until the oil thins down from heat.
It has to come apart by removing the front chain cover to see what's happened.
Good uck.

 

I have heard this chain tensioner idea a few times since you've written this. I had the engine replaced 9 months ago with a junk yard motor and it had this same noise and then it went away for several months and now it's back. I don't recall exactly what it was that I did to quiet it down but I need to do it again. This time I had 5w20 in it and it was fine and then it started. I had a few people suggest it was a bad drain back valve, oil pump check valve or a resctricted oil passage so I flushed the engine and put 10w30 in it and nothing changed at all except for the whining noise got a little quieter but it still makes that bad metal to metal clanking noise. Is the any other inexpensive things to try before starting to tear it apart?