HI ive just bought a 2004 f 150 xlt 4 door i really like this truck but i have 2 ?. 1. theres a tapping sound from the engine at idle , dealer i bought it from says thats a normal sound for this truck that its the fuel injecters . they said to use better quality oil and the sound would go away . it didnt, is this really how a 2004 sounds ?
2. the rearend has a loud humming sound when driving, again the dealer i bought it from says that 2004 rearends sound like that and theres nothing to worry about,is this true?. thanks to any answers i get.

 

Well using better quality oil will not make the fuel injectors quiet so right out of the gate I have questions about your dealer. Why didn't they just put better quality oil in the truck before you picked it up? A noise at the rear may or may not be normal as it could be tire noise also and I'm no expert on truck and car rearends so maybe someone else can jump in on that. First I've heard about normal humming on 2004 rearends. Now I have even less confidence in your dealer.... Few questions that may help here. What engine do you have and how many miles on the truck and did you get a warranty with it?

 

I agree, someone at the dealer is a little nuts. Yes, it is normal for the injectors to make a light ticking noise as they open and close. Sort of like on the older cars when the lifters needed adjusting. Oil will not make a difference on the injectors, no oil in the area(hopefully!). The rear end should not be making any noise.

 

It's always helpful to fill out the complete forum profile so folks have a clue as to what engine you have and what part of the country yer from. The 2004 5.4, if that's what you have, can have issues with the cam phasers making noise. Search this forum for loads of info about them. If you have a 4.6 like mine, there should be no noise that you can hear with the hood closed. The 2004 rear ends have a whine that caused Ford to replace quite a few. Mine only whines in the summer heat but there are times when it's so loud that the radio doesn't go high enough to cover it. During the winter, no noise at all so depending on where you live and how cold it gets there might be an indication of just how noisy it's gonna get. I'm bumping 95,000 U.S. miles on mine. You might also watch for a vibration at around the 45 mph mark. If you have it, the driveshaft will need to be replaced. Ford attempted to fix the issue by installing a lead weight behind the drivers rear wheel. If you have the weight, you have the bad designed shaft. Might also check the date of manufacture, it's on the drivers door jamb. The early ones were the trucks with these issues. If your truck was made after March 2004, the vibration issue should not be a factor but the cam phasers weren't fix until the 2009 models. If you have the 5.4, you might also want to review the spark plug issues that these engines are prone to have. Search this forum for tons of reading about broken plugs.