Greetings, folks.

I recently bought myself a used ford F-150 1999 lariat. I got a decent price on it, and this is my first 'big truck'. Other than being gouged for gas at the moment, I am loving it. I feel like a king on his throne when I am going down the road.

Anyways, after I bought it I took it to Mobil to get all the fluids flushed and replaced. I like the Mobil oil change place because I can sit in my car and eyeball the workers as they do their thing.

Now, a bit of background. I am hard of hearing. I am not deaf, but the upper frequencies of sound are beyond my hearing. So naturally when I was buying this from the used car guy and I was looking at the engine, he said 'Sounds great, eh?'

So, like a deaf idiot, I nodded my head in agreement.

While at the mobile place, one of the older employees came over and asked 'How long have you had that tick?'

Sigh.

So he got someone in the auto repair place next door hook up the code reader, and did not find anything majorly wrong. Eventfully he said to me 'What you need to do is see about your rear chain guide cassettes'.

I am decent enough with engines that I know my way around, however I had no clue what he was talking about. I did a search in this forum for 'rear chain guide' and did not come up with much.

So, my question is, what is he talking about, what would make it 'tick' and how much of a repair am I looking at?

https://www.f150online.com/forums/im...ies/rocker.gif


added the rocker dude just because he looked cool.

 

The only Ford engine that used rear chain cassetes is the 4.0L SOHC V6, found in Exploders/Mountaineers and Rangers.

<sigh> I really hate stupid asses who think they know something about vehicles (talking about the idiot who told you you needed timing cassetes, not you). You should get a second opinion from another shop.

 

It is not uncommon for the chain guides to wear over time. I have been told that replacing them can be expensive as it is labor intensive and requires a special tool. I had the issue for a while running a heavy (10W-50) oil when I first got the vehicle. I switched to 10w-30 (I live in Texas)Lesson learned and the noise no longer happens. These modular motors are particular about the oils they run in regards to the tolerances and clearances. Take someone for a ride that has better hearing than you and see if the vehicle makes the noise on the road. Ticking at idle is normal as it is most likely the injectors. I don't know if that motor has a cam phaser but the newer motors are super loud. I am sure one of the senior members on the site will lead you in the right direction.

 

Exactly what I thought at first glance. I know the Tritons can be a PITA, but they don't have up to 5 chains nor do you need to pull the engine at 150K miles to service them,

But, really, that tick can be just about anything and it could be normal at the same time.

I know my 4.2L has various ticks and I know my friend's old 07 4.2L had ticking that went away after break-in...so the causes run the gamut of bad news to no worries at all.