oil for ford F150 vct noise? help?

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Originally Posted By: RF Overlord
It won't hurt to at least try one OCI of the 10W-40 trick. If that does nothing, then switch back to 5W-20 and rock on.


The 10w-40 is no longer recommended by Ford. I went with 5w30 Penz Ultra and it cured the vct noise. Ultra is on the light end of the 5w30 anyways so no real differences and only less noise.
 
A high moly oil like Pennzoil yellow bottle 5w20 might help. Hemi engines respond well with this oil (same/similar to the Mopar OEM oil) in trying to alleviate some valvetrain tick at idle. My truck is quiet so I plan to stick with what works.
 
yes ford does say use 10w40 in those ticking engines and here in NJ they have to replace the car with a new one if under 2 years old or 24,000 miles if the customer goes the lemon law way and wins which most do...
 
You've started down the road and it certianly sounds like a phaser issue. I own an '04 f150, which I bought fully understanding this issue. My engine is noisier than I was previously used to and makes that diesel like sound when fully warmed up in confined spaces. Based on everything I've read and can get my hands on, I'm choosing to do nothing different. No $2000 repair bill that may or may not remove the dieselish sound. Regular oil changes every 4-5000 miles with name brand 5w20 oil and a motorcraft filter. Most cases of failure I've seen have occured when the engine was neglected (lack of oil changes, and debris builds up in the VCT system) or driven hard. My truck appears to fit neither of these scenarios.

Ford did ackowledge the issue and made a change to the phasers sometime in 2005. They continue to indicate it is a noise issue only.

Life is a lot easier once I figured out how to stop worrying so much...
 
Originally Posted By: MNgopher
You've started down the road and it certianly sounds like a phaser issue. I own an '04 f150, which I bought fully understanding this issue. My engine is noisier than I was previously used to and makes that diesel like sound when fully warmed up in confined spaces. Based on everything I've read and can get my hands on, I'm choosing to do nothing different. No $2000 repair bill that may or may not remove the dieselish sound. Regular oil changes every 4-5000 miles with name brand 5w20 oil and a motorcraft filter. Most cases of failure I've seen have occured when the engine was neglected (lack of oil changes, and debris builds up in the VCT system) or driven hard. My truck appears to fit neither of these scenarios.

Ford did ackowledge the issue and made a change to the phasers sometime in 2005. They continue to indicate it is a noise issue only.

Life is a lot easier once I figured out how to stop worrying so much...


+1 ... I have an 04 of and it makes the sound when warm. Mine has been babied by previous owner with Penz YB 5-20/Fram TG filter and oil change every 3k. I've had it a year and 10k miles (76k now) and go the route of 4k with MC 5-20 and MC filter or P1 filter.

From what I can gather from reading up on a lof of guys with the VCT issues it seems the upper end of the 5.4 3V really like to be taken care of and if you don't, it will show you problems! Those passages seem to get clogged up pretty easily. Of course not all were abused but a lot of them seem to have been neglected.
 
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Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
yes ford does say use 10w40 in those ticking engines and here in NJ they have to replace the car with a new one if under 2 years old or 24,000 miles if the customer goes the lemon law way and wins which most do...

They don't anymore, the tsb has been repealed. That's why I couldn't get it to pull up when this was originally posted. I doubt the lemon law is gonna do much good on an 04 model truck. Could you even use it to get a vehicle replaced for a noise anyway? I guess if a person pitches a big enough fit they can get whatever they want.
 
yes you could use it for noise issues because it states also if the problem makes the resale value go down it qualifies...Check your laws in your state and call a lemon law attorney most of them dont charge the client anything they get paid from the manufacture..
I dont think an 04 would qualify unless there is some kind of litigation already with others
 
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