4.6 ticking

C

carpetcleaner

Forum Member
2002 mustang 4.6 thats ticking i dont think it's a rod The noice does speed up with the rpm s. Hard to say where the noise is coming from sounds like its under the timimg cover but not sure noise has gotten worse over the last few weeks. The car just hit 100,000 miles sounds more of a tick not a clunk. Changed plugs(plugs looked good when changed.) , oil with no help. Oil has always been changed on time the 1 st owner ran mobile 1 i was running royal purple.oil pressure is good. Any help would be appreciated
 
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Sounds like timing chain or guides (maybe both)

4.6s are nitorious for piston slap (would sound closer to a rod knock) at 100k miles

You can do a few things to test....

Run the car and unplug an injector, listen for a change. Plug it back in and move to the next. Do this with the coil on plug connectors as well (2002 are COP IIRC)

Listen for an RPM change as well as a difference in the clunk. You will be able to tell if you have a dead cylinder. If RPMs dont change when you unplug either, then you have located a possible cause. Also, if the noise changes you know where to start looking. You can also invest in a stethoscope to listen more precisely (like $10 at harbor freight)

Maybe pull the cam covers and look for chain guide wear or chain slop
 
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O2 values reading within spec? If not, check for a broken ex. stud or blown exhaust gasket.
 
Went and got a stethoscope. Can hear a little noise in timing cover. But hear more noise under the drivers side valve cover i see that the top of the timing chain is under the valve cover. I see a video of a oil injector under the valve cover that can get plugged or anm i hearing the timing chain. Noise gos about 3/4 of the way down the valve cover.
 
My neighbor brought over a scan tool all fuel pressure is working all coils are working it didn't pull up a single cold all o2 sensors are good and working
 
Last time my 4.6 was making a ticking noise that was coming from the valve cover area, it ended up being a bent rod and chipped piston. Still ran just made a horrible ticking noise. I thought it was a lifter at the time but I dont think those fail too often on these engines.
 
carpetcleaner said:
Cam covers. Looks like its all one piece. Can i check the chains with the valve covers off
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Cam covers, valve covers same thing. pull the covers and look at the valvetrain as stated above.

You can get an ok idea of the chains by looking down the timing cover (with the timing cover installed still) You should be able to see the ratcheting chain tensioners as well.

I suggested removing spark/fuel one cylinder at a time to see if the noise went away. If there is no fuel/spark then there is no combustion and less stress on the piston/rod etc. With less stress on something with excessive play it will change the tone of the tick. I wasnt thinking that there was a lack of spark or fuel supply.
 
Ok no change if injector and coil are unplugged. Got valve cover off drivers sid r and it was a pita cant see any broken springs. How much oil should be coming out the rocker arms. Chain has slack in it likes like the bottom of the chain is resting right on the piece on plastic. Looks like the enough play to pull out a whole link
 
That sounds like a bit of excessive slack. There shouldnt really be any "slack" or "slop" so you might want to pull the timing cover and look at the tensioners/guides and gears. It might be time for a timing set.

The tick could be a little chain stretch that is allowing the guide to rattle on the guide pin as well.

How is the oil pressure for the engine? The chain tensioners are hydraulic so if there is not enough oil pressure then it wont push the tensioner to the next ratchet stop
 
The guides. Are wearing through to the metal. The cam gears looks good no wesr showing on them. But the back of the chain shows wear from metal on metal. With the guides. Should i get a whole set or just c hain and guides. Wheres a good place to get a deal on the parts needed. I seen them from 250 to 400 for the ford racing set on AM any that i should stay away from.
 
Never had that hard of a time with a valve cover. That should be a 5 minute job wtf where they thinking. The guy that design that needs to be fired
 
Look up Todd Warren on facebook or "na svt" on SVTPerformance.com (maybe other mustang forums as well). He is pretty much the modular N/A expert on making power with out power adders
 
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