Ok well I was coming back from lunch on my way home and all of a sudden my truck starts making this really loud knocking noise. so I hurry and find a place to pull over and shut it off. I pop the hood and get out expecting to find oil all over the ground but none open the hood, all looks find, check the oil, good, still holds good oil pressure. so I start it back up and try to limp it back home well the noise just sounds awful so I pulled it off in a parking lot and walked home. I'm gonna try and tow it home with my jeep.

I think its one or both of the cam phasers. What do you guys think? The thing will run, has a little rough idle but always has had the rough 4.6L ford rough idle, but just makes the loud knocking noise. and I have noticed a little knocking noise here and there that sounds like what some say a bad phaser sounds like..but put it off because I can't afford to fix it at the moment.

specs, 2004 f-150 4.6L, auto, 4x4, with a 162,000 on the clock. Won't it cost close to 500 bucks to have a dealer fix this?

 

Well, it ain't phasers because a 4.6L 2V does not have any.

Any CEL / codes?

Maintenance history? Any recent stuff done?

MGD

 

I'm not sure about the person that had it before me, but I always run factory ford stuff on it when it needs maintenance, motorcraft oil, etc.

No codes, at least nothing to trigger a light, but the thing really isn't driveable to go to auto zone to have them run a scan tool on it..

great now I'm worried this thing is gonna need a new motor..

 

on another note, the plugs haven't been changed in who knows how long, and it almost sounds like a backfire knock kinda deal...could it be the plugs are bad?

 

You can go to AZ and buy a basic code reading tool for $30-$50.....
Other than that knocking noises can mean a lot of things but first dtc codes will get going in the right direction towards diagnosis.

 

Well got it home, and poped the hood. I blew a spark plug out...gonna mess with it tommrrow when its light out..

 

One word.

Timesert

 

"Rough 4.6L idle"? Mine idles very smooth. Perhaps the failed spark plug was an issue for a long time in your engine. Hopefully, with new plugs your engine will be as smooth as mine always has been.

My old 4.9L I6 #5 plug liked to loosen on it's own sometimes and would cause a rough idle.