2008 E350 V10 Engine chugging / rattle noise

[Mr.Anderson]

Unfortunately no compression testing. I told him the first thing to check was the spark plug torques and asked him if checked those and even after he already had pulled off the valve covers he said "oh yeah I haven't gotten around to it" ...

Needless to say I'm not thrilled.

Sounds like the exhaust leak root cause is not likely based on that warm up pattern. That makes me lean more towards just getting a new engine, because it would be 2 weeks plus $1500 to get those manifold gaskets replaced and the bolts retapped, then if that doesn't work it's still another 2+ weeks and $6k for the remman engine. At this point I feel like the piece of mind of a new engine is worth it, I don't have time for this van to be in the shop for another month. My opinion is it's either this lasher adjuster fixes it or a new engine.



When I bought this thing I was trying to "do all the right things" - being in the rust belt I sought out something from the southwest which wasn't rusted out from the winter salt, and this was a government owned fleet vehicle with a solid carfax and maintenance history. I guess I got unlucky.

[JWA]

If you go the reman'd engine route PM me and we can maybe talk by phone where I can share some insight I have now regarding the Ford engines. It not horrible but it is info you need before going forward without knowing a few finer details of their warranty.

Best of luck on this--been there, done that and do NOT wish to go back again.

[Mr.Anderson]

Called my mechanic, he said today he will finish installing the passenger side lash adjusters and button things back up. We'll see what happens, he also said he's putting in Shell rotella 5w-30 full syn oil, he said he wanted to see if a thicker oil would help ... I forget his reasoning on that but at some point I read on FTE that some people had tried that as well to try to fix engine tick. seems like a bandaid at best.



It occurred to me that I don't think I ever posted up the video with the noise. this was taken about 1 week before I got it towed to the shop. The last time I drove the van it sounded worse than in this video. Here is a link to the video - this was taken in a parking lot after about 10 minutes of city stop and go driving under 30mph. You can definitely tell that the sound is coming from the passenger side. Having looked at other videos with rod knock, it doesn't quite sound like that but I don't know.



What we do know is:



a. it's not loose spark plugs / on the ignition side of things

b. it's not a bad rocker




c. it isn't related to the exhaust manifold/gasket (in spite of busted manifold bolts, the noise is not present cold).


d. It's not a collapsed valve spring


e. the cam lobes are in good shape and don't show any signs of gauging or scoring

[carringb]

Yeah, sounds rod knock to me.

Your mechanic could be onto something with the oil however. The prior fleet may have been using a quick-lube facility, and those facilities do not use 5w-20 that meets Ford specs, unless you pay the stiff premium to upgrade to synthetic blend. Conventional 5w-20 can break down before the recommended interval, especially if it's exposed to high temps, like mountain driving in hot weather or towing.

So that's why it gets worse when the engine is hot... The oil is just too thin to maintain a fluid-film-gap in the bearings.

[JWA]

Originally Posted by Mr.Anderson

It occurred to me that I don't think I ever posted up the video with the noise. this was taken about 1 week before I got it towed to the shop. The last time I drove the van it sounded worse than in this video. Here is a link to the video - this was taken in a parking lot after about 10 minutes of city stop and go driving under 30mph. You can definitely tell that the sound is coming from the passenger side. Having looked at other videos with rod knock, it doesn't quite sound like that but I don't know.

Somewhat good news from the mechanic---hoping nothing but the best!

That linked video won't open for me without downloading or paying for another unwanted "app". I'd post it on YouTube so its more readily viewable by others. Or maybe not---some seem to be watching via that link.

[Mr.Anderson]

Originally Posted by JWA

Somewhat good news from the mechanic---hoping nothing but the best!

That linked video won't open for me without downloading or paying for another unwanted "app". I'd post it on YouTube so its more readily viewable by others. Or maybe not---some seem to be watching via that link.

Hey JW, if you could post that on youtube that would be awesome - I've actually never posted anything on youtube and have been meaning to learn more about doing so and video editing, but i'm always too busy with the van build / work. I did notice after posting the thread that it seems like the link will not play the video in a web browser.

[JWA]

Originally Posted by Mr.Anderson

Hey JW, if you could post that on youtube that would be awesome - I've actually never posted anything on youtube and have been meaning to learn more about doing so and video editing, but i'm always too busy with the van build / work. I did notice after posting the thread that it seems like the link will not play the video in a web browser.

Okay so I have this video posted to my YouTube channel---its public so anyone can watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_iSsh6YlYk

That noise does sound like a rod bearing or crank bearing cap clicking. It would be maybe a bit more definitive if we heard it while gently increasing the RPM's---but no need to push it.

I'd suggest using a mechanic's stethoscope to better isolate the noise.

Anyway the video is up for anyone to view in a web browser window.

[Mr.Anderson]

Thanks a lot for posting that JW!



I actually just got off the phone with the mechanic and the verdict is in: the noise is still there.



So here we go new engine!







It's just weird, why would the rod bearing go out for no reason like that??? Again this was a fleet maintained vehicle with a solid and regular maintenance history.

[arctictraveller]

It's really hard to tell, but that sounds like a valve train noise to me, possibly a bad lifter? If the motor is coming out anyway, why not wait on the new engine, and tear it down? It could be a simple fix, but if your pressed for time I guess a new one might be quicker.

[Mr.Anderson]

The valve train checked out when my mechanic had the covers off. he inspected the 5 passenger side rockers/roller followers and installed new lifters (hydraulic lash adjusters), everything in the valve train looked ok and the new lifters didn't fix the problem. I spoke to a commercial ford truck dealer here in Pittsburgh, and that mechanic seemed fairly convinced of a bad rod bearing based on my description. I think given the amount of money I've poured into the van with the build, having a "clean slate" with a remanned engine is probably better anyway


I'm at the point where if that engine is coming out, a new one should go in because I only want to experience this once LOL. Fingers crossed no problems with a new remanned.