Well this is an update on my 2001 Lightning with 2000 miles on it, I dropped it off to Walnut Creek Ford to have the Ford engineer look at it and I got a call today from Dan and he told me that the knocking sound that I'm hearing from the driver's side of the truck near the oil pan is normal and is caused from piston slap and there being a short skirt (as he put it) on the bottom half of the piston after the rings. This to me does not sound right and if it is normal then why are there not more people talking about a knocking sound with there lightning? He also stated that there was a Ford Bulletin about the piston slap which he is to give to me when i pick the truck up.

Just wanted to know from you guys if this sounds normal and if the short skirt is correct from people that have taken the pistons out of the truck?

Thanks
Blwnsvt01

 

I suspect that going back to 99 there are probably about 100,000 post on piston slap or piston knock. Turn up the radio.
noelvm

 

My 02 sounds a little diesely/knocking/piston slappy. I can hear it when I pull up next to the building in the McDonald's drive trhu and I'm siting there in idle...then I can hear it. (Not that I do this McDonald's drive thru thing often...you understand...)



I wrote it off to piston slap and after reading the half a billion posts back when I had my '00 figured it ain't worth worrying about.

Hoping when I switch to Mobil 1 when I reach 8000 miles I won't hear it any more (yeah right)

k

 

Long tube and Bassani = Don't hear any stinkin slap

 

I have never heard anything like what you describe... but like Gator is saying the exhaust drowns most all of that stuff out...might not be a good thing but Im not worried

 

Thanks guys I did go back and do a search and see that a ton of people have expericened this same people so as many post say that after the truck has been drive for a few hundred miles it tends to go away or appear to have goin away.

Thanks again

Blwnsvt01

 

yes. i have the same sound. kinda rattley, diesaly....

 

I've just started to hear something like this also. At first it sounded like a bad lifter, then when I started to chase it down I found the sound seemed to be the loudest coming directly out of my passenger side cats. Tick, Tick, Tick, from idle to about 1500 RPM, get better as it warms up but I can still hear it.
Does this sound like what you guys are hearing or is it maybe something more serious?

 

Well I got some more info from the service manager at Walnut Creek Ford and he told me what the Engineer did and I don't think you will believe this but he said the engineer got there and started the truck let it warm up and then took it for a spin around the block and then comes back and says yup thats normal and there is nothing wrong with the truck. I was like what kind of service is that I could drive it around the block, that was the biggest waste of time by Ford and also my me having to take the day off work to drop the truck off for nothing.

One very UN-HAPPY Ford owner

Blwnsvt01

 

xbwfo

I have the very same deal. It's on the passenger side the loudest also... Do we need to investigate this further?

 

My Lightning makes 2 distinct noises. Forged piston slap noise is there on start up. It is even worse in very cool weather and it does go away with a warm up.

The other noise that is very much like a diesel is the blower gears at idle. This will go away with a bit of rpm and is present on every Magnusen/Eaton blower I have heard, although some are worse than others.

I had a TRD Eaton blower on a v6 Tacoma that made a ton more of this diesel clatter like blower noise than the larger Lightning blower unit.

Hopefully this is what your truck is doing, sure hope you do not have a un-diagnosed problem.

 

My '00 Harley edition had a noisy N/A 5.4 in it. My '03 Lightning seems a little quieter but the blower whine and exhaust note may just be masking it. I wouldn't be too concerned. These Triton mills are inherently noisy!

FX

 

My problem with the piston slap noise is when I go to sell my L and the person looking to buy it says "What's that noise" and I say "It's normal, Ford said so". Now in all due respect, if I was looking to buy a used L and it had a noticeable engine knock I would NOT buy the truck. Would you?

Gary

 

xbwfo-check all your spark plugs and make sure they are tight.
That ticking noise may be a loose plug. Keep driving it and it
could launch and destroy the head.

 

Aint it great In 6 years when my loans paid off, I will pay $43,000.00 Plus for my Black Beauty, and by it's 2nd oil change it started that dam cold morning rap. It's outright embarassing and pisses me off like you cant believe, well actually, most of you can belive.

EXCEPT GATOR OF COURSE SOB got the life I tell you
QUOTED BY GATOR:
Long tube and Bassani = Don't hear any stinkin slap