Hey everyone, I have a 2007 F250 Super Duty with the 5.4L 3V engine. I’m having some issues with it. The truck ran fine- didn’t drive it much as it was bought by my father in law as a quick flip. We thought it had an exhaust leak (which it does) but we also noticed a ticking noise, ended up finding a frozen roller and flattened cam lobe. We happened to have a project 08 F150 with the same engine so I changed the rollers, cam and the top journals to fix the noise. I didn’t remove the timing chains or anything like that, I found a tool that simply loosened the tension a little bit and slid the phaser off the cam then back on the other cam. Once we got it running it sat and then we finally used it for something and it idled for awhile then simply drove around the block- then started running really bad, sounds like a diesel. Then we used it to try and jump start another truck, idled fine for about 5-10 minutes and then as soon as I put it in reverse to move it out of the way it started shaking and running bad again. Today I’ve been doing a lot of research on what could cause this, so I started the truck, let it run and then drove it around the block and let it idle some more trying to recreate it. Idled it until it got to operating temperature and then moved it back and forth in the drive way trying to get it to run bad again. Finally decided I was gonna drive it down to a store and back and finally the issue came back after probably a solid 15-20 minutes of idling and running. I tried unplugging both VTC solenoids while it was running bad to see if it evened out as I’ve read and even watched in a Ford made video that that’s a good way to test those solenoids, and it made no difference. So I’m kind of lost here and just looking for some opinions on where to look next. I’ve read a lot of forums today of similar sounding issues where people dumped a lot of money and parts into these things without a solution to this issue so I’m weary here lol. I went ahead and took a video of it running as well and I’ll link it below. I should note the truck has about 199K on it and it seems well maintained as it was a county truck I believe and has a fresh oil change. Thanks everyone for reading and any future advice!

 

just some non-expert thoughts to throw out there:

check for codes?

clogged cats?

 

No codes thrown. Haven’t checked the cat temp yet but not a bad idea.

 

Check for excessive crankshaft end play. They had a problem with the 07 engines where the crank would wear out the thrust surface and the crank would walk back and forth. The noise is cause by not enough oil pressure to hold the cam phasers in place. With 199k on the clock, its probably time for a new engine. These 5.4 3v are pretty much a throw away engine. Patching them up is expensive and usually doesn't last.

 

Alright so I check out the crankshaft. I can’t move it by hand, and I checked it both while running fine and running badly and neither time it didn’t seem like it was really moving. I took a video of it when it was running poorly:
so to me it doesn’t seem like that’s bad

Edit: I went ahead and checked the cat temp while I was at it, with the truck at operating temperature. I noticed the one on the passenger side showed about 65ish degrees going in and 55ish going out I believe while the driver side had about 120 going in and 111 going out. Not sure why the passenger side would be considerably colder like that but i also had shut it off then started it back up and started reading temps after only a few minutes of running so not sure if that’s a factor or not

 

Update/double post: I read somewhere else that the check engine light doesnt have to be on for codes to be present (which is odd to me, but my reader also showed them all as "pending")
So i do have codes(was basing my earlier statement off of the light not being on). Heres what I have: P0010-Camshaft Position Actuator circuit/open(Bank 1), P0020-Intake Camshaft Position Actuator/Open(Bank 2)-Im assuming these 2 are from me unplugging the VCT solenoids while the truck was running. P0012-Camshaft Position Timing Over Retarded Bank 1), and P0355-Ignition Coil E Primary/Secondary Circuit. I havent looked up what each of these codes are yet but thought I'd share here first as extra insight. I wouldnt think that the one bad coil would cause all my issues, especially with the issue not appearing until its warm, and I dont get the typical flashing CEL like i would think if that coil was missing and not operating correctly.

 

P0012 -> Engine needs a timing job.

Probably have the oil pump getting clogged with timing chain guide, hence the phasers clatter.

Depending on how long that has been going in, you might have a really nice boat anchor.

 

Hm. No shot at it being maybe a bad VCT solenoid or anything like that you think? Was watching a video by FordTechMakuloco and he fixed one by changing the VCT solenoids-tho i dont have the fancy diagnostic tools, just a simple code reader. But his seemed like a similar issue and given that the truck is fine for long periods of time idling and then seemingly the issue appears after idle when shifting into a gear like maybe one of them is getting stuck open/closed and causing the timing to get thrown out of whack. But I dont want to throw a bunch of money and parts at a truck that isnt worth it, and these 5.4 trucks seem like they are just constant headaches. What sucks is I really have no idea how long this engine has had issues, considering we dont drive it and its done alot of sitting-mainly just ran for 10-20 minute increments at idle to diagnose the previous cam/roller and exhaust leak and this issue, and a few quick test drives, so this couldve been an underlying issue that we just never ran the truck long enough to find, or a new one.

 

That video definitely sounds like low oil pressure making the phasers rattle. The chain guides can break and allow the chain to slap the timing cover too. Could have pieces of guide clogging the oil pump screen like Johnny said. I would put a mechanical oil pressure gauge where the sender is and test. Anything less than 20 psi at hot idle indicates a problem. Only way to know the cause is to tear into it until you find it.