I have a 2001 4.6 4X4 with 240,000 miles on her. Last Thursday I put some gas in it and this light ticking noise started. After getting some STP since I thought it might be bad gas, I took it to the mechanic a couple blocks from me and asked him to look at it. At which time he tells me it is just fine, I should expect noises and ticks with this many miles on my truck. Later that day, the ticking got louder and louder. I parked the truck in the driveway to wait to take it back to the mechanic on Monday. Get the truck in to be seen. Am told right away the code popping up is 1402, but he will have to look at it later and get back with me to let me know the problem. Get a call from the mechanic telling me my engine is shot, but he needs to take off the valve cover gasket to check the lifters.

Now, I realize I am not the most mechanically savvy person, but if you are completely sure the engine is shot-why would you have to take off the valve cover gasket to see lifters if the lifters are deeper in the engine? If the engine is shot, wouldn't that mean I would have no power when accelerating? Or is this mechanic just trying to take advantage of me because I am female and he knows I don't want to take the chance of causing any serious damage to my truck?

The only issue I had was this loud tick-tick-tick sound. No loss of power, no shaking, no knocking, no other weird strange sounds. Thanks for any replies!

 

http://engine-codes.com/p1402_ford.html



what kind of ticking noise? how loud is it? Easily heard inside the cab?


im wondering if you had a plug blow out?

 

You might have had a lifter go bad. Sounded like I threw a rod, but the engine was still running good with just a slight power loss. That might be why the mechanic wants to take the valve covers off. It happened to me on my 1999 F150 4.6L in the summer of 2003. Only had about 50000 miles on the truck when it happened. Engine wasn't even broken in yet.
I immediately drove the truck back home and parked in the driveway. I got my stethoscope and the noise was coming from the drivers side valve cover area. That is when I pulled the valve cover and found that one of the lifters had collapsed. Still have the truck with 253,000 miles. Engine still running strong.

 

A P1402 code is an EGR code, this won't cause ticking unless you have an exhaust leak, which can sound like ticking.

The 4.6 is an overhead cam engine, so the "lifters" are actually cam followers and accessible inside the cam (valve) cover.

Personally, I think you have a loose spark plug that's getting ready to blow out.

 

Thank you for the reply. The ticking noise sounds like a loud grandfather clock. It is faintly heard inside the cab. You have to turn the radio off and listen real hard in order to hear it. But outside the cab next to the engine, you can hear it very well. The ticking is coming from the passenger side -around where the oil is put in at. Not sure if that helps. Sorry to sound so much like a girl describing it. There is no leaking oil around the coil packs or any where else on the engine. I put a white sheet under the truck to see if there was any leaks happening and it is clear of any drips.

 

Thank you for the reply. I will definitely be finding a different mechanic to check this out.

 

Thank you for the reply. I am so grateful for the comments here. It will help me so much when I find a more trustworthy mechanic.

 

I think you'll find glc has given you the correct answer. The early 4.6s had short spark plug threads in the heads and they are notorious for coming loose and eventually blowing out of the head taking the threads with it. The fix is a Timecert but since yours hasn't blown yet it's likely that the right torque applied to the plug will fix it. Torque is 28lbs exactly. Make sure your mechanic torques the plug to this or expect issues.

 

I don't get any credit?

 

Here's $1.00 credit at Victorias Secret...........

 

Cracked exhaust manifold on passenger side? Would sound a lot like loud ticking inside the cab. And was a fairly common issue? Maybe

 

+1
I've had many cracked manifolds (EFI 5.0L amiright), and several of them sounded like what you are describing. Just saying, you may want to check that out. Btw, mif you don't trust the mechanic, you can take the truck someplace else.

 

Get a vacuum gauge (they're cheap! Only a few dollars.) Hook it up and see what it shows. If there's a bad lifter it will show up.

I THINK a vacuum gauge will still work the same on an EFI engine. Someone here should know for sure.