I was one of the fortunate few (thousand) who had piston slap (in a '98 F250 5.4L). Was given an FQR (Ford's Questionable Replacement). TWICE (first one had a head gasket leak).

Went in at 24,000 and now at 47,000. So far so good, but I do hear an occasional slapping and rough start sometimes.

Is this still a problem in current production engines? And if so, is ford replacing them anymore? I heard a rumor that ford doesn't even bother any more. (That would be good news, since they must figure, it'll still make 150K miles.)

frank


'98 F-250LD XLT 4x4 SC 5.4 E4OD tow payload#1

 

I don't know if they are still fixing them. The piston slap isn't harmful anyways, people just don't like the way it sounds. Last i heard they were coming from the factory with some sort of new moly coating on the bottom of the piston to quiet them down a little.

-Jon

 

I have a 99 F150 5.4 piston slapper and oil leaker. The engine was replaced free-of-charge by Ford with a brand new 2000 motor at 30,000 miles. The new motor was quiet for maybe 20,000 miles, but the piston slap returned (the new engine now has 55,000 miles on it). I believe that piston slap is alive and well. However, I'm resigned to not worry about it any longer. The truck is beautiful and runs very strong. The diesel sound only happens on cold startup and then only for a couple minutes. Time will tell whether piston slap is detremental to engine longevity.