Once again I'm proud to be the owner of a Ford with a noisy lifter. This will be my 4th Ford that clicks, I'm getting used to it!

I just rolled 65,xxx miles this week and have noticed the lifter clicking in the past two weeks. Its a little colder here in Iowa, which is the reason I've noticed it. I also had a chance to drive slowly through a narrow alley, which let me listen to the engine while driving. I'll try to video it so people can hear it during startup, and post it on here.

I'm not too worried, my 1997 beater has 175,xxx miles and the lifters are noisy as hell, and my 2001 had a noisy lifter from 77,000 miles until 250k+ miles. I'll have it noted during my next dealer oil change, but won't mess with it unless the engine dies.

Just wanted to see if other high mileage 09's are starting to hear the engine...

IowaAndy

 

That sucks - 5,xxx miles out of warranty!

 

Have you tried changing oil brands? In my past F150's, I ended up going with a slightly heavier viscosity oil. Mobil 1, 10-30. Of course, here in S. Florida it's hot all year long. Interestingly enough, my UOA's improved significantly. I gave my old truck to my brother with a quarter million miles on it. Still running perfectly.

The 5-20 was too noisy in my previous truck. Seems fine in my new one.

 

Thats impressive 65000 miles on a 09...what other issues have you run into? I have a ball joint on the drivers side wore out, had an issue with my traction control kicking in at low speed sharp turn and slow to disengage again, and I had my cam phaser replaced. I have 43 000 kms...so prob like 30000 miles.

 

My 2004 5.3 was really noisy, they told me it was the injectors making the noise. My '10 with the 4.6 is not noesy at all......

 

Not surprising for a Chevy..........

 

 

Other than normal tweaks that were needed in the first 15k miles, I've only done oil changes. I'm replacing my tires in the next few miles, as Iowa has been having really rough winters lately and I need tread depth.

Now I'm not sure if it's an engine knock or a shield knock. I can induce it by power braking and taking engine rpm's up to about 1100.

I'm going into dealership next week for a diagnosis. I've run the Ford 5w-20 oil since it was new, and if it's a lifter, I'll switch to 10W-30 for the rest of the engine's life. Since I run almost all highway miles, I don't mind running a heavier oil.

I've put 12,000 miles on my truck since August 9th, I'm hoping to stay off the road for a while and get caught up on work. I'm also installing a level kit next weekend, stay tuned!

IowaAndy

 

10W30 is gonna be rough on the cam phasers..........

 

Well, back from dealer. Here's the summary:

1. Had oil change ($23.55) and transmission fluid flush, filter replaced ($140.52)
2. Right outer tie rod is bad, quoted $155 to replace. I'm installing Moog tie rods this weekend, since I'd rather have lifetime warranty tie rods.
3. Cam phasers are creating the noise, $1830 to repair.

I'm going to call Ford and discuss some cost sharing, since my truck is 15,000 miles out of warranty but has full dealer service records on oil changes. Since it's a known issue, we'll see if my sales skills can help me out.

IowaAndy

 

I have 42k on my 09 and I have the same kind of lifter noise on start up. It lasts about 5 seconds and then I only notice it intermittently when driving. I need to take it in and have them look at it before I hit 50k. I have heard several people say that they have worn out the tie rods. I am going to have them check mine while it is in.