Do you happen to have a copy of the Ford document?
I have been fighting this battle for YEARS, and now my engine is just out of warranty, and the knock has become so bad that it does not go away even after warmed up.
I bought the truck new (97 F-150 4x Supercab w/5.4), paid good money for the Extended warranty (100,000 mile), and now I am being told by the dealer that just the engine (no labor) will be $3,800 dollars. Funny, they hear the noise now that warranty is up, but "no problem found" 5 separate times in to them during Warranty period. I started taking to them at less than 40k miles.
If you have a copy of the document, or at least a TSB number, I would be forever grateful.

Thanks!
Phantomace.

(Also the proud owner of a pair (yep 2) of 1961 "Roundie" Falcon Rancheros).

 

I also feel ther is a problem with chain tensioner slap on the 5.4 as in the 4.0 sohc you have 8 feet of timing chain going around and it takes a few seconds for the oil pressure to build to push tensioners out to the chain. I have a 2001 supercrew 5.4 with 60k miles on it and it rattles for 20 seconds on start up coming from frontend of engine but its the wifes grocery getter and if she doesnt complain I dont say anything. I have to deal with the wonderful customers at the dealership I work at and I also feel that sometimes you just dont get the same vehicle back from the shop after major repairs.

 

My solution is to never buy a ford again, I also have an expy 5.4 eddie bauer. I wont ever have another just because of the fear I have every morning when I hear that slap for the first 10 seconds. Who knows what is going on with that metal coliding in there. For now I will live with it until the truck dies or until I get totally sick of the thing.

 

I bought a 02 SD 5.4 in May of this year. Truck had 10k on it
and up until the weather turned colder did not rattle at start
up. It now has 22k and rattles for 10 seconds when cold.
Took it to the dealer and was told that it was normal engine
noise and wouldn't affect anything long term. Now, I've been
reading about people having this same problem since 98.
I thought by buying a truck with a engine that had been out
for over 5 years and had been on Ward's 10 best engines
that surely this problem had been resolved by now. Guess not.
I thought only chevys slapped, wrong again. I have noticed
that if I plug it in for a few hours the slap seems to be almost gone. Was wondering if anyone else has noticed this. I was
thinking if it was piston slap plugging it in wouldn't make much
of a difference, but maybe in another 20k it won't. It's to bad
other than this one problem I've really been enjoying this truck.

 

It's one of the many reasons I'll never buy a mod powered vehicle again. Too many design flaws. Then again I eyed a certain brand's 406 kicking out 490 hp and 520 lb. ft. on 87 octane and figure a big inch Windsor can do the same. No forced induction required.

 

Alot of you guys are quick to say you won't buy ford again. GM's do the same thing. They have big issues with piston slap, and have modified all of their procedures to say the noise is normal. At one point it wasn't just a trait of the motor, but there were actually machining tolerances that were out of whack. Even at that, they were reluctant to fix it. Futhermore, it never seemed to cause any reliability issues. However, the intake gaskets leaking are another story....

My point, all the manufacturers have problems of some sort. There are pattern failures, areas that are just likely to wear out or break in certain situations. Just because ball joints go bad doesn't mean the are a chronic problem with just Ford, ball joints go bad in many vehicles. It is much easier to replace a ball joint that a head gasket or an engine though.

Be reassured that if the noise actually goes away it won't hurt your motor. There are alot of things to get oiled when a motor, especially a SOCH chain drive so it takes a little time to get all around. Thats why some guys switch to synthetic and don't hear the noise. For the record, mine does it too. Thats one reason they rev up when you start them to get that oil moving!

For the guy who now has an engine noise out of warranty, take them all the copies of your repair orders that have no problem found. Make a case. I still have an issue with my truck where i hear a bearing noise in the drivetrain, but no one will find it. Makes me wonder, because I was getting these bumps in my tailgate and couldn't figure out why. They said the guy took the panel off and looked and couldn't find anything. Later, I did the same and when I took my tailgate bedliner panel off you could see it was dented from something sliding into it.

 

I buy into no excuses for these kind of problems. Modern technology and evolution means improvement to me. The pistons rattling around will cause damage in the long term. As well as embarassment and oil consumption in some cases. Does it take a rocket scientist or a custom shop to build an engine right? I'm tired of paying for "new and improved" that doesn't seem to be.

 

I am going to try "wmcnally's" oil change idea today. Mobile 1 (5w-30) and Motorcraft filter. I am also going to add some Lucas Oil Treatment. I bought my truck used and it does not have a warranty at 52,000 miles. I commute to work 90 miles round trip. The warranties I have seen don't last long enough for the money. I will probably have 100,000 miles on it by this time next year.

