Explorer 4.6 phaser knock

[94Eddie]

The noise appears only at idle, can hear it up to apr. 1000 rpm. Tried today 0w40 oil-the knock is much quieter but still there. As i changed the phaser and the knock did not disappear-I think I may have problems with oil pressure…but in my case at 60 k miles only I don’t want to believed that I need to change the whole timing to get rid of this knock (

I suggest using 10w30 or 10w40. You need to use an overall thicker oil and not a wider viscosity range. I use 10w30 and have had no issues so far and valve train noise is very low.

 

[boominXplorer]

DO NOT GO THICKER THAN 10W40 OIL!!!!!! Had a guy with a similar phaser issue and told him he needed the whole 9 yards (chains, guides, oil pump and phasers)

A week later he cam back and told me the problem has nearly gone away with 15w40 diesel oil until it gets warm. A week after that he was towed in after spinning a crank bearing and motor had locked up. That 15w40 doesn't flow well in cold where tolerances are made for 5w30 max. Sure the phasers were happy but the bottom end wasn't and didn't last.

Honestly I wouldn't try anything else before swapping that vvt solenoid. With the noise going away by 1000-1200 it's definitely a phaser noise being satisfied by oil pressure.

 

[Youssef]

try disconnecting the vct solenoids, if the problem disappears, your problem is the phaser. If you already installed the new ford phaser, then your problem is oil pressure.

 

[mkll]

Changed vct solenoid on RH, that did not help. When disconnecting solenoids the knock does not desapear at all. So yes, I also made a conclusion that I have issues with oil pressure on hot idle.
Decided to install new oil pump (ordered melling m340hv) and new chain tensioners. Hope this will solve the knock

 

[Bazz270]

Change the chain,the guides ,oil pump inlet pipe oring and the camshaft sprocket as well