Ford F-150 5.0 Coyote Tick and Oil Type

[ebmon1]

I have a 2016 F-150 2nd Generation 5.0 Coyote with 68k miles.

I've regularly changed the oil between 4-5k with Motorcraft 5w20 Synthetic Blend, per the Form manual. Never an issue and the engine has always sounded good and fairly quiet.

At 65k miles, I started to hear a flutter or a tick in the engine compartment.

One dealer said the noise was normal. It was a new noise for my truck, so to me I don't consider a new noise normal.

Another dealer said it was the water pump and tensioner pulleys and replaced both, and both belts. .

Checked manifold for leak. All good.

Did compression test. All good.

Not Cam Phaser, as I know what that sounds like and neither Dealer thought it was that, either. Plus that's typical (moreso) on Ecoboost models.

The noise is still there. I've read a TON about the Coyote tick and think that's what I have.

I recently changed the oil to 5w30. I've read that 3rd Gen Coyote's are now recommended 5w30, and Ford has acknowledged the tick but says (of course) it's normal. Maybe it is normal, but I never used to have a 'tick.' The 5w30 has quieted it a little bit, but it's still there. Just on idle. Never gets louder on acceleration or otherwise. Also, sometimes it 'goes way' after driving for a while, but sometimes it's still there after I park / get out and listen to engine.

I'm considering either A) adding in LiquiMoly Certec, or B) going to 5w40 (Rotella T6, Castrol, or Mobil 1). I've read stories of folks trying those options, with success.

Wondering if anyone has any similar experiences and perspectives on what worked to solve their 'tick' if they've had it.

Thank you.

 

[JavierH19]

It's an nhtsa recognized issue. I've heard of Valvoline advanced or ep 5w-30 being an oil that has been able to cure the tick in some but not all ticking hemi and coyote's.

 

[hemioiler]

Guys on the ram forums with hemi tick swear by redline 5w-30.

I use HPL and my engine is so nice and smooth and quiet I won't go with anything else unless they stop selling it to me. It was noisy on dealer oil, I wouldn't say it had a "tick" but it definitely had a noisy upper end which is gone now.

 

[BISCUT]

The 5.0 was never meant to be a quiet engine. Can you post a video of your ticking sound? Much easier to help you if we can hear it. I'm running Mobil 1 5-30 w/ Fram Ultra in my 15 Lariat 5.0 w/ excellent results so far.

 

[ebmon1]

The 5.0 was never meant to be a quiet engine. Can you post a video of your ticking sound? Much easier to help you if we can hear it. I'm running Mobil 1 5-30 w/ Fram Ultra in my 15 Lariat 5.0 w/ excellent results so far.

The 5.0 was never meant to be a quiet engine. Can you post a video of your ticking sound? Much easier to help you if we can hear it. I'm running Mobil 1 5-30 w/ Fram Ultra in my 15 Lariat 5.0 w/ excellent results so far.

Thanks. Yeah, I know it's not a super quiet one. But the 'noise' is new for me, so something must've changed. I've seen some guys going to 5w40 Rotella T6 which is typically meant for Diesel. I know it is fine for both gas and diesel, but that's wild to me. I'll try and get a video from first thing in the morning, tomorrow, and upload. Might have to be a link to google cloud as the vids are typically big. Thanks for your reply.

 

[wtd]

I have a 2016 F-150 2nd Generation 5.0 Coyote with 68k miles.

I've regularly changed the oil between 4-5k with Motorcraft 5w20 Synthetic Blend, per the Form manual. Never an issue and the engine has always sounded good and fairly quiet.

At 65k miles, I started to hear a flutter or a tick in the engine compartment.

One dealer said the noise was normal. It was a new noise for my truck, so to me I don't consider a new noise normal.

Another dealer said it was the water pump and tensioner pulleys and replaced both, and both belts. .

Checked manifold for leak. All good.

Did compression test. All good.

Not Cam Phaser, as I know what that sounds like and neither Dealer thought it was that, either. Plus that's typical (moreso) on Ecoboost models.

The noise is still there. I've read a TON about the Coyote tick and think that's what I have.

