after months of searching, this issue is finally found with the ticking engine, the timing chain is hitting the cover, the rest of the engine is in great shape, along with the truck. there is 93000 miles on the odometer. was quoted around $2500 to replace the chains and all the other stuff, like the guides and sprockets.

its kinda tough to spend that much on a 14 year old truck, but what are the other options? a new truck is $40000, another used truck, ill be buying someone else' s headaches all over again .

timing chain video below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCei...ature=youtu.be

 

Get greasy & replace the chain. Sure saves a ton of bucks!

 

What he said.

Pull the valve covers and the front cover and replace the chains and tensioners

Sent from my Telegraph using IB AutoGroup

 

You could have a bad tensioner or guide, it has happened before.(usually tensioner) Your chain should not be bad with 93k on it. Also watch out for metal particles from where the chain was rubbing. A magnetic drain plug will help pick up any steel or cast iron but obviously will do nothing for the aluminum or plastic from the guides.

You can get another quote or two on the job and tell the mechanic you want to keep the costs down. The truck should have a lot of life left in it yet after it is fixed.

 

Also unless you know the person that gives you the
lowest bit be careful with the low bider.
You don't want any shortcuts that dump you out in the woods
at night and no way to get home.


Sean

 

It's probably a broken timing chain guide, They are a common failure on the 02-04 Crown Victoria.

 

If you tear into it, replace everything inside. Chain, guides, tensioner etc.. No sense in getting that dirty & receiving the complementary backaches unless you do so...

 

thanks for the encouragement fellas.

With that being said, i feel i have a decent mechanical aptitude, i can certainly read and follow directions. How difficult is a job like this?
i never messed with timing before. i know that basic fundamentals, but that's about it.

 

Look here:
Timing Chain Kit Ford Expedition F150 E150 5 4 V8 330 | eBay

Be sure that this is the correct kit for your truck. If not, search for the correct kit to match your engine.

Depending on skill level and tools available, a kit like that and a day or two of labor beats the heck out of $2500.00.

Here is a video that will give you a good idea of what is involved. This is NOT exactly the same as your engine, but is very similar. Some parts of the video will NOT apply to your engine. Since you have not done this before, it would be a good idea to have a shop manual available for details.

 

i do have a Haynes manual for my truck which does give a decent description of what to do.

Thanks for all the help!

 

Look on Ebay for the Ford DVDs and get the one for your year.
The trick is setting the computer date back so you can use the DVD.
There is a nice little program called RunAaDate. Very handy and you no
longer have to deal with setting the date back. The DVDs have a expiration date
and that is the reason for the date change. Other than that you get the data that
Ford sends out to the shops.
EDIT : I found one for you to look at.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-2000-2001-2002-F-150-Truck-Service-Manual-Set-DVD-/231054386760?pt=Motors_Manuals_Literature&hash=item35cbea2648&vxp=mtr
Take you time and if you run into a problem don't be afraid to ask questions.
If it looks funny or feels wrong stop and recheck things. Also a digital camera
that you don't mind getting dirty is very handy in putting it back the way it
came apart. Also if the book says torque than don't skip that or guess.

One useful item when it comes to small fasteners is a cupcake pan. All the
small screws/bolts and nuts can go into there own cups.

Sean

 

here is an awesome video showing what is involved.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...noise-fix.html

 

****UPDATE****
i got my truck back, now there saying along with the timing chain it could also be a camshaft noise. but the obvious signs of camshaft wear are not present.


Also i have a leak maybe in the heater core that i did not notice before.... WTF!


The issue is the noise. it drives fine, it idles fine, there is no power loss to speak of although there wasn't much power to loose to begin with. As far as the newly found coolant leak possible heater core leak.....yet another headache, but that headache i can fix rather quickly.

 

thank you guys for all the help this year with my beast of burden. i hope all of you have a merry Christmas and happy new year.

 

Camshaft noise? It's a rotating metal rod with lumps on it, how would it make noise?

Cam bearings, maybe? Valve train, perhaps, but the camshaft itself?

I'd take the diagnosis with a grain of salt.