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Clicking noise

Killeraction141618

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October 23, 2017
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City, State
Greenwood, DE
Year, Model & Trim Level
2003 explorer 4.6 XLT
I have a 2003 Ford Explorer 4.6 V8 XLT.. 120,000 miles on it. Changed spark plugs, ignition coils, and oil in the last 3 weeks. Ticking noise just started 1 week ago. Before you ask. I double checked my spark plugs to make sure gap was correct. Not sure what this ticking noise could be, but I’ve read all kinds of stuff about injectors, bad spark plugs, oil filters, heavier weight oil, etc. .. didn’t know if someone else had similar problems they resolved and could help.. thanks!
 



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But really, it's most likely your timing chain has worn through the tensioner and guide arms. If you've never changes the timing chain assembly then that's what the problem is. Read about it HERE.
 






I just changed my timing chains. The ticking started suddenly without warning. Remove the oil fill cap on the valve cover and take a listen, the sound should be much louder. 120K seems low miles for failure ( mine was at 210K), but if it didn't have regular service it could wear sooner. My passenger side chain was the bad one, the drivers side still looked good. If the noise is loud in your valve covers the first thing to do is remove them and look in with a flashlight to see if you can verify the guide wear.
The chain replacement process is not too difficult with the correct tools. I have a pair of cam holders I bought used that I can resell.
 


















Yeah, I agree. Just changed some lifters in my 2005 with the 4.6 liter engine and it really wasn't too difficult, so I thought this would be the best thread to post my journey. First issue was the stupid wiring harness. Naturally, it had a junction for the main harness right over the back of the valve cover:
IMG_8468.JPG
You have to pull the wires for the Coil packs and some of the injectors. Then you have to pull of this strange pot device hanging by the battery with two hoses on it. Just disconnect the wire, and slide it forward off the metal bracket, and lay it on the engine. Next, remove the bolt holding the dipstick tube, and let it fall slightly out of the way. Do not remove the tube! Finally, see that other wiring harness all the way to the left on top of that timing chain part of the cover? You will have to disconnect the alternator wires at the top. One is a plug, and the other one is the primary which is fastened on with a nut. At this time, I disconnected the battery since I wasn't sure if that primary was 'hot'. A ground wire on the stud on the bracket has to come off too-sorry.
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As you can see, I've removed the cover using a 8mm deep socket and a 19mm socket for a mutant bolt on the left bottom of my engine. I speculate this bolt hole might have something to do with dropping the engine into the vehicle. Makes sense that they would use a larger 19mm bolt in the hole than risk cross-threading a blot with an 8mm head on it on the assembly line.Make sure to lay the bolts out in the order you take them out so they can go back in the same holes. Next take off the valve cover. Mine was really baked on and I used a screwdriver to break the seal. Don't go in real far, I stopped when I felt the gasket.Be real careful, this thing is made of plastic.
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As you remove the cover, you will see the big honkin' wiring in the back will fight you. Just take your time, hold it up and the cover will go up. Push it back slightly, and you will have clearance at the timing chain end. Speaking of timing chains, this is the perfect opportunity to peer down the hole to see if your timing chain and guides are good.
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Fortunatly for me, the guides on both sides of the chain (they are the brown things that the chain is laying against) are good- regular oil changes religiously for 166,000 miles. If yours are broken or missing, you might as well stop now- lifters aren't your big problem anymore. Should do a full front end timing chain tear down to fix, or consider trading it in- it is literally a 'ticking' timebomb. Many great videos on u-tube for this, (FordTechMaculoco is the best) so if you've got a garage and don't need the vehicle immediatly, why not give it a shot? Alright, on to the lifters. I tried removing and replacing some lifters and rocker arms on an explorer like mine in a junkyard first before I would even consider this job. Cover was already off, so I used the old screwdriver trick (all over u-tube videos) and it worked great. Except that engine was stripped of its wonderful plastic intake manifold (Jesus, Ford do love their plastic... see my journey through heater door hell repair elsewhere on this site.) No way to get leverage to use a screwdriver to pop off the lifter, so I grabbed a cats paw. Worked great, but it should be one size smaller (and probably cleaner,too).
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Now is the time to make sure your end of the cam lobe on the one you are working on has the fat end pointing 180 degrees away from the valve stem (in other words, pointing up towards the front fender). Just give the bar a gentle nudge and off it comes.
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The rocker will fall out nicely, if it already hasn't hit the ground (oh yeah, BTW you should put rags along the bottom of the cover opening to catch stuff like that). Next pull out the lifter. You should have the new lifter soaking in some engine oil for a bit to help get it ready.
IMG_8473.JPG
You'll Notice the very small hole on the side of the lifter- make sure when you insert the lifter that the hole is facing down towards the oil opening in the lifter hole. Then it's time for the replacement of the rocker arm. Depending on where you are in the engine, it can be easy or hard. I chose to replace the 2 lifters in the back- right under the accursed wiring harness. That explains why I have no pictures of the procedure- not enough hands. It's very easy when you know this one trick- do not to try to push the arm in from behind- it just won't work. Instead, place the arm next to the cam and slide it in until it fits bethind the cam and valve spring. You know you will have it when you see the rocker arm just touching the lifter nub straight on. Then take the screwdriver, place it behind the nub where the oil hole is, and prying against the cam oil shields, pull back. It snaps into place easily. Honestly, it took more time to wrestle with the wiring harness that to do these 2 replacements.
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The next trick is kinda important that you wont see anywhere. The valve covers have a dab of RTV from the factory in two places upfront. This is to keep the area where the timing chain cover meets the heads.
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When you clean this area with a wood or plastic scraper, be sure to leave the nub of stuff inside the hole in the head. I did this by using my fingernail to scrape it down without pulling it out.
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The rest of the crap can come off. I then proceeded to clean the cover inside- and found out something interesting- this is the side that an air breather is on- from all the videos I've studied, this side gets bad first- and I did notice some mild coating of gunk on the cover towards the bottom end where that breather is pointing.
IMG_8480.JPG
Note the breather outlet direction. Unfortunately, I cleaned it out before I took the picture. Suffice to say, I concluded that the lifters towards the back end of the engine suffered for this, and those got replaced. The old gasket was still on, so I peeled it off and prepped the surface for the new one.BTW, I did NOT use any cleaner since I didn't know whether that breather had an element in it, and I don't think Brake-Kleen would be good for it or the engine. I highly recommmend using Fel-Pro gaskets since they go on dry with no RTV and are a perfect fit. They also are reinforced at the area where you left the RTV in the head, but make no allowances for the hole you left filled.
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Finally, throw the whole damned thing together, making special allowances for the back of the engine- that wiring harness will jump out and dislocate the gasket from the cover, so check it with a mirror before final placement.
That's about it, i replaced the two back lifters and rockers, and that solved my problem- sort of. Turns out that they were not the whole problem- must be more I missed. Damn! Well, looks like I'll replace them all- but it should be a way easier job now that I've done it and the clean-up before. One important final note: Be sure to examine the camshaft lobes to make sure they aren't scored Good video by FordTechMacaluco on this subject- his stuff on these engines is great (and I'll never buy a used 5.4l ever). Make sure the rockers are free wheeling too.
So after all this, I did discover the beginnings of a slight score on one of the rocker arms I replaced:
IMG_8483.JPG
It's a fine line through the flash. Nothing serious, but still glad I caught it- and in my mind, makes the job worth it.
So it's on to replacing the rest of the lifters and rocker arms and opening the valve cover and wrestling with that damned wiring harness.... again.
Dan
 






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