It's apparently time for my truck's annual repair, and apparently this year's theme is a mystery.

About a week ago, it started making a ticking sound right after startup, which would fade after a minute or so of idling. However once the truck was in gear, any time I press the accelerator, I can hear the ticking sound, which seems to be originating from the passenger side of the vehicle.

Now this is not the cam phaser noise. My truck already makes that noise and it never does it from a cold start, only after it has warmed up. This new ticking is the opposite: it ticks noticeably right after a cold start, and only occurs when the engine is in gear and the accelerator is pressed. The sound is a lighter toned ticking, the first time I heard it, it almost reminded me of when kids would stick baseball cards in their bike spokes to make it "sound like a motorcycle".

I parked in the driveway and left the truck in gear with my foot on the brake, and gently gave it some throttle pressure, and the ticking was very clear. I tried the same in neutral, and there was no ticking to be heard, so I can definitely say it only happens when the truck is in gear, or right after a cold start.

My initial thought was the lifters or lash adjusters, but I would think they would make noise regardless of whether the truck was in gear or not. But, before I shell out money to a mechanic just to look at it, I wanted to get some opinions about what the cause could be. Any input is greatly appreciated.

 

Timing chain slapping the blown out guide.

 

That's a little disheartening to hear, considering I just replaced the timing system 3 years ago with "better" parts. I was really hoping to never have to tear into that engine again... I just don't have the free time I had last go around to tear into that engine again.

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Just curious did you upgrade the oil pump or use ratcheting tensioners. I failed to use the old style ratcheting tensioners , I kick my self often over that . But after all that I do an engine flush every other time and I use 1 quart marvel mystery O in with my 5w30 synth. I am convinced this engine clogs easily . I also failed to disassemble vct bodies ,didn't know there was a fliter in them . At 217k don't know if i would do another timing job maybe a short version if I did, not the $1400 one . I don't see the perfect truck I would buy at a reasonable price,all I see is big money ,small turbo blasted engines , in short -more trouble .
I would always do an engine flush before opening it up .
I'm hoping to get to 300k and then consider a reman by me .

 

Exhaust leak at the manifold.

 

I put in a Melling oil pump and I used the improved iron tensioners. Everything I put in the truck was recommended to be the best option all the way down to the replacement gears, precisely because I didn't want to do this job a second time. I'm rather disappointed that the "improved" parts failed faster than the OEM ones, if this is the case. OEM parts lasted ~135k miles and the new ones didn't even make it 25k.
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The kicker here is that I was planning on selling it soon and upgrading to a 3/4 ton to haul my camper. So my enthusiasm for spending a few days under the hood is pretty low, to say the least.

So just out of curiosity, why does the noise only occur on startup and when the truck is in gear, but never when it's in neutral? It seems to me that the sound would be constant because the chain would be loose in all scenarios, not just when the truck is in gear. Now I'm starting to wonder if the difference between being in neutral and being in gear means that towing my camper might have caused the failure somehow.

 

You sir, are awesome. That has proven to be the problem, thanks to your comment I have now been able to pinpoint the exact trouble area.

After I read your comment, I went on YouTube to find some examples of the 5.4 with exhaust leaks. The sound at startup was identical to what I have been hearing, and died down after the same duration as my truck's sound did. I followed some advice from one of the videos and hooked up my shop vac to my exhaust with the hose set to blow air into the tail pipe, sealed and secured with the just enough duct tape to make Red Green proud.

Once I had the hose taped in place, I turned the shop vac on and went to the front of my truck armed with a spray bottle full of soapy water. Even before I began spraying, I could hear air hissing from the exhaust manifold area. I kept spraying my soapy water until I found the problem area, at the back of the manifold, evidenced by the soapy water bubbling where it was in contact with the air leaking from my exhaust pipe.

I still need to pull the tire off and remove the fender shield in order to get a better look at the problem and see if I have a cracked manifold or just a broken bolt, but at least the problem is confirmed. All I know is that it is much more preferable over having to get into the engine and deal with the timing system once again.

 

This is good home method for those without access to a smoke machine. FYI, I do know who Red Green is, watched every episode.

 

Very glad you didn't have the major failure you feared. This makes more sense . I knew of this method but I also have my homemade smoke machine. I do hope its a minor flange issue not looking forward to any major manifold bolt work myself. I just did another flush and oil change out , I did try a couple of royal purple quarts and it set a code 0022 but it went away so I think it broke some stuff loose and it cleared . Been two months since that scare . My next move would have been two new vcts after a couple of flushes .

 

I got the fender liner removed and repeated the process for a better look at the problem to see what I was up against. It looks like the failure is the gasket between the manifold and the rest of the exhaust system. Either that or one of the bolts is broken, although visual inspection shows both nuts and bolts are present, and both feel like they're still solid. Hopefully a quick call down to the auto parts store and a little bit of wrenching time and I'll have this squared away.

Here's a good look at the location of the leak. Big improvement only having to remove a couple of bolts instead of spending a day stripping off parts just to access the timing cover, lol.

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Don't get too excited yet, those exhaust bolts can be a bear to remove sometimes.

 

Hell, you can see where the gases have been hitting the lower part. Looks like the thing is loose - flanges should be closer together.

 

Agree!!!! As the manifolds heat up the metal expands closing the breach, then when you nail the gas, the pressure forcing the breach to open...hearing the "tick"

 

LOL, I'd still wager it's an easier job than taking off the cylinder heads. 😁
I was thinking those seemed pretty far apart, I'm wondering if maybe I do have a broken bolt on the flange. Just because I don't see how the nut could loosen with the scale I can already see on the surface. I'll find out either tonight or tomorrow, depending on how the rest of my project list clears up, haha.

 

Hopefully the 'donut' will still be good and re-tightening will work. You could compare it to the other side for visually checking the distance between the flanges. There is no 'standard' - they're all different but that one sure looks loose to me.