1999 F-150, Automatic Small V-8

Symptom: Clicking noise in right side of engine compartment, More in gear than Park and more under load than idle. More when engine heated up than cold. Clicking varies with engine speed.

Bad News: Needed an oil/filter change and living in a rural area took it to a local gas station. Asked the mechanic (?) to check clicking and see if he could pin-point it. His response was that it was either the transmission or a cracked flywheel and his experience told him it was a cracked flywheel.

Good News: Not fully trusting the local mechanic (?), went to town and had the dealer do a diagonstic for me. Response was it was just a loose right exhaust manifold bolt and they could tighten it up (no addional charge over the diagnostic charge).

Bad News: Service manager came back out in thirty minutes and said that couldn't get to it to tighten it without pulling starter and other stuff and the bill would be $132. But OK to run as is for a while.

Guess I'll have to get under there when it gets a little warmer and see if I can get to the bolt.

gator

 

Don't wait too long dude...

This light click could develop into a blown exhaust gasket!!

 

Don't fret too much about it; the sound shoud be more annoying than anything else. Just make sure to check and see if it's not a spark plug that is starting to back out. If that is the case, the cylinder compression can shoot the plug right out of the hole, ruinning the heads.

-Flea

 

wanna tip?...get a piece of 5/8' fuel line or water heater line about 2 foot long...hold one end to your ear..the other to the engine and start searching...when you get to the niose you'll now it..I had a ticking noise that at first I thought was a plug coming out ...ended up being a noisey fuel injector...found that with my shadetree stethoscope

 

you can also use a long shaft scredriver or such and hold it against a part and it will magnify the sound for you too - that can help zero in on it