I recently changed the oil to 5w30. I've read that 3rd Gen Coyote's are now recommended 5w30, and Ford has acknowledged the tick but says (of course) it's normal. Maybe it is normal, but I never used to have a 'tick.' The 5w30 has quieted it a little bit, but it's still there. Just on idle. Never gets louder on acceleration or otherwise. Also, sometimes it 'goes way' after driving for a while, but sometimes it's still there after I park / get out and listen to engine.

I'm considering either A) adding in LiquiMoly Certec, or B) going to 5w40 (Rotella T6, Castrol, or Mobil 1). I've read stories of folks trying those options, with success.

Wondering if anyone has any similar experiences and perspectives on what worked to solve their 'tick' if they've had it.

Thank you.

My fiancé owns a 2017 F150 with the 5.0L and the only time hers has gotten any type of tick is sometimes after an oil change but it goes away. One time hers did tick for a couple of minutes before going away. She only has about 53,000 miles on hers.

I also use Motorcraft 5W-20 semi-synthetic blend in hers changed every 5,000 miles.

I also have done a lot of research on the 5.0L Coyote tick ever since I bought my 2014 Mustang GT new and that was a big topic on a lot of the Mustang forums. So far my car is still quiet using the same oil and change interval as her truck.

I have been thinking of changing both of these vehicles to 5W-30 but have been unsure about doing so. Have you noticed any difference in engine responsiveness or mileage in going to the slightly thicker oil?

 

[hemioiler]

My fiancé owns a 2017 F150 with the 5.0L and the only time hers has gotten any type of tick is sometimes after an oil change but it goes away. One time hers did tick for a couple of minutes before going away. She only has about 53,000 miles on hers.

I also use Motorcraft 5W-20 semi-synthetic blend in hers changed every 5,000 miles.

I also have done a lot of research on the 5.0L Coyote tick ever since I bought my 2014 Mustang GT new and that was a big topic on a lot of the Mustang forums. So far my car is still quiet using the same oil and change interval as her truck.

I have been thinking of changing both of these vehicles to 5W-30 but have been unsure about doing so. Have you noticed any difference in engine responsiveness or mileage in going to the slightly thicker oil?

A 30 weight isn't always thicker than a 20 weight. The thickness depends on the temperature. So a 30 weight at 100C is going to be thinner than a 20 weight at 20C. If you can't tell the difference in responsiveness as your car warms up from ambient temps of a spring day, to operating temps, then you won't notice the difference switching to a 30 weight either.

 

[379KITTY]

Not a 5.0 Coyote, but an otherwise "known to be noisy" 5.4 3V with 205K in a Roush F-150. I've run 5w-20, 5w-30, 5w-40, 15w-40 and 15w-50. It is quietest and sounds happiest on the synthetic 15w-50. So that's what it gets. Couldn't tell a lick of difference in performance either.

 

[wtd]

A 30 weight isn't always thicker than a 20 weight. The thickness depends on the temperature. So a 30 weight at 100C is going to be thinner than a 20 weight at 20C. If you can't tell the difference in responsiveness as your car warms up from ambient temps of a spring day, to operating temps, then you won't notice the difference switching to a 30 weight either.

Thanks. I'm just concerned with timing component longevity on both of these vehicles and I'm not sure 5W-20 protects them as well as a 5W-30 would.
As far as engine responsiveness with the different oil weights, I asked that question because over the years I have seen some posts on various Mustang forums where people claim that their car feels more sluggish after switching to a 5W-30 but obviously they are not doing any scientific tests to verify that.

 

[hemioiler]

over the years I have seen some posts on various Mustang forums where people claim that their car feels more sluggish after switching to a 5W-30 but obviously they are not doing any scientific tests to verify that.

Exactly, it's just confirmation bias. They expect/want to feel a difference so their perception tells them just that.

We all suffer from this to some extent, if you're into high end audio you should read the forums there its pretty sad what people can convince themselves of (speaker cable lifters, $500 power cords, lol).

 

[JustTrynaHelp]

Had a 2023 5.0.

Ran a -40 and it was much smoother and quieter than -30 or -20 grades.

(Amsoil SS 0w40)

 

[JustTrynaHelp]

Had a 2023 5.0.

Ran a -40 and it was much smoother and quieter than -30 or -20 grades.

(Amsoil SS 0w40)

Sorry, past edit time.

2013