Best way to quiet valve lifter ticking?

Does anyone know if using a slightly thicker oil would maybe help quiet the lifters?

No.

And it could mess up the VVT.

Tester

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I’d think it might make it worse, if anything. Assuming the roller is sticking. I guess you’ve already tried synthetic 5w20?

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Yes. I’ve flushed the engine twice and done 2 oil changes with full synthetic and added rislone after but the ticking is still there. Maybe slightly quieter but definitely not gone.

Should I be getting rid of this car asap? Or can the engine still last a long time with this tick?

Remove the valve cover and address the failure, weird oil will not solve the problem.

Parting with the car is one option but the next old car that you buy will need repairs. Fixing up old cars can be a satisfying hobby for some but you need to have the skills necessary for auto repair.

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If it was an around town car and a breakdown is not critical I might let it go, but probably not. Get an estimate or 3

Lots of confusion in terms in this, and again, I am not a mechanic. What the guy replaced in the video was a roller rocker, or a cam follower, I think. I don’t think this engine has roller lifters, although I could be wrong. These Ford engines (4.6 and 5.4 liters with 3 valves per cylinder) with variable cam timing are pretty well known for developing some sounds at higher mileage. I believe those mechanics who told you the engine would run tens of thousands of miles are probably correct. That being said, if the engine is making a sound that it doesn’t when new, then something is touching something else in a less than ideal way, and it stands to reason those parts are incurring more wear.

If you were lucky enough to remove a valve cover and find something relatively obviously wearing wrong (like in the video), that would be awesome and I’d do the repair. If, on the other hand, the issue is with the variable cam timing system, you could be going down a rabbit hole.

I’m going to elaborate on the rabbit hole. A former coworker and friend of mine, who was a diesel mechanic at the time with past experience as a tech working in a dealership and now teaches automotive tech at the local high school, ventured down that rabbit hole on a 5.4 he owned that had a similar noise to yours. He did all the work himself. If the variable cam timing is off, it could make racket due to a slack timing chain, worn timing chain guides or tensioner, bad cam phasers, and probably some other things I’m forgetting. The issue is so prevalent on the 5.4 3 valve that the aftermarket actually makes upgraded timing chain tensioners and vct “lockouts” that actually remove the variability out of the cam timing and make the system less complex. At any rate, he tried 5w30 oil first, with no luck. Then he replaced cam phasers (relatively easy, I think). Then he replaced the timing chain tensioners with upgraded aftermarket parts. He may have (probably did) replace the timing chain as well, I don’t recall. He was contemplating adding the “lockout kit” to remove the variable cam timing at one point. I don’t know if he ever got the engine as quiet as he wanted it at idle. I kind of lost touch with him and he trades vehicles pretty often anyway. Heck, I’ll call him up and ask him if you want!

So my point is…diving into the vct system, if that’s where the problem is, would get over my head pretty quick. It would also get expensive pretty quickly if you paid someone else, judging by his list of replacement parts.

I’m sort of rambling and you may have stopped reading by now, so I’ll recap. If you want to remove the valve covers and look for an obvious stuck roller, I’d go for it. If there’s nothing obvious when you remove the valve covers…maybe I’d replace the cam phasers. I would not dive down into the timing chain myself, nor would I pay someone else to do it in order to alleviate that noise.

How long and how many miles do you think you’ll keep this car? If you intend to trade it off in the next 3 years or so anyway…I’m not sure I’d worry about it at all unless the sound is progressively getting worse.

Not really sure if I have this correct. But did you sell one problem Mustang and purchase this older Mustang which has problems . My thought is to just drive this thing until you can afford a much newer vehicle in good condition or at least until these awful prices settle down. If a long trip out of your area is needed than rent something cheap.

Get some estimates on repairing it, it might be a lot better than replacing it. I would check compression first to make sure the engine isn’t worn out.

Sorry for being such a noob haha but i can’t tell from the video…how complicated is this repair he’s doing? Is it as simple as removing the valve cover where the noise is coming from and unbolting the stuck roller and putting the new one on? Or do a lot of things have to be removed to get to it/unbolt it? Looks like the whole camshaft needs to be removed to get to those “rollers” but am I wrong?

I agree with texases. You need to make sure that motor is not damaged as there is no sense into tearing into a flawed engine on a piecemeal basis.

As a predecessor to a compression test, I would suggest connecting a vacuum gauge to an intake manifold vacuum source. Vacuum gauges are cheap. Allow the engine to idle. A good engine should show around 20" on the vacuum gauge with a rock steady needle.

Much lower and/or a vibrating or fluctuating needle on the gauge means you need to go further and check the compression for sure.

I don’t believe you have to remove the camshaft. Just have to rotate the engine to get some clearance on the particular roller you’re replacing, if you find one that needs replacing.

I’m going to respectfully disagree. I see no reason for a compression test, etc if the engine runs strong with no smoke or oil loss and all you are trying to do is alleviate some noise at idle on a 3 valve modular Ford. The engines are known to make racket at idle. There’s a lot going on under those valve covers. No need to think about getting rid of the car or rebuilding the engine with a little valve train noise.

If you take the valve covers off and see a cam lobe or two scored more than the others, I’d replace those corresponding rollers. If you can’t really determine anything with the valve covers off, I’d probably just leave it alone. Maybe study up on cam phaser replacement and see if that’s a possible solution.

OP, how many miles on this engine?

A used car with unknown maintenance exhibiting symptoms that could be caused by poor maintenance is a good candidate for some cheap checks before repairs.

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174k on the odo

The way I look at it (if it were a stuck roller) is similar to a broken valve spring on a simpler engine. Compression is whatever it is. I’m replacing the valve spring anyway.

Fair amount. If I couldn’t find anything obvious, I’d just run it. Realistically, with all the components that are hiding out under the valve covers, 2 timing chains, etc., a little noise at idle at that mileage on that engine is somewhat par for the course, in my opinion. There’s a whole lot of parts moving together in those heads that have to be meshing correctly in order to remain silent.

To each their own; but I just happen to think that one needs to make sure the basic engine is half solid before spending cash on internals. What if that 174k miles motor is only carrying 20 pounds of oil pressure? Or if compression is in the 130s?

There was a post recently from someone about replacing a timing chain on a 310k miles engine and they have issues. If someone ever approached me about a chain on a motor with that many miles I would just tell them that they really need to think about that long and hard before spending a single dime.
If an oil pressure and compression check came out ok then I might consider doing the job. Otherwise, I won’t touch it.

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Yeah, I get your point. I’m just thinking if it runs well……would you do a compression test or oil pressure test if it didn’t tic at idle? Probably not. So if I could fix the noise (myself) for the price of a roller rocker or two and some valve cover gaskets, I’d just go ahead and fix that regardless. However, I totally agree that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to do some checking on engine health before paying someone else to dive off into chasing that noise. With 176k miles and my past experiences with paying a shop to diagnose problems, I doubt I’d pay someone else to investigate the noise at all, to be honest. I might just let the sound go and shoot for 200k miles or more as it is if I determined it wasn’t something I could do on my own.

What is success rate on ford ohc motor valve train repairs? Change chains, cams, lifters, cam sprockets and no improvement. Yes, replacing a broke part usually fixes the major issue. But, changing parts that are “worn”?