I have a 98 XLT with the 4.6 V8 with 79,000 miles, I've noticed now that it colder when I start the truck in the mourning I get a loud chatter for 5 seconds or so.My driveway is at a good angle so i'm wondering if all the oil is draining back into the pan?. I only use the Motorcraft oil filter since it has the nylon anti-drain valve in it. Also I use the Ford recommended oil (5w-20) ,If I park on level ground I do not have this problem. Should I worry about this,change to synthetic oil or what. Thanks for any help in advance.

 

I have a 2000 150 and I have the same problem when starting in cold weather. It has done this since it was new. Kinda pisses me off......

 

my 98' 4.6 does the same thing. i think mine is valvetrain. i'm not too worried. i know i'm going to get some serious crap for this, but my jap 2.5 v6 in my probe makes a ***** load of noise when i start it cold. once warm it purs like my truck except it revs to 7500, gets 32mpg and makes almost as much HP(don't ask how, but trust me, it does ). that engine has been well known to make it to 300k, just like our trucks. many jap engines do this and they still run forever. in many cases i don't think it's really critical. most full size truck owners just aren't used to it. i don't like it either, but i'm not going to lose sleep over it.