I owe you guys a big apology. Today I found my ticking noise and it was #7 spark plug, completely loose in the head, not sure how it didn't shoot out but thankfully it didn't. The ticking started last summer and got worse, really noticed it yesterday. I figured I'd change plugs anyway that's when I found the bad plug.

Now she's as quiet as a mouse.

Thanks again.

 

Since your V10 is a 2004 it most likely has the 8 thread spark plug holes.
Once the plug has loosened a bit from the tapered seat causing the tick it would still take awhile for it to get to the last few threads and blow out.
My 2002 heads probably have the 4 thread holes, I never heard any ticking when it blew.
Assuming your plugs were still the factory originals with the factory original torque applied it is interesting one worked loose after only 63k miles.
So it seems a plug can work loose before 100k miles.

 

[QUOTE=fbergski;16103707]I owe you guys a big apology. QUOTE]


Thanks, but NO, you don't, at least not to me!


Like most others, I came to this site seeking help. Found lots of it! I truly appreciate the attitude and expertise here, so I try to "give back" when I can. If you or someone else reading any of my posts finds something that helps, then that's what FTE is all about, and I'm good with it.

 

It takes a big man to admit he was wrong, i'm impressed that you did! Most would have left this thread dead and never admitted the advice was correct. And don't be afraid to ask for more help and I'm glad your truck is fixed!

 

I guess as you get older, it's harder to take advice (ask my wife). Drove the truck to work today and she purred like a kitten. Fixing that noise was big relief I was ready to get rid of the truck and buy something else.

Next up is a 4x2 to 4x4 conversion. I know buy another truck, I got this truck so darn cheap it wouldn't make sense to sell and buy another. Not going to happen this year but I'll start doing some research.

Thanks again.

 

 

Bad exhaust studs for the ticking and a plugged cat for the power loss.

 

X2 on checking the manifold for missing studs for the ticking.
I see you're in CT, salted roads cause issues with the exhaust studs.
When it struggles up grades is it a smooth loss of power or misfires/chugging?
I've had 3 cats fail over the years - one was a sudden catastrophic failure where the honeycomb fell apart and there was immediate loss of power above 45 mph or so.
The others were probably melted, didn't open them up to look, but the power loss came on more gradual.
At first it wouldn't go over 65 mph up a steep grade, then 60 mph, then 55 mph and finally would barely go about 50 mph.
It would rev fine with no load and if you accelerated slowly it would eventually get up to 65 mph.
There is a vacuum test that can be performed when accelerating to check for a clogged exhaust, but I don't remember the specifics, search on-line.
There are also now available exhaust back pressure test gauges (ebay $25) for testing for clogged exhausts.
Basically a low pressure gauge with a hose and adapter to screw into an O2 port.

 

A "tick" that gets louder when you get on it is always exhaust. Well, almost always. The other thing that can cause it is a loose spark plug.

 

X3 on the cat. Not much else it can be. Loose or broken exhaust manifold studs will not cause a loss of power. If the honeycomb in the cat has collapsed, you can hear it rattle if you tap it with a plastic hammer. Don't get too western with it or you can break the honeycomb material. If you have someone who can run the RPM's up, you can stand at the back and see if the exhaust flow increases proportionate to the RPM. It won't above the engine speed where you lose power if the cat is plugged.

 

I have my money on plugged cat for the power loss and the ticking. Plugged cat causes pre-ignition which sounds like ticking.

However..... Plugged cat and low fuel volume (fuel filter, fuel pump) yield very similar symptoms. (Progressively more power loss with increasing rpm and ticking)

Fuel filter is cheap, change it.

Still broke? Easy and cheap way to check the cat is to unbolt the 3 bolt flange on the y pipe just before the cat and pull the exhaust to the side. If all your power comes back, the cat is plugged. Put something to block exhaust from hitting the fiberglass shield if the flange won't get out of the way enough to let the smoke blow straight back. Exhaust gasses shooting on the fiberglass shield it will ruin it.

People will say that the fuel pumps either work or just quit all together, but I've seen 2 v10 fuel pumps gradually go bad. They couldn't handle a high load situation and fuel pressure would drop off, but check the cat first.

