i bought my 04 lariat 5.4 3v about a year ago and its had a problem since i drove it off the car lot. the problem is when i start the truck for about 20 seconds it sound just like a diesal like somthings knocking but after the first 10 to 20 seconds its gos away and sounds and runs nomal plenty of power no skipps no other knocks just the injectors being abit on the load side. when i got the truck i thought it was th starter hanging up but its been replaced with a brand new one and no change. i live in upstate new york and its alittle on the cold side in the winter and the noise is defiantly worse the colder it is. i cant figure out whats wrong with it any ideas would be helpful just woundering if someone else has had the same problem and what they did to fix it. i'v heard from ppl its the timing chain, the overhead cams. oh and the truck has 126,000 miles on it. thanks for the help
~sidewinder~

 

Well you said it yourself loud injectors is one scenario, another are the cam phasers which are a high pitch sound when you first start up while cold. Mine does this on occasion and I only have 47k on mine. There are a couple write ups about this. Just keep the recommended 5w20 oil and MC filter and you'll have no problems. Hope this helps, others will chime in shortly.

 

Cam phasors. My 2004 ticks loud too, I've had multiple people ask me if I have a powerstroke conversion.

 

if it gets real bad its phasers. my truck sounds like a diesel at startup when cold outside, but goes away in about 20 seconds and purrs like a kitten.

go on youtube and watch cam phaser f150 videos, THEY have bad cam phasers.

 

I got a 04 screw with the 3v....had it in the dealers shop about 3 months after i bought it in 2009 replaced the phasers and guess what still does it at start up....had my buddy redo the phasers at the ONLY shop i normally let touch it same thing....apparently its just the nature of the beast....my dad just bought on 04 screw and same thing so as far as that goes mine has 140k on it and thats really been the only thing its been in the shop for....just keep the oil in it, GOOD OIL AND FILTER you will be just fine

 

thank you for the quick replies and i agree the cam phaser is one of the problems i have. my old 2000 f150 with the 5.4 had the same tick when idleing and both turcks make a sound just like the you tube videos, but the start up noise is completly diffrent in my new truck then the 6 or so videos i watched. my co-worker has a 2003 dodge with a commins and a 4" to 5" exhaust and its loud but the noise my 5.4 makes on strat up is louder than his truck and its a really deep and throughty clanking noise then goes away

 

Are you running 5w20? the suggested MC oil filter? When I got my 04 it make a grinding noise on startup when it was cold. Had the oil change to the 5w20 ( had 5w30 in it) and the oil filter changed and it hasn't made the noise since. I believe it's where the oil leaks onto the timing chain and causes it to make that noise but I could be wrong and if so someone will chime in on it. But the 5w20 oil change fixed that problem for me.

 

My 04 called for 5w20 I have used nothing but along with the motorcraft FL-820s filter. Same noises you describe so far no issues. I baught it used 3 years ago and have ran it from 26,000 miles to the 96,000 I have on her now. "i guess its just the nature of the beast"

 

If you bought it used, the previous owner may have been using Fram oil filters and the damage is already done.........

 

Hahaha wow I was never going to say anything because I thought people would not believe me but I have had many people ask me if my 150 was diesel too! Hey man, almost every f150 I ever encountered does this. However mine is really bad, everytime I idle it sounds just like a diesel. I'm not worried about it though, truck runs fine no problems and I do run synthetic 5w20

 

My injectors are loud, and so are most of the trucks here.
Sounds like a diesel at idle.
its not anything major and its not my Cam phaser.

Just the injectors making racket.

I kind of like it.

 

have you looked at the exhaust manifolds to see if there is a broken stud, if so it will be loud when cold and then when it warms up and the gasket expands it wont be as noticeable? you didnt mention if its all the time or just when cold.

 

2000 F150 5.4's don't have cam phasers.

 

Mine sounded like a diesel really badly. Compared to my uncles 05 it was really bad. I just replaced my phasers a few weeks ago and my passenger side phaser actually fell apart when I removed it. I still got a ticking but at least I don't sound like a power stroke.

 

whats wrong with that cus ive been using them and i usualy run 10w-30