I have exhausted several areas of where this rattling may be coming from but still with no avail of fixing it. First of all I noticed this metallic rattling sound about 2 months ago now. It doesn't matter if the engine is cold or warm it still does it. At idle, acceleration, or letting off the gas it still does it. Of course as the engine increases speed I cannot hear the rattle due to engine and exhaust noise. But as soon as I left off the pedal I can hear it again. It is most prevalent and gets louder before 2100k RPMs. Then the timing chain rattle takes over lol.

Here is a list of crap I have done to the engine to try to find the rattle.
1. Replaced Idler and tensioner pulley.
2. Had the alternator and bearings inspected.
3. Replaced the fan clutch.
4. Ran the engine w/o serpentine belt. (Still heard noise)
5. Inspected Crank pulley washer as they can come loose sometimes.
6. Inspected all heat shields on all 4 catalytic converters and they are solid and do not wiggle.

The noise is louder at the bottom of the engine near the front of it. It sounds as if it coming out of or near the oil pan.

I changed plugs, wires, PCV valve, cleaned TB and intake all at 100K. I now have 122K on the truck as of today. I also switched to Mobil 1 5w-30 Synthetic at 105K.

Do ya'll have any ideas cause this crap is driving me nuts.

 

damn, i was gonna say maybe its what you put in your #6 but you beat me to it lol.
what about maybe the internals of one your cats? maybe the honeycomb is so old it broke apart/loosened and is rattling inside the cat? I had a similar noise a fw months back and it wasnt the cat heat shield....i needed a new cat.

 

Lay under the truck with a hammer. Lightly tap on everything in sight.

If you hear the noise, hit it really really hard until the noise stops.. lol jk.

But seriously, try tapping on stuff. You never know what kind of random nut or washer has come loose.

 

Yeah that was like the last the last thing I could think of to do lol. But is there anyway to "test" the cats to see if the internals are still intact?

 

Yeah beat the piece that is rattling, then precede to knock it off, got it lol. But I am about to that point though it's so annoying.

But yeah I'll go back under the truck again and see if I can see if anything is moving while the truck is on, then precede to go knocking.

 

Ok, pretty dead thread now lol, but I am back with an update.

I still have the tick and it is still driving me nuts. I have isolated the noise to come mainly from the oil pan, and it is getting louder now. Could the oil sump be clogged? Thus making the oil pump "work" harder to get the oil back to the valves?

This past week I changed oil and went from Mobil 1 to Motorcraft 5w-30 Synthetic Blend. Still ticking just as loud. I am beginning to think I should have never changed to a full synthetic after the engine was used to conventional oil for over 100k miles. It never had this tick when I was using conventional oil. However, I would think something like this tick would come up soon after the change to full synthetic. And full synthetic has a higher viscosity than conventional oil, so the pump should not have to be working harder to pump the oil since synthetic oil has more viscosity. Or am I wrong about all that lol?

My spring break is not this week, but the next. I think I will pull the oil pan off the engine then and see what's going on down there unless y'all have any suggestions.

 

I would say you have rod bearings going bad if its getting worse ! The next time you do an oil change try to feel the oil that comes out if it feels rough like there is sand in the oil your probably going to have to replace the bottom end. Do you ever notice your oil pressure dropping or spiking? As far as the changing oils its a good thing you changed the oil because your motor works less to keep oil running threw it! Just don't change back to conv oil now that your running synthetic.

 

sounds to me like lower end knock. if its internal, get it looked at very soon. if you spun a crank bearing, you've got more trouble then you can count.

 

Thanks for the replies fellas. I am putting the truck in the shop this afternoon and have the guy listen to it. I am not saying that the noise is not a lower end knock, but it's more high pitched and has no rhythm, more of metallic sound not a deep thud that has a rhythm to it. I took a video of it this morning to see if that would diagnose what is going on.

Check it out. If y'all can't view the video, let me know and I will post it through youtube.

 

After having my truck at the shop all afternoon, the tech said that he is 90% sure that the noise is coming from the timing chain. Specifically the one on the back of the engine. Especially after he ran the engine without the belt on it and it still was making the noise.

Options include:
1) Putting some heavier weight oil to "deaden" the noise, sell the truck, and buy something new.
2) Having Ford or myself put all new guides and all that crap that comes with the timing chain fix kit.
3) Drive the **** out of the truck until it blows up lol.

Any other solutions to the problem or did he hit the nail on the head with his diagnosis in y'alls opinion?

 

sounds like the 4.0 timing chain tick. they are very very common. id drive it till she chucks a motor, then do a 5.0 swap. but thats me and my lead foot.

 

- You do realize the cost associated with Ford replacing both chains is correct? Well over $1500
- Heavier oil will reduce the noise and create a poor mpg status
- Driving the **** out of it will put strain on you trans and drivetrain components that you dont want to fix i say 5.0 Swap it so youll have 2 5OH's

 

Alright thanks for the opinions. Like stated, I believe I'll just drive the truck til she blows up. And as both of you have said, then do a 5.0 swap, and have 2 5.0 HO's lol, I like.

Do you have any idea, like a rough estimate, of how much longer I have till the chains finally come loose and blow the engine lol?

 

I wish someone would post. I have the same problem. I've had this problem since the truck was brand new. I had the service manager go for a ride with me. Unfortunately the sound is subtle and was snowing and slushy that day he came for a ride. My issue goes away when warm or in the summer and less prominent when truck is warm. I was told by the service manager that rangers used to have timing chain issues but not anymore. I personally think it's engine or transmission related. My concern at this point is my 5 year warranty just expired days ago. Truck only has 60Km on it. That's 12k a year. It even still looks like it was just off the show room. I'm thinking about getting rid of it since I feel their service department knows of the issue and are playing stupid.

 

I am driving a 2010 mustang 4.0L v-6 with overhead cams. These engines are used in the rangers. If you have the engine with the overhead cams, Ford changed the engine. I think that Ford made the change in 2008 to get more power than the push rod engines. They drive the left bank cam from the front of the engine. They drive the right bank from the rear of the engine. There is a pilot shaft that runs from the front of the engine to the rear of the engine to power the rear timing chain. The Ranger had an additional chain in the front, than the passenger car engines. Basically you have two timing chains. One in the front, and one in the rear. They have chain tensioners called cassettes. They are metal and a polymer material. When the polymer material wears off, the chains get loose and began to rattle. In addition they have hydraulic chain tensioners. One in the front and one in the rear. My manual says to change them after 100,000 miles. They put pressure on the cassette to keep the chains taught. They have a spring that applies basic pressure on the cassette when the engine is not running. When you start the engine, oil pressure build up, which will augment the pressure on the cassettes. You can change the hydraulic chain tensioners to see if they have gotten weak over time. This may solve your loose timing chain problem. If it is a broken cassette chain tensioner then they have to be replaced. You can change the front cassette timing chain with the engine in the vehicle. If it is the rear cassette tensioner, you have to pull the engine. You can see the procedure on U-tube. You also have to have expensive Ford fixtures to keep the cams from moving, when you are changing the timing chains and the cassettes. I'm not sure if Auto Zone rents them. If I would have known, I never would have bought a vehicle with this 4.0L engine with the overhead cams. If you keep driving with loose timing chains, eventually they will break and scatter pieces of chain in your oil pan. The noise of the timing chain will get louder and louder, with time. When I have that problem, I will replace the engine with a crate engine. It is just too much work to replace these timing chains cassettes.