Hey guys, I purchased this 2007 F150 FX4 about 6 weeks ago. I still got the ole '97 as a work truck but needed something bigger for the family.
The '07 rides, drives, and feels great. Me and the wife took it on a road trip. I had to come to a fairly sudden stop on the interstate and it nearly stalled out on me. It was knocking, sputtering, and carrying on. It did not die and I was right at an exit so I pulled in to a store and popped the hood. The noise was gone and it went back to normal. That was about 2 weeks after I bought it (4 weeks ago from this post).

It had not done since until today. However, today it was different. I pulled my camper back from the camp ground (had a perfect pull there with no issues), pulled in the driveway, and began to back it into place. When I went into reverse, it gave me the exact same issues as I described on the interstate that day. I went out of reverse and went to shut it down but the noise went away. So, again I went into reverse and again, it would start the noise as I tried to back the camper in place. I eventually got the camper in place with the truck, but I never heard anything like that. I have done some reading and could it be the cam phasers? Maybe it is not adjusting the timing properly causing all kinds of problems? I hope not, as that seems to be an expensive fix (I can do it myself, but between, work, wife, kids, college, and the rest of life...WHEN???). Thanks in advance guys!!!

 

I have heard of this problem time and time again. It happened on a friend of mine's '07 as well. It happens when the timing gets out of whack and begins making the engine knock/clack/sputter and try to stall.

A lot of times, new VCT solenoids can remedy this issue. It ended up solving the issue on my friend's truck. They sometimes stick and cause a continuous flow of oil to the cam phaser making it stay in a retarded position, when it needs to be advanced.

Worst case scenario is low oil pressure and that will also cause the same symptoms. If your oil pressure at times gets low (especially after a long highway drive when the oil is really hot), then it will not have enough pressure to return the cam phaser to the proper position to idle in.

IMO, I would go ahead and try to replace the VCT solenoids. It's pretty easy to do, but the hard part is getting the valve covers off. There is a video by "FordTechMakuloco" on YouTube showing the procedure of replacing the solenoids. While you're in there, you can check for other potential issues like timing chain slack, etc. Good luck!

 

Thank you sir, I just posted a new thread forgetting that I did this one. Quick update, cams are scored and cam sensor pigtail is broken. Getting a new engine...