Is it worth the cost?

[Hamfisted]

For chits and giggles did you try running it with a heavier weight oil in it, like 20w-50 or straight 40w ? Sometimes that'll buy you some time. When I was a kid we had an old Ford wagon that severely overheated, to the point it needed new plug wires to run. Knocked like hell on 30w oil but some of that racing 70w oil shut it up for another couple of years ! Ended up trading it in on a new Mustang later on for the $500 trade in deal. It never did smoke, just knocked on light weight oil.


-Mike

 

[MLKESQ]

I did try 5-30 just because it's been so dam cold this winter but the 5-30 didn't change the clatter. I didn't want to starve the top end with too thick of oil either. While it might quiet it down ittt just covers up the issue

 

[knewblewkorvett]

$7K Man, that seems really high. But, if that's your only choice, I'd get rid of her.
I looked up her KBB estimated private party price, only $3800 which seems really low to me. Anyhow, no way would I spend $7K on a Expedition that's worth less than $7K

 

[MLKESQ]

Thanks for all the comments guys. For what its worth, I didn't necessarily give up on it but I did reach the point where I could not justify the cost. With three kids, 13,11, & 9, whose activities are semi-competitive dance for the 11 year old daughter (traveling dance team), and trap shooting in 4-H for the 13 year old and the 9 year old probably wanting to start trap too, the finances of the situation dictated that a little more payment per month for a Denali XL (fits family size better) was the only logical way to go in the end given the deal I was able to make. I was able to get $4500 trade, on the Denali with its price being $2500 or so under book. The extra $100 I had to spend to have it checked out was worth it. The Denali has some warts as its 10 years old, but the fit for the family and professional life is probably a little better in the long run.

 

[lbv150]

My '06 5.4 sounded like a diesel until I changed both VTC solenoids. Cost less than $100 for the pair and a 1/2 hour of my time.

 

[Snag]

4500 for a trade in is pretty good for a rig that clatters, good job. I suspect they are thinking of an easier fix then priced out to you, which you can do on these rigs, sometimes.
Good luck on the new ride and keep those kids busy, thats the best thing for them

 

[Habbibie]

My '06 5.4 sounded like a diesel until I changed both VTC solenoids. Cost less than $100 for the pair and a 1/2 hour of my time.

Half hour? Wtf took me half an hour just trying to find a long enough hex bit

 

[lbv150]

Ah yes....that is the key tool for the job. I used a 1/4" drive torx socket ( T27 I think?) that I ground the diameter smaller with a bench grinder, then taped it on the end of an extension with a ratchet.

But after the change no more diesel rapping noise....people thought I changed the engine. The dealer said the that the cam phasers are shot and the VTC would do nothing....

 

[MLKESQ]

I didn't have the oil pressure to justify even that muchwork at 15 psi with 5-20

4500 for a trade in is pretty good for a rig that clatters, good job.

They didn't even listen to it. Got in drove it checked off features and said this is what we will give you. The bank told me 4-5k was trade range so when they gave me 4500 it started getting hard to pass up. It all boils down to taking care of it in the first 100k. My Dodge 4.7 was problem free for me. 225k on a water pump for example is pretty good. But that engine for others was very problematic too.

In the end I think mine had deeper issues as when I was chasing the misfires on 1 and 3 after plugs and coils and swapping fuel injectors around for the last month I crawled under it while it was at idle and the noises on the bottom end were pretty scary. I thinkbit may have had the 15-40 in it when I got it because the rattles started after I had it serviced with 5-20 about two weeks after I bought it in April. Only time will tell it it was the right decision.

 

[kheidkamp]

Does knock and rattle go away when you apply throttle? These engines are notorious for having their cam phasers go bad. Way cheaper than 7K and well worth the fix.

 

[lbv150]

15 psi at idle may not be too bad as long as it comes up at speed. You are correct maintenance from the get go is number 1. We also warm all our vehicles up to operating temperature before driving. All our engines get oil changes at 3,000 including the '16. The oil change meter in the '16 is useless to me. Never run anything other than 5-20 in the 5.4....that is what causes the valve train problems. There are very fine screens in the VTC solenoids and very small passages in the cam phasers. The only vehicle we ever bought used was '06 at 130,000...it was a fleet vehicle and I suspect they used 15-40... it had noise issues and also ate a quart of oil every 400-500 miles. Didn't leak or couldn't see it in the exhaust. I put another 100,000 on it before I sold it.

 

[MLKESQ]

Does knock and rattle go away when you apply throttle? These engines are notorious for having their cam phasers go bad. Way cheaper than 7K and well worth the fix.

It didn't go away until about 1500 RPM, and at 200 rpm, it was still minimum spec range if I remember correctly about 50psi. The misfires on 1 and 3 never changed either...no matter what we did, and were a daily occurrence under both no load and load conditions. Since I bought used we installed new plugs and coils first to combat that then started moving injectors around. The misfire always stayed on those two cylinders no matter what. The best guess without tearing into it was burn exhaust valves or weak springs. The end result was the same. The cost of the timing work (phasers solenoids guides etc) and the prospect of pulling the heads to see what was really gong on was going to be near the same cost as a new motor.

There's a chance it was ok internally, and I knew that in the back of my mind, but there was also equal or greater chance that is was shelled before I bought it too. It hated to start if parked nose down and knocked worse that normal in those conditions.

 

[Snag]

I am glad you were able to get rid of it and I think you will like the new rig.

In 2 weeks we will get a new member. I just bought a 05 with a 5.4 with an engine that tics and knocks. I didn't hear the noise until I got home. :O)

 

[Hamfisted]

That's probably the best thing you could've done with it. But the used car lot will probably put 4 cans of STP motor honey in it and sell it to someone for $6k ....

 

[kheidkamp]

It didn't go away until about 1500 RPM, and at 200 rpm, it was still minimum spec range if I remember correctly about 50psi. The misfires on 1 and 3 never changed either...no matter what we did, and were a daily occurrence under both no load and load conditions. Since I bought used we installed new plugs and coils first to combat that then started moving injectors around. The misfire always stayed on those two cylinders no matter what. The best guess without tearing into it was burn exhaust valves or weak springs. The end result was the same. The cost of the timing work (phasers solenoids guides etc) and the prospect of pulling the heads to see what was really gong on was going to be near the same cost as a new motor.

There's a chance it was ok internally, and I knew that in the back of my mind, but there was also equal or greater chance that is was shelled before I bought it too. It hated to start if parked nose down and knocked worse that normal in those conditions.

Knocking was most likely the cam phasers. I had a similar problem but my misfires were not specific to the same cylinders and they only started happening at idle speed or up to 1500 rpms or so. The misfire codes seemed to jump around all of the time. Cam phasers and solenoid fixed my issues. Sounds like yours has some underlying problems. Sucks dude! Sorry