I have a 2004 F150 XLT 4wd. It has the 5.4 3V. The truck has 228000 miles and has ran great since i bought it with 110000. The only problem i have ever had was a busted radiator. I just moved to Wyoming and drove the truck 1400 mile to get here(truck ran great). Drove around town for two weeks( Ran great). The finally opened the road to the top of the mountain so up it we went. about 7\8 of the way up it ran great till i started hearing a ticking(has had the "normal" ticking for awhile). I pulled over the first chance i got. got out and checked it and it is coming from the front like it is the timing chain. I turned around and started back down and it ran rough and slugish. Got to the bottom and pulled off to check again and the oil pressure instantly dropped to zero. i turned the truck off looked under the hood checked oil everything was good, cranked the truck back everything was good, but on the way home everytime i would stop it would drop and hitting the gas would bring it back up. Came home did some looking and wound up changing the oil and filter for a possible plugged filter and havent had that problem since. Couple days later i am coming home pulling into the garage and the truck started jumping, running extremely rough, and sounding like it was about to die. CE light came on and i got a P0012, P0340. Cleared the codes and cranked it back up and it now runs great and i am scared to drive it further than around the block. I live in a small place and dont want a hefty tow fee. Any ideas what could be wrong.

 

So the truck is running well now, but does it still make the ticking noise?

 

your timing chain guides probably broke and some craps are now possible stuck in your oil pickup, I would fix the problem before driving it again.

 

Stop driving it before lack of oil scores the cam/cam lobes. Front cover needs pulled to find out for sure what is going on in there. My guess is blown tensioner seal, causing the oil pressure loss and probably broken guides from the chain slapping. If so I'd replace all timing components while in there.

 

check timing chain and oil pump from what I have been reading from the excellent people on this site.