not to beat the dead horse around here but i have the 5.4 in my 2000 f250 about 90000 miles with a light ticking problem. with all the research, mainly from this site and a few other ford related sites, i beleive i have narrowed the problem down to the timing chain, mainly the broken guide that causes the timing chain to bang against the cover. the noise is in the front or the engine, and the worse on the passenger side.

The truck drives great, starts right up, no misses, no rough idle, power is good , no lights, no codes (recent)and all other functions are ago..the ticking noise occurs when its cold, warm, rainy, cloudy , snowy, sunny and on every Thursday of the month.
ive heard noisier 5.4 engines,mainly the 3v, this noise isn't bad and its loudest at idle. i want it fixed b/c it bothers me, and i dont want to have any problems with the chain, or a hole rubbed in the chain cover.
with all this being said, im still gonna have a mechanic check it out b/c i am not, i know enough to get me by and enjoy working on my truck. Who has had this particular problem, and if so, did you fix it yourself, and if you did, what kind of difficulty would i have doing this, or should i just pay someone to do it b/c ive never messed with a timing chain before and not sure if the timing chain would even need removed to replace the guide.

that's why we ask questions....

 

have you for sure ruled out a leaking exhaust manifold? if it's not a severe leak it will sound like a tick.. my '99 did it.

 

have I totally ruled that out, no. however the previous owner states the exhaust manifolds were replaced 3 years ago. whether it was done professionally or in the back yard I don't know, taking it to the mechanic will rule that out. from my observations it does not appear to be leaking from there.

 

no one has ever dealt with this issue?

 

Don't rule out an aftermarket oil filter with no drain back valve in it.

 

unless there is a problem with motorcraft filters im not aware of i dont think that is the problem.

 

after the mechanic checked it out said it seems like a noisy lifter and put some lucas oil treatment in the engine. this sound right?

 

Lucas is horrible on these engines, find a new mechanic. These motors were designed to run on 5-20 and only that. Was any other diagnosis done besides adding snake oil? It's probably a broken exhaust manifold bolt which is common. Have you made sure your spark plugs are tight? Sometimes before a plug spits there is a click or tapping noise. Have you bought a cheap stethoscope and poked around the engine? Sounds like your "mechanic" has no clue what he's doing. There are no "lifters" in modular ford motors either.

 

Timing chain rattle isn't uncommon.

This is a video on replacing the timing chains on a 4.6L engine, Aside from the vehicle specific prep and the difference in the ignition, the rest is pretty close. It should give you at least an idea of what is involved in replacing the timing chains, if you want to attempt it yourself.

 

thank you for the video redford.
I took the truck to have my upper and lower ***** joints replaced and asked them to listen to the engine , see if you can figure out what the noise is...thats what they told me. noisy lifter. add lucas. obviously if there are no lifters it wont make a difference. im by no means a mechanic, i am however mechanically inclined enough to follow instructions and read a book on how to fix things. ive only had this truck for 7 months after owning a dodge for the last 12 years so im still learning this truck and engine. When i got this truck , the first thing i did was replace all 8 spark plugs with motorcrafts, torqued them to 20, used no never seize, i only use motorcraft filters and oil. replaced the power steering pump last month but that made a squealing noise. tonight b/f the blowing snow i drove the truck around the block to let it warm, and with the stethoscope i use to detect water leaks under concrete slabs, listened to the valve cover area, the sound is more a upper engine sound, it almost sounds like an injector and no doubt on the passenger /front engine side. ill spend more time on it hopefully this weekend, i really want to inspect the exhaust manifold. seems like im much more successful when i figure things out myself and with the help of this forum, friends and books.

 

My 04 is doing the same thing now, 118k on her with no abuse and tons of love. Mine is more on the drivers side and in thinking timing tensioner also on my truck

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i heard!!!!

 

is this something that needs attention?? like soon?

 

My good buddies dad has a 2005 F150 with the three valve 5.4 that has 240k on it the last I was told. It has the famous cam phaser tick that's so loud it sounds like a diesel, the truck had it at 178k and it's driven all the miles my buddies dad put it so....
But if it is the timing chain that's slapping it could and has before worn a hole in the cover, so then not only do you need a new timing chai and tensioner but then you'll also need a new cover plate

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whatever it is i need to figure it out, its quite annoying, and i need things to be right. i plan on owning this truck a while.