So I am towing with my 05 sc 5.4 about a 7500 pound load to vegas last week. I am pulling one of the huge grades where I was in 2nd gear doing 60 mph for about 20 minutes straight. We stopped at the top of the hill to use the bathroom when I smelled something burning. I got under my truck and both cats were glowing bright red almost purple. I shut the truck down, let it cool, and got back on the road. As soon as I was pulling onto the freeway and put the truck under a load my truck started making a rattling noise like pennies in a metal can. It was very apparent under a load or at higher rpm. I figured I must have broke the honeycomb in the cats. I drove the truck home and took it to the dealership. They are telling me its the torque converter and want to replace it. Its under warranty so I said what the hell, I dont think its a TC but go ahead, replace it. After reading up it seems a lot of you guys have had this problem but it was a piece in the hub that was causing it. What do you all think?

 

your description sounds exactly like a bad cat...a bad TC doesn't make sounds...well, it can, but there will be an accompaning physical sensation


the IWE rattle sounds like a poker card in bike spokes...maybe slightly louder. It only goes away when the 4x4 is engaged or when the vacuum is drawn again.

 

Yeah i believe its CAT that inside broken into pieces....Happened to me when i had an old car in past...

Try shake the CAT or light hammer (rubber) to bang it to see if you can hear it when it moves.

YOMAN!

 

Thanks guys. I pretty much thought cat too. For some reason my dealer is ignoring y whole story thinking I know nothing about cars and saying it cant be the cat because the sounds is metalic. If something was that loud from the tc, you would think I would feel a vibration or some kind of change in the way it drives.

 

I would think it's the Cats too. They should at least take the cats off and inspect them before going through the trouble of replacing a TC just because they "THINK" that's the problem. Busted up CATS can make a metalic sound...they are inside a METAL case. If I were you I think I would take my truck back from them and go to a different dealer.

 

I had a problem with the Cats on my work vehicle, a CVPI, making the same noise you stated, tech put it on the lift & took a rubber hammer to the Cats. They has allot od loose metal inside of them makin the noise! Car went back to FORD for warranty work!........I doubt its your torque converter!.......

 

Well they took off the torque converter today and saw burn scores on it apparently. They also dropped the tranny pan and found metalic shavings. A dude came out from my warranty company and said it needed a new tc and new clutch packs in the tranny. My warranty company called at the end of the day and said they refuse to cover it due to the 33 inch tires. They believe that caused the problem. All I can do is raise some hell tomorrow about it so that is what I intend to do. This sucks....

 

OEM tires are 32" tall (275x65x18) on a FX4...they have a circumference of 100.7" and a radius of 16.03"

33" tires have a circumference of 103.9" and a radius of 16.54"


the warranty company is full of crap. I suggest you point out the OEM FX4 is a 32" tire and ask how a 1" of diffence caused a failure


btw, did you mention you were towing?

 

Naw I didnt mention any of that. Even if it was a prob I was towing well under the max load of an f150. The warranty company did say something about the speedo being off too, and I havent yet talked to them. The speedo wasnt inaccurate because I corrected with my edge. I am wondering if I should tell them that as well. But I definitely plan to point out the tire sizes. And I will politely ask them to Prove the tires caused the damage. If that fails I will fall back on the dealership that sold me the warranty. I am sure they could do even more than I could. Hopefully this will all work out.

 

We will pray for you!....

 

Show them the moss something act that states that they have to prove that tires caused it. If they stonewall you, call a lawyer.

 

I had that exact same situation. I though it was the TC but they said it was the cat. Replaced the cats under warrenty and never had another problem with them. The noise would only show up with a load on the transmission. I was also pulling a trailer of about the same weight up a hill when it happened.

FYI I have 33" tires and they covered it under warrenty.