oil for ford F150 vct noise? help?

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First off let me say what a great site this! there so much info here, that i have less understanding about oil then what i thought i had.
my question is about the oil for my 04 f150 with the 5.4 mod
here is a little back ground (what little i know) on these motors, they have Variable cam timing,vct. now some of them at idle will tick or knock like a diesel when warmed up. Ford use to change the cam phasers but has long since stop and proclaimed the noise is normal. from what i can fined some of these trucks make the noise, some don't, some have made this knocking noise forever with out a problem and some have lost the cams some. Ford biggest claim for this is not running mc filters
In april i pickup one of the trucks, i did not hear the noise when i bought it, and took it back as soon as i heard it.
the dealer had the shop listen to it and said that it normal and suggested running a engine flush at the next oil change as this may help quiet down the noise down. This noise at idle is so annoying that with only 1500 miles on the oil i put some seafoam in the oil and changed it with 1800 miles. i put in mobile 1 5-20 (recommended wt) and mc filter(reommended filter). The old oil did get dirt after the seafoam was added but not very. i look down the oil fill afterward and everything was bright not even any varish to be seen.

Now does any one have suggestion on what i run for oil, oil wt,or additive that can quiet it down. The truck runs fine from what i can tell. i can replace the cam phasers at the tune of around $2k. the truck has 115k miles i only but 8-10k miles a year. it get around 500 miles or less a year towing i will change oil in the fall and spring around 5k. i always had good luck with mobile 1 in the past (most of my cars/trucks make it well over 200k miles and i retire them for other then motor reasons).
sorry so long really what to give as much info as possible. thank for any help
 
Try changing the VCT solenoid first. These cost about $113 each and you can do it yourself. If you unplug the VCT solenoids and the sound goes away, there is a very good chance you can solve your problem by replacing these.
 
Originally Posted By: axman
thanks for the trouble shooting tip i try that tomorrow night after work


I've done this several times and only once I triggered a "check engine" light. If this happens, you can reset by disconnecting then reconnecting one of the battery terminals. Let us know how it goes....
 
The mustangs of the same year had the same issue in the 4.6 v8, and the troubleshooting suggested by the poster above is identical.

Now, in the case of the stang, a TSB was later issued by Ford stating that 10w40 could be used to quiet the ticking if it was still present even with the VCT disconnected.

Don't know if a similar TSB was ever issued for the 5.4, but if it were mine I'd be tempted to try some M1 0w40.

And +1 on the Motorcraft filters.
 
Sorry for not getting back last night, but it was raining and i am a true shade tree mechanic. Well i warmed up the truck tonight and disconnected the vct solenoids and the knock/ tick was still there. There was a change in tone of the engine, but it keep ticking right along
it was not the tick of the injector i listen to the engine while it warmed up and made a note of it .this nick/ knock is a lot louder and it still sound like a diesel as i slowly rev it passed 1200-1300 rpm. next i got out my bf screw drive and listen and it seem to be coming from the front of the passenger side valve cover. But to just listen, it sound like more to the rear of the same side, but with the hood closed i can hear it best in both front wheel wells.
One more not my hearing is not as good as it used to be 35+ years in the industrial world has taken it toll and i can still differently hear this.
Any idea's ? thoughts ? Help!!


what do you think?
 
If it's the VCT tick, Ford says it's normal(this does apply to newer than '04 though)... Their fix to stop the noise is switch to 10W-40 oil...

dealerr.jpg
 
that say 09-10 f150 with 5.4 my truck is a 04. has here been any changes to the engine between these years? been thinking 5-30 mobile 1 hm, if i understand right, it on the hi end of the wt chart has additives to clean and help the seals and more zinc. but before i jump to this i'm hoping to here what others think
 
Here in South Florida, I go straight for M1, 10W-30 in my Fords. I have not tried anything heavier. However, the 10W-30 provides better UOA results.

So much for the "thick oil will ruin your engine" crowd. Ford now suggests 10W-40 for engines that "knock".

I've been suggesting the same thing for years now.
 
Originally Posted By: axman
that say 09-10 f150 with 5.4 my truck is a 04. has here been any changes to the engine between these years? been thinking 5-30 mobile 1 hm, if i understand right, it on the hi end of the wt chart has additives to clean and help the seals and more zinc. but before i jump to this i'm hoping to here what others think


There was a revision to the VCT phasers I believe in '05. The first generation had issues with the locking pin in the phaser (made of plastic). Since disconnecting the solenoids did not make the noise go away, chances are it is the VCT phaser. The TSB in the previous post is for slight "tip in" acceleration. The noise referenced in that TSB is far different from the diesel knocking you are hearing. If it is the locking pin mechanism, a higher viscosity oil will not resolve the issue. Given that the engine is clean internally, I bet the locking pin is the problem. Does it make the noise when cold (cold start)? Or only after warm-up?
 
Originally Posted By: axman
after warmed up


Without being there, it sounds like the phaser locking pin. I have seen where someone has actually repaired the pins for about $10. Here is a link to Ford's diagnosis of VCT phaser noises.

copy and past the following in url of brower:

"mms://multimedia.ford.com/seopts/Tech22_250k.wmv"

You might want to advance the video to about the 9 minute mark.
 
so what i'm understanding it time to pull the phaser off and put a metal dowl pin in or replace the phaser.
let say i let go like ford said to, will it damage anything?! at less will i try to figure out my next step, take it in for a second opinion, gather money and have it done. review the procedure, review my skills do it my shelf (shade tree style), see if i can still get some kind of extend warranties or ditch the truck
 
Originally Posted By: axman
so what i'm understanding it time to pull the phaser off and put a metal dowl pin in or replace the phaser.
let say i let go like ford said to, will it damage anything?! at less will i try to figure out my next step, take it in for a second opinion, gather money and have it done. review the procedure, review my skills do it my shelf (shade tree style), see if i can still get some kind of extend warranties or ditch the truck


It's a tough choice to make. Ford has claimed that it is not a durability issue. I've never seen an instance where it caused problems; more of an annoyance. By the way, other brands with VCT type systems are known to produce this kind of noise (BMW - VANOS, GM, Toyota). You can see these other brands making the same kind of noise on YouTube. Anyway, the following link is a diy documentation with pictures by someone who replaced their cam phasers. You can judge for yourself the skill/time required.

DIY Cam Phaser Replacement
 
My 04 with the 5.4 sounds like it has a 6.0 diesel. Has for the last 30k miles. I plan on driving it that way. If i were to sell it i would fix it first but no plans of selling it. I work at a dealer and I have seen the phasers fail on two trucks an 04 with 150k miles and an 05 with 168k. The 04 had been ticking since 11k and was ran hard its whole life(owner is a friend of mine). The 05 was badly sludged up on tear down. I really don't think anything short of replacing the phaser will make the noise go away (if you have the same condition as my truck does). I cannot get the ssm posted above to pull up on the pts website so maybe ford has repealed it, not sure about that though.
 
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thanks for the info, mine sounds like a 6.0 too. right now i think i'll just drive it still not sure what my next move i'll be but that.
 
Try Mobil 1 AFE 0w30 but make sure it's the API SN. A lot of people are noticing that it really helps reduce/eliminate certain engine noises. The Honda was quietest on AFE 0w20 and 0w30 over all other oils. SN only though.
 
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