Hey guys, first time poster here. I have an 01' EB Expedition that we've had for many years (I'm 21 and don't remember the specific year we bought it). It's gotten plenty of use towing our boat (17' 115hp Lund), and once towing a 12' trailer up to college. Now up at college in Northern Minnesota she gets plenty of use driving through the snow and ice on the lack, and since it's a small town in the middle of nowhere, it does get its fair share of off-roading through snow and mud, and we've gotten our fair share out of the tow strap! I've put it through its paces and then some, but I haven't beat on it that much.

Anyways, starting last summer/fall the engine started knocking at start up. It would slowly subside if you left it there, and quit almost immediately when the engine's RPMs were raised. It got worse during the winter, and the knocking got quite loud and distinctive. It would occur 99% of the time at start up, but would sometimes be louder and last longer than others. It has continued into the summer, but now only happens around 50% of the time or less. It's on the left side of the engine if you had the hood open and were looking on it, in front of the front passenger seat.

Recently a tick on the left side developed, we took it to Canada and back, and on the way back a rapid tick developed whenever the engine rose above 22-2500rpm. I've been told it could be an issue with the cylinders, oil, valve knock, cam phaser, and all kinds of stuff. All my dad has done is put fuel additives into the thing, he's been extremely stubborn about doing anything about it. One of my fishing buddies on the ride back told me that its probably piston slap or an issue with the cam phaser, and wouldn't affect performance, just cause the noise.


On a separate note, there's something wrong with the electrical that drains the battery anytime the temp. reaches 0 or lower. Obviously spending my time in Northern Minnesota causes that to be quite the issue. I know the battery is shot because it's been drained and recharged so many times, but I don't want to replace it until I figure out the wiring issue. The ground for the trailer wiring is bad, I know that because when we rented a Uhaul at first the lighting hookup at the hitch wasn't getting power, and the guy determined the ground in the wiring system was bad. I don't know much about electricity, so I may have mis-spoke about something there, so sorry in advance.


Thirdly, I'm just curious what the difference between a body lift kit and a regular lift kit is? By regular lift kit I mean suspension (I think at least, I'm fairly inexperienced in automotive mechanics. I'm thinking about getting a 3 inch body lift for like $150 so when we replace the tires next I can go with something bigger. As far as that goes I think the Ex will be replaced by an actual truck when the time comes, are there any compatibility issues with wheels/tires switched between an Expedition and say an F-150? Or a different manufacturer like Chevy or Dodge?


Sorry about the lengthy post and obvious ignorance guys! Like I said I'm pretty inexperienced with automotive goings on, thanks in advance for the help!

 

The knock/tick could simply be the broken exhaust manifold stud issue. Look through the passenger wheel well at the studs holding the exhaust manifold to the block. Do you see anywhere the nut is missing, especially the two for the rearmost cylinder?

The electrical 'drain' is a bad battery. A weak battery will lose it's charge while sitting there in the cold a lot more than it will in the heat.

 

Thanks for the help, but I frankly the only thing from the first part of your post that I could recognize if I looked under the wheel well would be the nut lol! Could you go into a little more detail on what exactly I'll be looking at? Lol

As far as the electrical issue I really don't think its a battery issue, this is the third one we've been through in as many years, and the truck's killed all of them, so I would think it would be an issue with the truck?

 

No ideas guys? It seems to get most distinctive around just under 2000rpm, also whenever I feather the gas, not so much when I step on it? It might be the engine is just drowning out the knock but I'm not so sure? It speeds up with RPMs, and seems to tick more than knock at lower and higher speeds. Also now it will start and stop at idle.

 

Do you ever have problems with the rear wiper? They notoriously don't work and can drain the battery. I've pulled the fuse out on my last 2 for that reason. Not sure about 01's but on 98's they had some problems with some fuse boxes where wires would loosen on the back and the fuse wouldn't make a good connection. Mine had a fuse for the alternator that would intermittently make it stop charging, but it was pretty obvious on the voltage gauge on the dash.

 

Actually yes! the wiper works so rarely I don't even try it anymore. So you would recommend taking out the fuse for that, and checking to make sure all my other fuses are securely connected?

 

if the fuse doesn't work for your battery then i would start looking at the altenator if it is orginal. they run diodes in them that should only be one way current. if they are going bad then it will allow your battery to drain back throught the alt. unhook your battery and see if it stays charged. if it does then you have a draw somewhere. check door switches and hood light if it still works. if all else fails look at the alt.

your tick is probably for exhaust manifolds. they are what your exhaust pipe hooks to. the rusty looking metal on the engine. look through and or feel to see if the bolts are still there. the usually break near the back where the heat is greater. what happens is when you have a cold start there is a gap between the black and manifold as teh engine warms up the metal expands and closes the gap. many people drive a long time with them broken but your manifold will eventually crack if not fixed. hope this helps

 

I have a 99 Expedition with a 4.6l and a broken nut on the drivers side exhaust manifold which give a knocking sound and once it warms up goes away, here is a picture check this first like a gentleman said earlier.

Right click and open the image in a new tab

 

Well guys bad news, I've had a Ford dealer and an independent mechanic look at it and they both think a rod bearing is going bad. So now we're trying to decide whether or not to replace the motor or just buy a new vehicle. We're having a mechanic check it tomorrow to see if there's anything else wrong, which would help us decide.