Knock, Knock. Who's there.....

S

seanpatrick2000

New member
I just changed my oil in my 03 mm and my annoying valve train ticking is now knocking. There is plenty of oil per the dip stick and the pressure gauge says 68 psi. when I cold start it, it knocks loud then calms dow a bit but is definitely worse than before. idle is smooth and
seems to have plenty of power driving, I just drove it 40 miles and it didn't get worse but didn't get better either. any Idea's what's knocking? doesn't sound quite like a rod bearing but it's worse then valve noice???? I have never heard a main knock so it could be that. i removed the belt to take away the ps, ac and alt. and still knocked so it's not an accessory.

the car has 130k on the clock so it's no spring chicken but it's not an old timer either. does anybody think that a new top end would fix
it or does it sound like I need an entire motor?

or is there a chance it's a flat lifter? though I put a rod on the rocker covers to listen if the noice was coming from there and it seems it's
coming from lower in the motor then the rockers.
 
130k miles....all stock? No tune? Never opened up? Timing components done? Oil filter housing gasket ever replaced? Ran it low on oil for a while? Cooling mod ever done? Over heat it?


I'm at 200k but fully maintained and serviced. I couldn't tell You why it's "knocking" but I listed a few things that could make this engine skip a beat. Once it does, You gotta do a full rebuild or find an Aviator engine (block and heads). Swap over the Marauder components. Hope You can save it!


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it does have a mild tune from Marty but other than that it's stock. I have only owned it for the last 8k miles so I don't really know it's history, it had normal valve train ticking when I got it, it's never overheated since I have had it and the oil does not smell burnt but it's got less then 100 miles on the oil change, the old oil doesn't smell burnt either.
Does ford still carry factory rebuilds of this engine?
 
Stock oil pressure gauge does not read actual pressure, it has no sending unit. Is your gauge factory or did you swap to swap to a real gauge?
 
Can you tell where the knocking is coming from? Any chance you could take a short video and post it?
 
it's the stock pressure gauge I know it's not direct pressure but it's better than nothing....

I put a socket extension to my ear and probed around it's not coming from the rocker covers I touched it to the timing cover and it was louder then the rocker covers
so I think it's coming from the bottom end or timing chain tensioners could they have lost their padding? what kind of noise would that cause?

I drove it aprox. 40 miles making that noise if it were a rod bearing or main bearing I think the engine would have siezed up.

I'll take a video this afternoon and hopefully I can catch it on audio
 
here is 40 seconds of my car from cold start to shut down, it seems worse today after sitting 24 hrs this was the first startup since last night
any input??? as you can see the serpentine belt is removed so it's just the engine not any accessories.

if it won't play use the link

https://youtu.be/EGWOlwDCT90


 
I didnt watch the video but most likely the timing chain tensioners

it sounds like you didnt put a motorcraft oil filter on it?
 
Yep, sounds like a tensioner no longer pumping up. More than likely a plastic version that cracked. Make sure to replace with the metal version if that ends up being the culprit.

If that is indeed the issue I’d quit driving it as you will be destroying the guides and sending chunks straight south to the oil pump. Just turning the engine over by hand with the timing cover off you get an amazing amount of slap on the one side from the all the valves holding it tight and then releasing.

Ford Racing sells a nice complete kit minus gaskets that I use. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fms-m-6004-a464/year/2003/make/mercury/model/marauder

Actually with that sound I wouldn’t drive it anyways..


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Well that sux what is the problem with a non motorcraft filter?
shouldn't the parts house know that it has to be a motorcraft filter?
can I sue Orielly auto parts for selling me the wrong filter?

How difficult of a job is it removing the timing cover can it be done in the chassis or does the engine have to be removed?
I have the tools but haven't done this big of a job in a long time. last year I put new cams in my twin cam harley I assume
it's a similar job. do the heads have to come off?

should I replace the cams while I'm at it? with what?
any other fixes I should do while the engine is apart?
 
The motorcraft filter has a check valve built in to prevent dry starts. Most aftermarket filters dont have this feature. I doubt you can sue Oreillys. Its one of those owner beware things.

If you have some mechanical ability you can do the job yourself and yes it can be done with the engine in place. No the cams dont have to be replaced as they hardly wear. Just make sure you use OEM steel tensioners and not the plastic ones. Taska is a good place to get all the parts.

Good Luck!
 
what is Taska, I see a Tascaparts.com is that what you are talking about?
did you listen to the video is that what the tensioner noise sounds like?

Im wondering how difficult it is to seal up the cover without taking the oil pan down?
I guess loads of black RTV would stop any oil leakage.
 
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If I pull the rocker covers would I be able to see the tensioner to verify the problem?
are these engines prone to the valves hitting the piston if the chain jumped a tooth?
though I don't think it did it runs to smooth for that.
 
looks like from that picture that possible you could see a sliver view of the driver side tensioner but not the right one.
at least I should be able to tell if it's a plastic or steal tensioner
 
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