Over the last month every time I start my truck I'm getting a tapping sound for about 2 min then it quites down. I had a a 97 Expy that had the same thing and the dealer/Ford replaced the engine. I was told that the sound was the piston slap. On my Expy the problem started within the first 10K miles and only when it was cold out. My F150 has a 5.4 also and I just rolled 45K miles and it is just starting now, even with warmer temps outside. Is this the piston slap again or someting else. Thanks

02 F150 Super Crew Lariat FX4 White & Silver
5.4 /w Roush Cold Air Intake & K&N filter
3.55 LS
Flowmaster Cat Back
JBA Silver Cat4ward Headers
Rancho RSX's
Rancho Steering Stablizer
Hellwig Rear Anti Sway Bar
Lightning Tails
Outland Sport Bumper Guard
Hella 550's
Silverstars
Superchips 9100 Micro Tuner c/o Troyer Performance
Underdrive Pullies c/o Troyer Performance
Mag-Hytec Trans Pan

 

What oil filter & oil r u using ? The Motorcraft oil filter has a improved anti-drainback valve to prevent dry starts.

 

The filters is a Motorcraft and the oil is Havoline. Thanks

02 F150 Super Crew Lariat FX4 White & Silver
5.4 /w Roush Cold Air Intake & K&N filter
3.55 LS
Flowmaster Cat Back
JBA Silver Cat4ward Headers
Rancho RSX's
Rancho Steering Stablizer
Hellwig Rear Anti Sway Bar
Lightning Tails
Outland Sport Bumper Guard
Hella 550's
Silverstars
Superchips 9100 Micro Tuner c/o Troyer Performance
Underdrive Pullies c/o Troyer Performance
Mag-Hytec Trans Pan

 

un fortunately piston slap is really common with the 5.4's and theres no really good fix for it. but they last for many years with that problem so i wouldnt worry to much about it but some things that might help is making sure the spark plugs all face the same direction in the chamber which is hard to do but that ensures that the spark and flame start and end at the same point in the chamber each fire. also get the injectors flow balanced.. its pretty common for them to come unbalanced from the factory and cause one cylnder to be lean and another to be rich. u could also try switching to a 10w30 oil

 

You might wanna try a full synthetic.

 

Thanks for the suggestions...any more? Faster150 I thought I heard Ford was replacing the engines, is this true?

Thanks!

02 F150 Super Crew Lariat FX4 White & Silver
5.4 /w Roush Cold Air Intake & K&N filter
3.55 LS
Flowmaster Cat Back
JBA Silver Cat4ward Headers
Rancho RSX's
Rancho Steering Stablizer
Hellwig Rear Anti Sway Bar
Lightning Tails
Outland Sport Bumper Guard
Hella 550's
Silverstars
Superchips 9100 Micro Tuner c/o Troyer Performance
Underdrive Pullies c/o Troyer Performance
Mag-Hytec Trans Pan

 

broken exhaust manifold bolts on the passenger side. (most likely)

or a plug getting ready to launch

 

HCMQ

Thanks, but I'm sure it not the exhaust manifolds. The headers are fairly new and I checked all the bolts and they are good.

Any other suggestions...anyone



02 F150 Super Crew Lariat FX4 White & Silver
5.4 /w Roush Cold Air Intake & K&N filter
3.55 LS
Flowmaster Cat Back
JBA Silver Cat4ward Headers
Rancho RSX's
Rancho Steering Stablizer
Hellwig Rear Anti Sway Bar
Lightning Tails
Outland Sport Bumper Guard
Hella 550's
Silverstars
Superchips 9100 Micro Tuner c/o Troyer Performance
Underdrive Pullies c/o Troyer Performance
Mag-Hytec Trans Pan

 

Alright so I did a search and read as much as I can regarding Piston Slap. Does anyone know what or if Ford is doing about it?

Thanks!

02 F150 Super Crew Lariat FX4 White & Silver
5.4 /w Roush Cold Air Intake & K&N filter
3.55 LS
Flowmaster Cat Back
JBA Silver Cat4ward Headers
Rancho RSX's
Rancho Steering Stablizer
Hellwig Rear Anti Sway Bar
Lightning Tails
Outland Sport Bumper Guard
Hella 550's
Silverstars
Superchips 9100 Micro Tuner c/o Troyer Performance
Underdrive Pullies c/o Troyer Performance
Mag-Hytec Trans Pan

 

OK so I finally took the truck to the dealer to check the knock noise and a few other issues. Figured I get my monies worth from the extended warranty.
Turns out the lifter(s) on the right side were the problem. So for my $50. deductible I got 8 right side lifters, lower ball joints, and the Auto Temp head unit replaced. Not bad for $50.


02 F150 Super Crew Lariat FX4 White & Silver
5.4 /w Roush Cold Air Intake & K&N filter
3.55 LS
Flowmaster Cat Back
JBA Silver Cat4ward Headers
Rancho RSX's
Rancho Steering Stablizer
Hellwig Rear Anti Sway Bar
Lightning Tails
Outland Sport Bumper Guard
Hella 550's
Silverstars
Superchips 9100 Micro Tuner c/o Troyer Performance
Underdrive Pullies c/o Troyer Performance
Mag-Hytec Trans Pan

 

Don't forget that headers will make ticking noise anyways compared to cast iron manifolds, but if that was it, that 50 bucks was a good fix to me.

 

Lifter failure - that may be a warning to you that you are not using appropriate oil and/or not following appropriate change intervals.

 

BLUE20004X4

The noise was not the same as the header ticking. Several people had suggested the same thing until they heard the noise. Even the mechanic didn't hear the noise at first the knocking / tapping only started after the engine was running about 30 sec. and only lasted less than 3 min unless it was around 50F.

GLC

Thanks for the info. Oil changes are done every 3k - 7k depending on my driving conditions. Have only ever used 5-20.


02 F150 Super Crew Lariat FX4 White & Silver
5.4 /w Roush Cold Air Intake & K&N filter
3.55 LS
Flowmaster Cat Back
JBA Silver Cat4ward Headers
Rancho RSX's
Rancho Steering Stablizer
Hellwig Rear Anti Sway Bar
Lightning Tails
Outland Sport Bumper Guard
Hella 550's
Silverstars
Superchips 9100 Micro Tuner c/o Troyer Performance
Underdrive Pullies c/o Troyer Performance
Mag-Hytec Trans Pan

 

If you are going to push the oil to 7k, you should be using a semi-synthetic at the very least. Motorcraft 5W20 semi is just as cheap as dino and Walmart carries it.

 

Hey GLC thanks! I actually looked at the Motorcraft 5-20 semi at Walmart and found a 5 qt and 1 qt bottle together were cheaper that the Havoline, Penzoil, Quaker Sate & Castrol dino. Go figure

02 F150 Super Crew Lariat FX4 White & Silver
5.4 /w Roush Cold Air Intake & K&N filter
3.55 LS
Flowmaster Cat Back
JBA Silver Cat4ward Headers
Rancho RSX's
Rancho Steering Stablizer
Hellwig Rear Anti Sway Bar
Lightning Tails
Outland Sport Bumper Guard
Hella 550's
Silverstars
Superchips 9100 Micro Tuner c/o Troyer Performance
Underdrive Pullies c/o Troyer Performance
Mag-Hytec Trans Pan