Possible Piston Slap

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Mar 6, 2006 | 09:59 AM

snowman54

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Possible Piston Slap

Hey guys I havent been posting lately as I have been pretty busy with work and school. My 5.4 motor is still ticking and it sounds really bad when the motor is cold and the oil is not circulated? Is this a possible piston slap or are my lash adjusters making the noise? I pulled the valve cover off about 4 weeks ago and didnt see anything out of the ordinary. Any one have any ideas? Thanks

Mar 6, 2006 | 10:23 AM

Grsyhands

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Valve ticking and piston slap are completely different sounds. Unfortunately it would be difficult, for me anyway, to describe either in writing.

Most motors today don't really have "lash adjusters" per se, they use shim and bucket systems. These will occasionally tick when it's cold until the oil pressure comes up. They may also tick if the valves need adjusting.

How many miles on the motor? What are you using for oil and when was the last time you changed it?

Mar 6, 2006 | 10:26 AM

snowman54

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105,000 miles. I have run many types of oil and so far 15W40 Delo 400 makes quiets the ticking down. The thicker oil helps alot and I changed the oil about 1000 miles ago.

Mar 6, 2006 | 11:28 AM

Grsyhands

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Assuming it's valve ticking, does it stop at some point after the truck warms up? Oh, and you mentioned having the valve covers off, did you check the valve clearance when you had the covers off?

Mar 6, 2006 | 04:03 PM

snowman54

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Yea the tickin stops once the motor has run for a few minutes. And no I didnt not check the clearance. Im having my mechanic back home look at it sometime next week.

Mar 6, 2006 | 04:10 PM

92merc

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Personall, I wouldn't recommend that thick of an oil. 5-30 was norm on the roughly 2000 and earlier. I forget when exactly, but they switched to 5-20w. That thick of an oil will definetly make more noise at start up. Those oil passages aren't designed for it.

Synthetic or not, I wouldn't go with it, no matter where you live in the country. Weight first, synth/blend second.

Mar 6, 2006 | 06:35 PM

Grsyhands

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I agree with 92merc and was going to mention it in my last post just wanted to make sure the noise was going away after warm-up. You should go to a lighter weight oil. Don't recall what the spec is on the 5.4 motor but I've been using the 5w-20 semi-synthetic recommended for my 97 motor with no problems, even when it gets real cold.