I hate to read about all the cam phaser problems in here.

My experience, if it helps anyone:

I went through this a few months back with my "new to me" 2006 with ~70k on the odo.

Problem as I described it to the dealer:
When engine is hot it would sometimes idle rough as if a spark plug (or 3) was fouled.
After a couple weeks and a couple visits they determined there was no problem. The last shop visit was a full week long and I was livid. I drove it around town for 1/2 hour and sure enough... the problem started. I babied it to the dealer so the problem would not "clear up". Tech determined it was a bad cam phaser on one side. 2 more weeks in the shop and they replaced both phasers.

The problem surfaced again the day after I got it back (first chance I had to drive it more than 1/2 hour). This time though, the "check engine" light came on. I called it in, to see if they wanted me to have it towed in, and the service tech said it should be fine and I should drive it in at my earliest convenience.
1 more full week in their shop and I get a call that it was low oil pressure causing the problem now (obviously low oil pressure causing the INITIAL problem too IMHO). The dealer now had to put a new engine in it. Over 3 weeks later and I finally got my truck back.

Having gone through this I learned that the cam phasers work off oil pressure, when the pressure is low they do not operate correctly. This makes me wonder if perhaps the recommended oil is perhaps too thin thus causing some of the failed cam phasers?

After a little reading on this site here are the most important things I've discovered about these mid to late 2k F150's:
- Cam phaser problems are annoying but can be ignored, probably forever. (not in my case though as the root problem was low oil pressure)
- Do not EVER put a fram filter on a modular ford V8
- Have your plugs changed every 50k to avoid broken plugs in your heads.

Trevshep403,
I would call Ford directly and take your case to them. Or perhaps call other dealers. The dealership I was working with (where I bought my Ford) seems to not LIKE doing warranty work as they denied me on several problems that were clearly warranty work. I had to be a hard *** in order to get them to make the warranty repairs I was asking for.
Even without records, so long as your engine does not have "sludge" built up I'd say you're in the right. I do know that FoMoCo is strict on doing warranty engine replacements, the dealer that did mine had to submit many pictures and engine specs over the course of a couple weeks (or that's what they told me anyhow!) before ford would OK the new engine.

 

I recently took my 2009 in for a "tick" on the right side of the engine. When I went to pick up the truck, I was told the noise was coming from the cam phaser and that while the noise is annoying, it is an "acceptable engine noise" and that Ford would not cover the repair. So, I now have a $45,000 truck (plus a useless extended warranty) that I will never be able to sell. I know....I'll just tell any prospective buyer that the noise is harmless and not to worry about it....ha.
This is my 6th F-150 and will be last Ford product I ever buy.

 

^^^ That's just plain ridiculous. Noisy cam phasers are not a problem. They make noise by design.

 

The noise I have-which appeared at 45,000 miles, is loud enough to be heard over the radio....if that's normal, then why wasn't it there when it was brand new?

 

If it's heard at warm idle it's normal.

 

its most noticable during acceleration, but can also be heard while cruising at a constant speed. Which brings me back to my question....why has this noise suddenly appeared-it wasn't there for the first 45,000 miles?

 

That doesn't sound like cam phaser noise to me.

Find another dealer and tell them it's making noise. Don't go in there telling them your diagnosis. Make them earn their money.

 

That's probably what I will do-I'm out of options at this point. The diagnosis was made by the dealer-not me. I just told them it was making a tick on the right side of the engine.

 

I bet if I traded it in for a new truck, the "tick" would be taken care of before it hit the used car lot.....

 

Noisy phasers are a problem! And if they are noisy by design then the design is a problem.

 

Nope.

 

Tell that to the dealer that wont give ya **** for your trade because it ticks when it idles! I had mine fixed under warranty and dumped it off for a different vehicle!

 

Shows how much you know.

 

Do you work for ford u idiot? "oh, don't worry about the loud ticking noise the motor is making, that's nothing"!

Moron!! So are you saying that ford engineered that motor to have that tacking noise? Cause if not then its a problem!

 

He sounds like the clueless service advisor I was dealing with.

The big picture problem is, I am done buying Ford products....now multiply that by thousands across the country who tell their story to friends and family and the cost to Ford in lost sales and "badwill" far exceeds the cost to take care of an obvious design flaw.