There's an engine knock in my 04F-150 5.4 at cold start but it goes away after it warms up.You cant hear it until the idle kicks down and it seems like it is coming from down low in the engine. any thoughts?

 

It is probably cam phaser which is on the upper engine if you still have warranty have it fixed if not just turn up the radio as reportedly it will not hurt any thing except your ego.

 

From what I have read the cam phaser only knocks once the engine gets up to operating temp so because his is knocking when cold that should rule it out. I could be wrong though...

 

What oil filter are you using? Try a Motorcraft if you have not already. May be a dry startup issue. How long does the noise last?

 

Wow! Finally, I find another soul with the same issue. For the past 20k miles, I have been taking my truck to two different dealers (incl. the selling dealer) and have had no luck getting a resolution to my problem. For those “in-warranty” visits there were the usual list of excuses. They include wrong oil, no problem found, cam phasers, etc. Please note that the phasers were replaced twice because nobody listened to me say that it is a cold-start issue. The cam phasers only make noise after reaching temperature. The service manager and the lead mechanic both agree there is a noise in the engine but, since I have almost 50k miles on my '05 Lariat SCrew 5.4, they said to "keep an eye on it". If something catastrophic does occur, they have 3,000 dollars to play with but only to 75k miles. They are well aware that a new engine (long block) will be at least twice that amount of money. BTW, I informed them that the noise is documented well within the 36k mile warranty.

The next step? You guessed it...Ford Motor Company itself. Their Florida Marketing arm, after several calls, stepped in and extended my warranty to 80k miles. There is a 100 dollar deductible, of course. I said that was not good enough and I wanted the engine fixed. This is where the situation stands as of this date. I may accept a 100k mile transferable extended warranty but will not settle for anything less.

Has anyone reading this thread ever sued Ford and was successful? Meanwhile, stayed tuned for more posts.

John in Cape Canaveral, Florida
2005 F-150 Lariat SCrew
1946 1/2 Ton Pickup (Flathead)

 

This may be of interest!

 

Once again...thank you for the help. However, that particular TSB has nothing to do with our problem. The cam phasers are a problem AFTER reaching temperature. The noises in our engines (see this thread) are at startup and last only until reaching temperature. This is what was so hard to get the dealer to understand. BTW, I got a call from Ford this morning wondering if I was happy with the extended warranty (to 80K miles) in lieu of actually curing the noise. I said thank you but no because I have a $38K vehicle that is extremely noisy and, furthermore, I cannot morally sell at FMV (Fair Market Value). Additionally, if they do no want me to take it a level higher they have two options. They either FIX the problem or give me a transferrable (no fee) extension to 100k miles. The agent (phone rep) said she will call back but I don't hold much hope. Ford is going broke and my college education and life experience tells me that the regional folks have been tightly reeled in, moneywise. I wish the best for Ford but they have a tough road ahead and need to be doing everything humanly possible to keep owners like myself happy. I have owned probably 15 ford products (including a Jag) over the last 30 years but this might be the end of the line.

John

 

Please read the whole TSB they talk about cold noises also!