I have a 99 f-250 sd v-10 that at start-up has a lifter noise and while driving near shift point pings. Any ideas? Taken to 3 ford dealers and all say its normal. I have had oil flushes done, use motorcraft oil filters and fram and k&n. reg oil, dura blend, dura blend with lucas. Any info would be appreciated. New member to FTE.

 

Well, the 99's were prone to piston slap. That would be my guess as to the noise not lifters. Does the pinging noise at shift points go away once it is warmed up? If so then I would call that part of the piston slap not pinging. Mine did/does the same thing. If not, then it might be pinging. Try disconecting the battery to clear the computer and clean the MAF sensor in the intake. It could also be the inspection plate cover on the transmission bell housing vibrating.

 

try one up on the gas your run... like try 89 instead of 87... the noises will go away.. Try it!

 

I already tried the gas octanes with octane booster even. Doesnt go away when hot, gets worse when towing. Im hearing about spark plug blow out should I be concerned and what can I do to help prevent any major problems like that

 

Also should I look into putting royal purple in my truck. Its now at 82,000 miles. Been told its bad to use synthetic this high in the milage.

 

Yep, like everyone else has said, it's piston slap, mine does exactly the same thing until it's warm. I would have sworn it was some sort of lifter noise, but it isn't. I use Mobil 1 10W-30 and it seems to help quiet it a little more than Motorcraft 5W-20. The dealers telling you it's normal is true in a way, but also a giant hose-job. Ford knows these motors slap, just like they know they can blow sparkplugs out. To call it normal is kind of the 'corporate speak' that all the dealers were told to tell us V-10 owners. Too bad there's nothing we can do about it. But from what I've heard, the piston slap won't affect longevity. I hope that's true, we'll see. I'm at 93,000 miles and it's been knocking since I bot it 3 years ago with 60K. There never was a service order written up on my truck from the previous owner so even if something does go wrong I'm out. Let your rig warm up well before you drive it, use a synthetic oil, that's really the only way you can avoid hearing it, sorry. If your rig does it even when warm you may have something else going on, the majority of us with piston slap hear it only when the engines are cold. As far as synthetics and higher mileage, I have never heard anything against the combination of the two. I would think a higher mileage engine could only benefit from a better oil, in fact that's why I pay the extra $3 a quart, even though I've been told I'm wasting my money since dino oil works just as well for everyday driving.

 

I put Slik 50 in a van that had 150,000 on it thinking it woul be a good idea and the engine made it to 155,000 and locked up tite! I cant say for shure but the engine seemed to be in good working order before I did this! So I have been a little leery of the additives out there ever seence I think of the 76 F-250 I have with 250,00 plus miles on it and it has never had anything but good old Havolin 10w30 and I use it like I stole it for plowing snow and anything I need to haul thats Heavy or my scratch up my V-10 Any way I know thats a little off the topic but I had to let everybody know the experience I had with the additives (racket)
Take care and good luck with the noise thank God mine hasent started it yet at 75,000 miles .
JT

 

What about the spark plug blow out many people are talking about. Anything I can do to help prevent it?

 

You are in the rite place!!! Their are lots of people here with great info but that topic really worried me before I got my truck and I did some reading on this site and these guys put me at ease! From what I gather their are a few reasons why this happens, One being if the spark plug is loose and the engine sucks in air on the down stroke or anything else for that matter. Also many people talk about it being a factory defect or the routing of the heater hose above one of the spark plugs dripping and cousing the prob. But untill Ford admits they have a problem and explains why we will all be assumeing what I can tell you for shure is that when changing spark plugs get the correct ones for your truck the dealer said the platinum and torque them in to specs also use the diaelectric grease on the rubber coil boots I did not and as soon as I washed the truck I developed a MISS and the guys here talked me through it in no time . I tend to belive that the problem comes from the factory with possibly the threads not lineing up correctly or something along those lines. This is not a new problem it has been around seence their was regular Leaded gas the problem them was carbon build up on the plug and WHAMY plug blow out At least that is what I was told by I think a relly good mechanic. Anyway if you havent had the problem I wouldnt get too woried about it and drive that sucker like you stole it

Have fun and this site rocks
JasonTrucks

 

Your problem isn’t lifter noise. I doubt any gaps in the valve train would be audible since the Triton’s use OHC’s with roller rocker arms and have no “lifters”.

Those who say the best cure is a top quality synthetic motor oil are correct! My old V-10 (171,000, 1997) has Mobil One in it and the slap is hardly audible for only a few seconds after initial cold start-ups. I recommend Mobil One’s SUV formula. It’s great! Walmart sell’s it about as cheap as you can find it.

As for the Slik 50. FORGET IT! It’s a farce. They are being sued right and left. DuPont suspended sales of their PTFE to them years ago and denied any claims it is of value as a lubricant. It has, in many cases, ruined engines by clogging oil passages and oil filters.
Anecdotal endorsements are nothing more than a placebo affect. Tribologists have debunked their claims.

As for the pinging, causes other than lower than required octane can be due to the wrong type of sparkplugs, wrong heat range, or wrong brand even. Stick with Motorcraft’s Double platinum.

Hot spots in the combustion chamber are also a cause for pre-detonation. If your check engine light hasn’t come on, it’s not in the control of the ECU.

However, if your ECU has a knock sensor program and it’s not turned off, the pinging will seriously affect engine performance as the ECU attempts to compensate by retarding the spark. Try as it will, it can’t stop it because it’s not a problem under control by the ECU.

Combustion deposits cause the hotspots. Try Berryman’s Chem-Tool for the fuel tank. You may need to use it for a few tanks to totally clean it out. There may be others out there better, but I have not seen them. Someone else can point out those.

Forget fuel octane boosters, too. They have been proven to improve octane by less than one half of a point in the best of situations, and in some cases even reduced the octane. I have a report on this in another thread in a different forum.

 

After switching to Mobil 1 I have not heard a sound from my engine on startup...knocking sounds that is. It seems to have made the noise go away..even my wife noticed it, so it's not my imagination.

Check out the website for GM owners...they are really crying the blues...www.pistonslap.com.

Mike

 

Should I run a carbon deposit cleaner through the vacum lines on the intake? Just changed oil and added lucas to it and still makes noise. Next oil change mobile 1 it is. Thanks for the help.

 

My only thought on that would be running it through the intake via a vacuum hose might not be the best way to meter it. The possibility of larger carbon pieces clogging the cat-vertor are greater.

 

How would it be turned off, and how do you turn it back on if its off? My truck pings like a sob if I run anything but premium, at $1.85 a gal I need to get this fixed!!

 

87 is $2.09 here, 91 is $2.29 big difference here in AZ. What do the spark plugs get torqued down to?