2006 expedition, vvt solenoid + Noise

[06expedi]

I have a 2006 expedition with 170k miles.

Engine is strong and drives great

Has new spark plugs, new oil change,
New vvt solenoids bank 1 and bank 2

Starts right up with no ticks or rattles

Drives very nice, can't even hear the engine run while driving,

But after driving it for about 25 minutes at any red light or stop, the engine boggs down like it wants to shut off.
And begins to make noise, but if I step a little bit on the accelerator it goes away. And check engine comes on with vvt bank 2

See my video

August 15, 2024

youtube.com

 

[whtbronco]

With the code for the VVT solenoid in bank 2 and the audible noise it sounds like timing adjusters to me. The timing chain adjusters are operated by oil pressure so increasing the rpm a bit also increases the oil pressure a little and it might be just enough. If you're running 5w-20 engine oil, try 5w-30 and see if it improves. It's a low cost no risk troubleshooting option. Many people here suggest these engines need 5w-30 anyway.

There's lots of threads here and on other sites about the 5.4L 3V timing chains related to diagnosing and replacing them.

 

[SafariGoneWrong]

It sounds like the #2 bank, driver side cam phaser isn’t locking at hot idle. Before doing anything else, I’d look at commanded cam timing versus actual using a scanner or ForScan Lite. I'd also be interested in knowing the VCT solenoid commanded duty cycle is/should be 0% at idle. At hot idle you'll probably see the #2 cam timing oscillating instead of being steady...I would think given your symptoms. Mine is also a 2006 and at 100K miles it developed a constant tick/knock from the #2 phaser and before the steady knock you could hear the phasers rattling at drive thru's. Did a full timing job 7 years ago along with roller followers and lash adjusters and glad I went in beyond the phasers. Both timing chain tensioner seals were compromised and found a few roller followers on the #1 bank that were getting sloppy. Since your engine is quiet and nothing rattling at startup, it's tempting to replace just the phaser (assuming the diagnosis points to that) and seeing how long it will go.

You can try what I call the clink test (TSB 12-7-10). With a warm engine, transmission in drive and foot on brake, bring the RPMs up to 1500 and release the gas pedal (also have your windows open). If you hear a clink Ford says to replace the VCT solenoids, well, I did that and the clink remained. New phaser(s) fixed the problem.