My 04 150 FX4 5.4L is at the dealer for the second day with this problem. They mentioned "lifters" and a TSB and ordered parts. I took it to them last Friday, they had parts Monday pm, got the truck in Tues pm, gave me a loaner car antd said I should have it back on Friday (3 Days). Dealer I bought it from listened to it twice over the past year and said noise was normal, as recently as 6 weeks ago. So this second dealer is treating me a lot better so far. Many times on this site people say to go to another dealer and be sure Ford has a fix that is proven to work. Will report on the outcome

 

please let us know as soon as possible,,my truck just got out of the dealer workshop,,,they fixed something and got money for it!!! but they don't seem to know what the problem is...and can not go to another worksop because the truck is out of warrenty and they allready did some work on the engin which they warrent for 6 months...

Since we almost have the same model car...It makes since!

waiting for your feedback.

Thanks

 

It's Friday and the dealer just called to say truck is not done yet. As part of the TSB fix they said they had to pull spark plugs and broke 4 plugs. Now have to pull heads, new head gaskets and who knows what else. Glad it is still under warranty. I will report again "next week" - stay tuned

 

I have a 1997 f150 with the 5.4. I guess I actually had two different ticking noises coming from the engine. The one I still have seems to be an exhaust leak. I did some reading on this forum a while back and found out that I wasn't using the right oil filter.
I switched to the Motocraft with the Anti-Drainback Valve.
For my truck: Purolator (pure one) part number pl24651
No more loud noise at start up. Give it a shot. Change your oil and use the right filter.

 

i had that same problem on my 97 f150 5.4 it would do the tick and get faster and louder when u reved it up. Sometimes it would stop and i got it from both sides of the engine block. I finially gathered enough courage and looked under the hood to see what the noise was, and it was coming from one of my sparkplugs on either side. i changed out all 8 of my spark plugs yesterday and now it isnt making the noise anymore....FYI if you havent ever changed out spark plugs before or arent mechanically inclined, then have it done professionally. It took me and a friend both f150 owners but newbies to changing spark plugs, 6 hours to do it. And we are both mechanics, but for diesel engines, which do not use spark plugs for combustion. my 2 cents

 

Anyone in the Southern Maine area want to come over for a couple of beers and help me find this problem?

If you have experience with the broken exhaust studs or servicing the spark plugs...........let me know.

Steve

maineultraclassic@hotmail.com

 

No takers??

LOL

Steve

 

Sorry, guy. It would take me 3 days to get there.

 

Replace your plugs if they are old, but check them at least. But it is such a pain to get to them you might as well replace them.

My bad/loose plug was on the drivers side second from the back.

There are some good tips elsewhere in the forum for replacing the plugs, but here is what I did.

Passenger Side:

Remove engine cover and intake.

The coils are the boxes next to the injectors. I pulled those with a 7mm socket. I had to use a angle adapter to get to the back one. Do them one at a time. Once you get the bolt off pull on the rubber under the coil to get it off the plug. I needed two full length extensions to get the plug out. Installation is the reverse procedure.

Driver Side:

Remove the bracket holding the steering fluid reservoir. Remove the 2 bolts holding the fuel injection assembly , (YOU DO NOT NEED TO REMOVE THE ASSEMBLY NO MATTER HOW TEMPTED YOU GET), this will give you the wiggle room you need. The front two are a piece of cake. The back two are a major pain. Be very very patient as you will have very little room. The back one you will need to work the socket and a short extension between the rails of the injector assembly.

Assembly is the reverse.

It solved my problem hopefully it will yours. It has for others as well.

 

Your spark plug has not popped.....at least not yet anyways if that is the problem. Once it pops , it is not a light ticking sound anymore and it'll scare the **** out of ya.

IF THE PROBLEM IS A PLUG..... the ticking sound is because a plug has worked itself loose and youre hearing compression blowing by your threads, which is slowly causing them to wear out which will in turn blow out your spark plug.

Remove the coil packs....do it 1 by 1 if you can. You'll need a spark plug wrench and an extension. Check each plug for tightness. If you find one loose..Im guessing it will be the third of fourth one back on the pass side, be careful on how tight you get it. The threads may already be worn and weak. Maybe go like 10 ft/lbs, just becareful not to get it too tight. Once you tighten it, start the truck up and the ticking will be gone..... I'd come help you, but thats a long drive from MI.

 

Well I know the noise is coming from the passenger side of the engine, towards the back.

With the truck running, I put my hand all over the plugs and stuff and revved the motor..........can't feel any air.

I guess I'll have to call on a favor from my buddy who is an ASE tech at a local garage. He'll know how to get to the plugs much better then I do.

Steve

 

Keep us informed of what you find. My money is still on broken exhaust manifold stud/studs.

You may be able to see the leak if you Seafoam or GM top engine clean the engine through the pcv valve. This process cleans the carbon off the valves and pistons and smokes like crazy out the exhaust. I could see my leaks when I top engine cleaned my 4.6 even though the leak seals up as the engine gets hot.

 

Got truck back from the second dealer that has had it since middle of last week. Replaced right cam phaser and all lifters. Replaced all 8 plugs since 4 broke during removal and had to pull heads to get the broken ones out. Sounds much better but there is still the "injector noise" is what I am told. Looks like 15 hours labor if I read the service report correctly and page long list of parts. All warranty work and glad I didn't have to pay a penny. If they had this much trouble with my plugs at 33,000 miles what is in store for folks at the recommend normal replacement of 100,000 miles? Without this site I would never had known of this problem and what to listen for. I probably just would listened to the dealer I bought it from just tell me everything was normal. This second dealer took care of my truck and did it promptly. They called every day to let me know what they were doing and I just said to take the time to do it right. They also solved my dash rattle which was a loose sensor that hangs on the rear view mirror. So now I have a letter to write to the first dealer on their diagnosis, or lack of it. I probably will start out by telling them I willl never buy from them again, will not let my truck near their service dept, and I will be sure to tell everybody about this experience with them. Anything else I should tell them?

 

How do you use Seafoam or Top engine clean?

What is the purpose of this?

Thanks,

Steve

 

Where are you in Southern Maine?