Roller Follower of Manifold leak?

[reklaw]

I did a search and read through some threads that I previously hadn't and didn't really find the answer so I'm starting a new one.

2008 King Ranch purchased April last year at 101k and I put about 30k on it so far.

I notice a loud tick when I start the engine cold and then it very quickly goes away. I have not noticed any change in performance since I purchased.
When I'm driving through town slowly with my passenger window down I also hear a louder tick when under load.

Is there a definitive way to tell if it's the cracked manifold / gasket issue vs the roller follower?
I also have not seen anyone say why to listen at cold start for the follower tick. Is it because it's louder before the oil gets circulated around?

I don't have a problem pulling the passenger side valve cover to check the rollers as it's not that difficult to get to everything but I'd like advice before I start opening things up.

 

[rollinstone]

I can't advise you on how to proceed, but this roller follower issue with the 5.4L 3V Triton has come to my attention. I've got about 76,000 on my 2014 and don't yet have any loud ticking noises coming from the valve cover on either side. Follower replacement isn't something I can do given lack of garage and tools...and the time it would take me. Seems like this is a problem with the 5.4L Triton. Had no idea this would raise its ugly head 8 years ago when I bought the truck. So far it's performed beautifully...more than 36,000 towing miles.

 

[mr_dave]

I notice a loud tick when I start the engine cold and then it very quickly goes away.

That's definitely an oiling issue. It's partly due to poor design and partly because of faulty timing chain tensioner gaskets that seem to always fail, and allow oil to drain down from the heads.

You can try holding your foot down all the way (full throttle) while starting the truck, which will cut fuel and spark to allow it to crank and build up a little oil pressure before removing your foot to actually start. If the ticking/tapping sound goes away or gets less you know that's the issue.

 

[Trainmaster]

What did you find? If it's from the back of the passenger side wheel well, I suspect a manifold issue, but mr_dave's diagnosis would tell you if it's that or an internal problem. I hear a manifold leak on my 08 for maybe a second until the gasket expands when starting cold.

 

[Modelcarguy]

Manifold leak, more than likely the passenger side. That one goes first.

 

[Dustin Gebhardt]

I replaced the manifolds on my '07 with a set of Gibson short headers and Remflex gaskets. The ticking at load disappeared. My passenger manifold had a long crack that was difficult to see without removing it.

In hindsight, I should have done this job while I was doing my timing chains, but overall it wasn't too bad. It took me a full weekend by myself. You will definitely need to be prepared to use a saw, die grinder, and/or torch to get the rusted bolts that connect the manifold to the exhaust tubing. The head studs are easy to remove with a good stud removal socket. Replacing the header/manifold was a bit of a chore since you have to constantly swap between different configurations of extensions and u-joints on some of the bolds. You can get a wrench on about 1/2 of the nuts/studs. You may also need to remove a frame cross member so that you can drop out the catalytic converters, which gives better access.

 

[KOTU]

I concur with mr_dave. The symptoms you are describing are similar to how a chain tensioner will sound when the gasket has blown out. Cold engine, momentary rattle-like sound, then runs and sounds normally. Last year I had the same issue in my 2007 Lincoln Navigator L, 5.4 3v plus, a constant tick from my cylinder #2's roller/follower. After taking the engine apart, which is the same one used in the Expedition, and replacing those parts I have not had any other problems. At the same time, I changed the other timing components, put in a new water pump, oil pump, fan clutch, and A/C condenser. I would have added pictures, but this site limits the size of .jpg files