Hello all! Let me start by saying I don't know a thing about trucks... But you all seem to know quite a bit, so I am here to ask about an issue my truck is having. When I drive it for a period of time it starts to sound like a deisel when I idle or start to slow down. After some research I figured it was the cam phasers, which was confirmed by the mechanic I took it to. They suggest a new engine. They said I should take it to a dealership to do the cam phaser replacement as that would be cheaper than if they did it. I don't know about any of that, but I was hoping someone here might have better insight. I'm also curious to know what the consequences are if I don't do anything. Will my truck explode or will I just be an annoyance at the drive thru? Thanks for any insight into my issue!
-Mrs Bryant

 

Same thing happened to my '04 in July. Took it to my trusted mechanic and he said the timing chain had jumped a tooth and was throwing everything off. He said I could just replace the chain and tensioners, but recommended the cams as well. I took it to the local Ford dealership here and they told me the motor needed replaced there was no way around it. Of course I went with my mechanic, and had them replace everything. It cost me $2,475.31 and the truck runs fantastic now. Before having all the work done I asked how long I could go before it needed to be done (I was heading out of town for work) and he said he wouldn't let it go more than a week. I'm not sure what would happen if you let it go, I was too scared to try haha

 

If you're ticking at idle that's not normal. The "normal" tick is only between 900-1100ish rpm quiet and smooth at idle and above 1200rpm. Just don't do the phasers. You need replace the whole timing set and use only Ford phasers. Once you put the work into these 3v engines there great.

There is years of reading material all over the net on this. Just search 👍