Take those tapping noises seriously

[bring_em_on]

Hi all..new to the forum but wanted to post some info on what I hope to be useful to someone else.

I have an '05 XLT 5.4l. I've been told that these engines have a tapping noise that is normal. Over the past few years I guess it just gradually got a little worse but it was so gradual that I never really noticed it. People have told me it's "known issues with the phasers" and the injectors make noise along with the lashers...blah blah blah..

One day it got realllly noticeable and the car started to hesitate and jerk. I took it to my main mechanic and he was hesitant about tackling the job because he was so backed up and I needed it back quickly. He suggested the Ford Dealer...boy what a mistake THAT was.

The Dealer gives me some long drawn out explanation on how "probably" a piece of the oil filter broke off and got lodged in the oil chutes thus starving the engine for oil. He said it would cost $2000 just to tear it apart and verify this and if that was, indeed, the problem then it's new motor for me.

A buddy of mine who is the fleet manager for the county I live in recommended I take it to a shop that he uses for his overflow work. He said if it's at all fixable then they can do it.

Well, these guys did a little more than listen and theorize some off the wall problem. They took the valve covers off and noticed that a rocker arm had busted and that it did some damage to one of the cam lobes. They outlined the fix for me and assured me that the engine will be fine after the fix. They did notice that the phasers were bad and replaced those too. At the end of the day, these guys save me around $6,000!!

So I guess I learned two huge lessons....always ALWAYS get a second opinion and never assume that a clicking noise or whatever is normal. They said this problem probably took a while to develop. It would have been worth it to me to look into it sooner.

Hope this helps.

Keith

 

[bring_em_on]

Oh, I forgot to mention this. A few days after I picked it up from the dealer they called and asked if I was going to do the engine swap. I told them about what the other guys found and saw and the guy on the phone said "Well, we don't think that's what it is"...I was silent for a moment and told him that the valve cover was pulled and we saw the damage...his response back to me was "Well, we still don't think that's what it is".

 

[03blkstanggt]

they still dont think thats what it is, but the problems fixed now aint it? lol

 

[bring_em_on]

they still dont think thats what it is, but the problems fixed now aint it? lol

Yep, the problem is fixed and the motor runs better now than it ever has. When I picked it up after the repairs, the guy still had the rocker and cam so he put it in a box and gave it to me. It's so tempting to drive up to the dealers service department and dump them on the service managers desk and say "Well, i think that's what it was". But I think I'll leave them alone.

Where at in MD do you live? I'm down in Southern MD (Charles County).