My 2004 5.4 started ticking from the right valve train a few thousand miles ago, loud enough to sound like an exhaust leak, but it was definitely coming from the valve train. Local mechanic wasn't willing to tear into it, so went to Ford. They confirmed that it's valve or lifter noise and called it 'not unreasonable' for a 5.4 with 60K miles on it. Wow, so sounding like a clapped out school bus is 'normal' after 60K. No wonder Ford is tanking in the marketplace...

Anyway, service manager said not to fix it now, because the 5.4s they worked on in the past for this were a mixed bag. Sometimes, replacing lifters fixed it, sometimes it also required valves, and one never did stop ticking until they replaced the whole motor. He said those engines are notoriously persnickety, and to just keep driving it until the noise becomes too annoying, then think about tearing into it.

I know from searching here that lots of folks have dealt with ticking 5.4s. Anyone just keep driving theirs with the tick? I'm wondering how long before I'm looking at an expensive repair...