rattle at start-up?

[Rfreels]

Is a slight rattle that lasts for two seconds or so normal at start-up? 2003 5.4 with 50,000 miles, 5w30 Penzoil with Motorcraft filter. Fresh oil change did not help.

 

[Rfreels]

Is mine the only rattler in the country?

 

[Silver Ex]

Its the nature of our beasts...5.4s all rattle. Oh yes, its true! Some are louder than others and some last longer after we fire them off. Some rattle is due to the poor fit on the exhaust manifolds when cold. Some actually are due to broken mounting studs on the exhaust manifolds. Some are internal, like valve train noise due to poor top-end oiling. And some have the infamous piston slap. The beast shows many different sides when it comes to its rowdy nature.

Some will tell you to run 10w30 oil to quiet the beast. Some argue that synthetic blends or full synthetic oils are the way to go vs. conventional oils. Some swear by Motorcraft oil filters and others won't use anything but Fram or AC Delco (yeah, a GM filter on a Ford!). Trial and error is the rule until you find the right combination to sooth your noisy beast.

And remember...when all else fails you can just turn up the tunes and jam until it breaks! After all, its only money and we're already used to taking it in the wallet every time the beast gets thirsty...right?

I Love My Beast!!!

 

[green03]

Actually the motorcraft filters are the same as the purolator pure one synthetic fiber filters at less than half the cost. I also use Mobil 1 5W-30 and beat the hell out of my truck regularly without worry and change my oil every 6-7000 miles.

Your rattle could be alot of things, mine does it ocasionally and it sounds like an exhaust leak, but I haven't tracked it down because it only happens once in a blue moon when the truck has been sitting cold for 2 or more days.

Matt

 

[smo0othride]

My 03 5.4 has done that for awhile now, definitely sounds like it's comming from the exhaust... never thought it was major enough to worry about fixing it though.

 

[mustangrfast88]

well i think if it is the same rattle that the 4.0 have at start up it is the cam chain tensioner and alot of the 4.0s had the problem and ford come out with a reviesed part and it fixed the problem so you might want to ask your dealer about it next time you are there doing something to the truck

 

[Kemp]

"Nature of our beasts" I belive as well. Mine 03 EB does same thing when cold (but not when warm). No worries!!

 

[XLTman]

mine does the same a little rumble for a couple seconds then goes away but i have noticed it only happens in colder months

 

[pronstar]

Likely piston slap.
It's common and a known issue, though Ford says that it's "normal."

Google "piston slap ford" (but without quotation marks) and you'll get a ton of hits.

 

[AvroAero]

Is it a rattle or exhuast leak?

 

[4x4Dude]

Mine does this as well, just when it starts up and it lasts for a second or two but goes away and doesnt come back once its on and running. I thought something was wrong with mine, but now that i read this thread i know its a common issue so that makes me happy lol

 

[wrangler45337]

Thought that was my problem, so I did like Silver EX said, "And remember...when all else fails you can just turn up the tunes and jam until it breaks! After all, its only money and we're already used to taking it in the wallet every time the beast gets thirsty...right?".....That is exactly what I did. And yes, it did break eventually, but I am really, really hard on it.

 

[green03]

Mine has a good rattle at startup but only once the oil gets 5000 or more miles on it. I use mobil 1 5W30.

Matt R

 

[Idahokid]

I had a Jeep that rattled at start up.It was the STP oil filter.The anti drain was not working in the filter.That is when I learned not to buy $1.99 filters.