I agree that there is no excuse for this, but I also know first hand that other manufacturers have their problems. I guess everyone just wants to protect and enjoy their investment! Unless my Fords cause serious injury to me or my family due to design flaws, I won't change. I usually buy used vehicles due to price. I drove many different trucks before buying. The Ford F series is #1 in my book!

 

Can we explain why some cars have all their original lightbulbs after 200k miles, and others with half the miles have blown them all at some point? Defective bulbs eh?

There is something to be said about having it done at the factory. As much as I would like mine to be perfectly quiet and idle at 600rpm after I release the key, thats just not how it is. I also don't care to replace the motor and disturb the entire engine compartment unless it really needs to be done because of emminent failure. There are many many vehicles that make this noise that have made it a very long time. There are some that do use oil. Can you convince me that the noise is the cause, no.

 

Did the oil change. I used 5w30 Valveline MaxLife oil, the recommended Motorcraft filter and a 32 ounce bottle of Lucas Oil Treatment. Before the oil change the engine was tapping as usual. The engine was not warm at all. After the change, I started it up, and NO TAPPING! I will update everyone on any change. i.e. starts tapping again, or lessens.

 

For your info...

After sitting for about 12 hours and an outside temp of 48 degrees, there was no tapping, rattle, or knock with the Lucas product added during the oil change. Check out this website for product info....

www.lucasoil.com

 

For all the problems I have had with my 4.6 I have never had this one. If it is EXTREMELY cold (less the 20 F) I might get a little chatter for a few seconds at start up. Is this problem limited to the 5.4 only? I have heard the piston slap excuse/problem in the V10s but have yet to actually hear one do it.

Given the modern design and low tolerances of these engines only getting 100K to 150K with normal maintenance is hardly acceptable. My family has been getting that kind of mileage from everything from 330 truck engines to 200 I6 engines in 60s Mustangs. I would think they would be trying to get at least 200K from a modular before even burning a quart of oil between changes. I know thats expecting a lot but Ford isn't shy about asking for a lot of money for one either.

 

I found this thread very interesting. I wanted to put my two cents in.

The reason a 5.4 will have more piston slap than a 4.6 is the rod is much longer. A 4.6 and 5.4 have the same bore, the 5.4 just has a longer stroke. This is also why the piston skirt is short (it would hit the rod if it were longer).

I just rebuilt my 5.4 with an all forged piston kit and the noise is worse - due to the forged piston tollerances and design.

I am NOT worried about the durrability, it is normal - although it can be a scary sound.

For those that said the wouldn't buy another 5.4 powered truck for durability problems - all I can say is WTF? People are taking these blocks and making 1,500 HP on the STOCK BLOCK AND CRANK. Sure they use aftermarket pistons and rods but they use FACTORY HEADS!

Also, the chain noise referred to in a couple posts is also a valid source of the same noise although usually goes away faster than the piston skirt slap. As soon as oil pressure is up the chain tensioners will tighten up.

If the rest of you think the noise is bad now come up to Minnesota this winter and let your truck sit outside all night in sub-zero weather. Of course my friends brand new BMW X5 does the exact same thing, only worse!

 

Piston slap = metal to metal contact which can't be good. Hammer and anvil effect.

1500 hp is live fast and die very young territory. Not really valid compared to a mass production vehicle where cost is a major factor.

 

I don't agree. Hammer and Anvil is something that is happening every day in your engine - every time your valves close they "hammer" into the seat (it is NOT a gentle thing). I agree that it would be better if it didn't exist however I do not agree that it is something you should be concerned about to the point of replacing an engine because it exists.

I also disagree with your assessment of how long a 1,500 hp engine will last. I am talking about the hard parts (crank, pistons, rods, etc.). Besides, my point is the STOCK BLOCK and STOCK CRANK are capable of taking the abuse of 1,500 HP with WORSE piston skirt slap than you will EVER see in daily use.

My point is I think everyone is way too worried about a little noise. The only way to get rid of the noise is to run a very tight bore clearance (at or under .002). At those clearances you have other things you need to worry about like thermal expansion. If you engine is too tight and you heat a piston for some reason (say a bad injector and one cylinder is running lean) it could lock up in the bore and destroy the whole engine where a looser clearance like .003 or .0035 would not. With the larger clearance you will get more piston noise. It is all a set of compromises.