Ok 5.4 experts, help me out.

07 f150, 5.4L, 80K miles

For the past few months ive been noticing a ticking noise, and I cant find the source. Theres no power loss, no hesitation, no error codes, just a noise.

I cannot hear it in the garage, the only sound audible at idle is the injectors ticking away.

I can only hear it when im moving, pretty much at highway speed, and have a barrier or something to reflect the sound back. Even then, i only hear it if i load the engine up by hitting the gas, if the truck downshifts i stop hearing it.

It sounds like an exhaust leak i think, but even if i rev it up while im under the truck i cant find any exhaust leak at idle.

I appreciate any help someone can give, ive searched and searched to no avail.

 

Spark knock maybe? Try a tank of premium gas to prove/disprove that.

 

Possible universal joint bearing going or maybe a IWE. An exhaust leak can drive you crazy because many times its temperature sensitive. I would lean to the IWE myself if you're 4x4.

 

Iwe? It is a 4x4

 

https://www.f150online.com/forums/ar...then-some.html

 

Wow, fantastic write-up, the linked vid is good too. I dont think its IWE though, it really doesnt sound like grinding. EDIT: the more i think about it i dont think its IWE, it doesnt correlate to wheel speed, just engine speed and engine load.

It may just be an exhaust leak, but im paranoid because i feel like if it were an exhaust leak i would be able to hear it in the garage.

I threw in a can of seafoam and cleaned the MAF sensor last night, though it looked fine. Ill try some premium next time i fill up.

 

Seafoam does nothing other than overheat and clog the cats. It's good for what it was originally designed for - small engines and other applications without cats. Techron is the only gas additive approved by Ford. Now that you have put it in, I'd advise a fuel filter change.

Have you ever changed the spark plugs? At 80k it's time.

 

Its time for a fuel filter change anyway. I havent done the plugs yet, but i do need to do them soon. I've been waiting for an open weekend.

 

I remember once we had a tick that could only be heard when driving through a fast food drive thru or when a barrier was next to the truck. People who never heard a noise before in their vehicle could only hear it under those conditions. We actually called it the McDonalds tick. I believe that we determined that it was the fuel injector tick amplified by the brick wall or other barrier... I will call someone at Ford and see if they remember the root cause. If I recall whatever it was was not a serious condition but basicly just annoying. May or may not be what you are experiencing. You may want to pop the hood and listen to your pulleys and tensioners with a stethscope. A bad bearing in any of those will make a ticking sound that at times can be RPM related.

 

The tick heard at the driverside wheel well was determined to be injector tick amplified by the wheel well and reflected via the barrier (wall). The tick that is heard at the engine compartment was in most cases the VCT system. Neither of which were deemed a durability failure. However there are numerous other components that are capable of causing a tick, knock,tap, or any combination of those and you need to isolate (find) the location of the noise to determine the exact root cause and repair.

There ya go... just find and fix it! lol

 

A fast food tick....

But i know what the op is talking about though....it happened on occasion with my '06 5.4 3v and sometimes now with my STA 4.6 3v.....I've been through the STA twice now at the shop and haven't isolated it yet ...

 

Try going to the vacuum lines connected to the iwe system. Remove the lines and blow some air through them and into the iwe. Let me know if this helps. I had the same ticking noise that happened when I hit the gas and more under load. Cleaned out the lines and no more noise.