 

Thank you to everyone on this thread! I have a F53 V10-Triton 6.8L in this 2016 Winnebago Class-A Vista LX. Driving down from Michigan to Florida this year, I noticed on I-75, just as I got into Tennessee, that there was a clicking noise coming from my passenger side valve bank. a truck repair place thought that this was caused by my catalytic converter being stopped up - 560F going in and only 200F going out with little exhaust at the tailpipe...too much back pressure. After chopping out the honeycomb from the catalytic converter (which I now have to replace), things got better - that and adding a qt of Lucas Oil. Lucky for me, Winnebago left a lot of room to maneuver under the "hood". I replaced all 10 spark plugs, as the engine had nearly 1200 hours and was a few hundred miles shy of 50k miles. Since all the plugs were tight (per this thread), I popped the right (passenger) valve cover off, only to find that the OHV cam had been damaged (more like destroyed) by at least 1 rocker that had its bearing fail. Funny enough, Kelly Ford in Melbourne, FL, was cheaper than any of the local auto stores for the parts (~$400 for a new cam, 5 rockers, 5 pop-its [aka lifter-like devices or lash-adjusters], a gasket and some grey engine RTV). As this is a V10, each side has 5 pistons, and each piston has 3 valves (2 intake & 1 exhaust, I believe), for a total of 15 valves/rockers/pop-its per side. I only replaced five (5) of each of the rockers and pop-its, as the rest were in good shape (bearings were smooth and rollers/corresponding cam-lobe without blemish).

Tear down and rebuild was easy. The first step was to remove the valve cover, minding that there is a drop of RTV where the head meets the timing-chain cover in 2 spots - this was holding the gasket fast to the head and timing-chain cover. Next, I zip-tied the chain to the gear so that I didn't loose timing. I also found a nifty tool that is nothing more than a block of wood (essentially, made from plastic) that I jammed in-between the chains so that the tensioner didn't collapse. I undid (first loosened) the 15mm bolt holding the cam-gear onto the cam, and then slowly worked down the line of the several clamps that have 2 bolts to hold down the cam. The trick here is that you don't undo each clamp all the way - instead, you slowly back of each set going back and forth to allow the rockers to push the cam up slowly. This is a good way to get at the rockers if you need to R&R them without using a tool. Eventually, I had all the clamps removed and the cam was sitting loosely over everything, at which point I undid the bolt for the cam-gear. The clamps are numbered and need to go back where they were taken from, and with the proper orientation! As the gear wasn't secure to the cam anymore, it slid right out of the keying. With all the rockers exposed and each REALLY easy to get to, I cleaned and inspected each one. I had bought 5 sets of rockers and pop-its and I used all 5, just to be sure. I then put the cam in its place, ensuring that I had the correct side (which meant the correct timing for the valves on the cam), and hand-tightened all the clamp screws to ensure no cross-threading before doing the same with the cam-gear's bolt. Then came the arduous task of slowing tightening down all the clamp screws a few turns at a time. I didn't have torque specs, so I had to guess to ensure I didn't stretch or break any bolts - not preferred. Eventually, everything was tight, and I removed the zip-ties and the "calibrated" block of plastic. I put a new gasket into the valve cover and after ensuring the head was clean and free of old RTV, applied a bit of RTV at the intersection of the timing-chain cover and the header, and then replaced the valve cover. A dozen or so captivated bolts later (8mm), reinstallation of the 5 coils and their wires, and the engine was back in business. I can't hear anything bad (clicking) from the right (passenger) valve area...but maybe I'm developing the same problem on the left (driver) side...UGH.

I figured this was going to be a 1-day job, as I'm not a mechanic. Thankfully, this turned out to be only a 2h install job with probably 2h of teardown to find the problem...4h total. I'm certain I can get this down to 3h max now that I know what I'm doing. While I am an Engineer, that doesn't mean that I'm a technician nor mechanic, though I'd like to think that I know what I'm doing. All I can do is thank Ford and Winnebago for the room to work under the chassis to get this job done. Praise God they had foresight.
-Tim

 

TIM,
you still around I have same issue and have a question, trying to complete this task this weekend. Can we Chat?
thanks Joe