I hate to say it but its probably NOT the injectors. The injectors are only audible with the hood up and your face stuck under there! More than likely its the infamous cam phasers or faulty lifters. Mine is going in next Tuesday to do both cam phasers for the second time and this time they are also going to replace all the lifters also. Apparently Ford is recommending this along with the phasers. My tick sounds the same as yours, you can hear it while idling next to a wall or when standing next to either front wheelwell. I am hoping this time the new lifters will do the trick. We have new F150's on the lot that are perfectly silent at hot idle so if it ticks....something is not right. Just my .02

 

hmmm, well it is something to consider. I just can't see so many people hearing the slight tick from brand new, on all years from 04 on up. I could see if it was one or two model years in a row, but you would think it would have been fixed if it were a problem 4 years after the fact and the same sound was occuring throughout. And as far as only being able to hear it when under the hood...how would that be? if the wheel well is open to the engine bay and you were against a wall, the sound should be reflected from the engine bay, through the open wheel well and against the wall. At least, that's what I would think. In any case, I only have 600 miles on it, and when I bring it in for the first 3k I will bring up these issues. Hopefully one of the techs will have some insight or be able to diagnose it.

 

Yea , that would bother me, I would bring it to there attention..Mines ticking for the first time @ 230,000 miles. It ticks thru the passenger side header. It has never ticked until now . Thought it was a leak - nope , no leaks..I'm wondering if it's the injectors. I updated the injectors to the tall skinny type 3's last year and those I noticed are loud.

All in all - I'll be happy to get 300,000 out of it.. I'm giving up on the body work , I replaced both rockers last winter and vowed not to do more body work on it . I hate body work to begin with - it's time consuming as hell and Michigan salt doesn't give you any breaks , that's for sure..

Good luck with your 08 - I'll be looking into the 09's most likely...

 

Yes I agree its a bummer. The injectors are on top of the engine and usually only audible from under the hood. Mine are anyway and its only a faint ticking. The phasers or lifters on the other hand are usually heard from the wheelwell. I will post pics of the work next week. Happy Thanksgiving all!

 

I have a new 2008 5.4L Lariat SuperCrew. The transmission thump is either a downshift or the TC coming out of lockup. You can feel this especially when you are babying the truck. Nothing wrong with that - felt it a couple of times - now I don't hear/feel it at all. I think it's the engine and transmission "learning" each other and your driving style at very low mileage.