Well I have always suspected one or both of my cam phasers of being shot...And just recently I started to hear a few odd noises. First off, I noticed a new sound (not sure if its phaser related or not, first thought it was the belt but its not). This new sound is sort of a high pitched metalic type of noise, almost what I would expect to hear if a bearing of some sort was going out, but it only happens between 2,000 rpm and 2500 rpm then stops afterwards. And it only does it under load. I tried to recreate the noise with it parked and the hood open thinking it may be a belt pulley but couldnt get it to do it. I have also noticed a bit of a difference in the exhaust tone which is a bit peculiar to me. THEN on my way home from the grocery store tonight the truck started noticeably rattling (by noticeably I mean I could hear it with my window down and over my aftermarket exhaust) under acceleration at about the same rpms that the first noise I was describing was happening. I hope hope hope its nothing too major. I can deal with replacing the phasers as I have been wanting to do it anyway....Any thoughts? Truck seems to idle just fine, no codes, and the rattling stops after you get higher into the rpms....

Truck is a 2004 5.4 and has 108,000 miles on it. I hope its nothing too major to fix and I can carry on with driving this truck well towards 200,000 miles

 

no thoughts?

 

So Im less convinced its a cam phaser issue now....There seems to be a sort of growling noise coming from under the truck (transmission area) when reving the engine...is it possible these noises could be caused by an IWE solonoid or vacuum issue?
Please, any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks

 

Well I'll throw a couple things in the ring maybe get some others here to chime in. You say the truck runs good and I suspect no shifting problems? Is the rattle a tinny sound or more solid/deeper like engine related which very well could be the VCT components. A rattle could be many things obviously but I'd remove the serp belt and check all the pulleys and belt tensioner for excessive play. A bad pulley bearing can be difficult to locate sometimes. Another area to suspect a rattle is the cat heat shields (if you still have cats). Is your aftermarket exhaust welded or clamped? A loose clamp, bolt or connection will give strange noises and all these causes can be RPM related. A slight growling noise may be normal as anytime you try to detect a noise you start hearing anything and everything. Thats why I just turn up the radio until something breaks.LOL...kidding. The process of locating a noise is usually the most difficult once you find a specific area as you know everything becomes a lot easier. Front cover, cam cover, exhaust system, etc. Good luck.

 

I think Dyno pretty much summed it up. However you might check for an exhaust leak at or near the manifolds. This could be causing the symptoms your hearing. A small leak can sound like a lot of things. also the sound bouncing around under the truck can be hard to pinpoint. And for safety measures you could always go buy a new oil filter and change that. Then take some tin snips and cut your old one apart. Look for signs of bearing failure in the filter media.

Best of luck.

 

Try to rule out your exhaust by bumping on it in different places to see if any heat shields or converter guts rattle.

I have a rattle under my 05 that is similar. It comes and goes at idle. I can sometimes feather the gas a bit and make it come and go. It seems to rattle more when the compressor is on. I found that it was coming from the driver-side cat. I got under it and could hit on the cross over pipe behind the cats and make it rattle a little. I thought perhaps it was the heat shield on it but after removing the stock clamps (pita) I found that i couldn't remove it because it was tack welded at one end. I was able to tell though that the rattle was coming from inside the cat. I had to buy some big hose clamps to put back around the shield. After I cranked them down it dampened the rattle quite a bit. Before I did this the rattle was very loud and made drive through orders painful. I'd say it was as loud as a diesel or louder. Now its not too noticeable with the new clamps.

Another thing you can do is use the stethoscope trick. Get a wooden handle or something similar and put one end against your alternator, pwr steering, cam or head and listen at the other end. this will help you pick up on hard to hear knocks or whines etc.

 

Thanks for the input guys...I had alreay tapped around the exhaust components looking for rattling or loose heat shields etc (this is kinda what it sounded it might be) Then I thought IWE related possibly? But the problem did not go away when I diconnected the Solonoid or when I put it in 4x4 so I kind of ruled that out. Then I got under the truck last night while having my wife rev the truck and to my dismay it sounded like the noise was coming from the tranny...Took off this morning to take the truck into the dealership and I no longer need to pay for them to trouble shoot and chase noises around.....because my tranny went out on the way there! So its lookin like new transmission and empty wallet for me. Don't know where I'm gonna come up with the money to fix this.

Watch out with your trucks guys...100,000 miles seems to be about the threshold of these transmissions. I did some research and it looks as though this is pretty common once u get into the ball park of 100k miles

 

So I just talked with the service advisor. Apparently the flex plate is destroyed. NOW the dilemma for me is do I pay the $1000 parts and labor to have the flex plate replaced and HOPE there is nothing else wrong with the tranny? (if the tranny is still bad, then I have to pay for the labor for tranny removal again at 8 hrs of $90/hr.) Or do I just go with a tranny rebuild At a price of $2400 of parts and labor?

 

On the other thread you say you maintain the tranny and all I'd risk the tranny is ok.. Wonder why the flex plate bit the dust. odd.

 

I do maintain the transmission, however it just makes me nervous seeing all the people that have issues with these transmissions. Apparently you can maintain the tranny all you want and stuff like this will still happen. The service advisor said they have never seen a flex plate come apart like this.

I'd hate to spend the money on just the flex plate only to have the tranny bite the dust 10k down the road. I also think its odd that the flex plate went...makes me wonder if maybe it is related to other tranny issues? Or if anything I worry that with this flex plate failure fragments could have been circulated throughout the tranny which would cause eventual failure anyways. Maybe Im talking myself into a full rebuild as we speak Would like to save $1400 if possible though....

 

Make sure the crankshaft is not broken.

 

The flex plate is outside in front of the torque converter so I would think there is little chance for internal transmission damage. Any damage should be obvious. Its your money if it makes you feel better have a rebuild kit put in it. Add a better transmission cooler while your at it. Shift kit to.
What transmission is that you have? 4r75?

 

Ok thats good to know. I'm not sure which transmission it is. My truck is a 2004 FX4. They said they were going to pull the pan and take a look to see how the fluid and everything looks. So that may be the deciding factor on what I should do.

 

Had there ever been any indication that the starter was hanging? Any weird noise when starting? Never heard of a flex plate being destroyed unless there was a starter sticking.

 

should be a 4r75 according to rock auto.. Also according to rock auto the overhaul kit is $45.. Not much to the kit.. clutches a few gaskets and all. My brother inlaw fixes trannys in his garage. I could get mine redone for cheap.. Its insane what they charge for overhauling them but it does take expertise and all.. Worth it pay some to R&R thats a drag. I did my Mach I this year converted to a 5 speed. Thats the biggest tranny I'd want to screw around with any more. I have R& R-ed one from an older f-150 and its a job. I'd get it done for $500 though. I know I could get a 4r75 rebuilt for less then $500 but I know a guy..