I was hoping someone could describe to me what the knocking/tapping sound is when I start her up. I've read a few other posts reguarding this issue and the sound i hear seems to last longer than most. It does go away after being warmed up completely. Its got 142k and a buddy told me the bearings are just worn...is that correct???? should i be concerned??

thanks

 

It could be your rods. Ford, like the others went to a snap rod. The rods are made as one piece, then scored. After being scored, they are snapped into. This leaves a uneven pattern that causes the rods to wear in a egg shaped pattern. So a egg shaped pattern on a round crank starts to make noise. I have seen this a lot on the 4.2s .

 

thank you very much for the response! is this somthing i should get looked at and is it gonna continue to give me trouble?? a friend suggested using 20w50 the next time i change my oil but i'm not sure....today was a little warmer and the sound wasn't as bad and didn't last quite as long so maybe its just the weather takin affect on a worn vehichle?

 

I would budget for a new motor in the future. Shop around for a crate motor and don't overlook Ford/Motorcraft.

 

That is weird, i thought cracked rods were preferred as a better mate when reassembled. I know the new Neon SRT motors use cracked rods and this is in a high performance engine.