Hello. I just bought an 01 5.4L with 220,000 miles. It was a cheap truck for sure so I’m content with it, keeps me out of debt.

I went ahead and changed the oil as soon as I bought it. All motorcraft 5w-30, motorcraft filter and added a bottle of Lucas oil additive in.

The engine sounded fine and quiet before. it also looked like a really cheap filter that was on there. After that was done I am now starting to hear a tick that starts and stops consistent every 10-15 seconds. I also smell a touch of exhaust in the cab. So with mainly hearing it on the driver side and the smell, could that be an exhaust manifold leaking or cracked? Is there anything else it could be ? This could also be completely unrelated. It Just seems weird that it didn’t start until after the oil was changed. So any direction would be great.


I also would like some advice on maintenance to do for trucks with this high of mileage trucks. I plan to flush the trans and change out of the diff fluid. Probably a radiator flush. Any other critical maintenance that needs to be done? I know the coils were changed last year and brakes had been done. I just don’t know if the spark plugs have been changed. The previous owner didn’t know either.

 

Check the EGR tube coming off the driver's exhaust manifold. As the EGR valve opens and closes it could affect the amount of the exhaust leak and make it seem intermittent.

 

Yeah this morning on a cold start up it had a pretty loud knock, once it warmed up all the noise went away and it sounded smooth again ? Could it be an oil pump not lubricating fast enough?

Does anyone else use Lucas oil additive? I put that in along with the oil yesterday but beginner to wonder if that’s where the rough sound could be coming from.

 

if FORD wanted an additive in the motor oil............ they would have included it.. MOST people don't use the addatives to MODIFY the Manufacturers oil specs/

 

i understand that but I’ve also read/saw in a couple different areas that 5w-30 is the best oil for that engine and NOT the recommended 5w-20 on the cap from Ford.

 

Here is a video/soundbite from the sound that the truck is making. The ticking starts gets louder and then goes away completely. What could this be?

 

Yeah when the engine is new, but this one has 220K on it and many of the parts are worn.

 

Might be good to recheck the spark plugs, shucks , put new ones in there for good measure considering that this is kinda "new to you".
make sure to torque to 25-28ft/lbs.

Also….maybe rockers are worn?? have you checked the oil pressure?? cold and warm

 

I have not checked the oil pressure. I’ll have to look up how to do that.

Update: I took the 5w-30 with Lucas out yesterday and swapped with it with 5w-20 straight. That significantly decreased the tick. I haven’t tried it on a cold start up yet but it did sound better after I did that yesterday.