Per Ford (officially) the 2011-2019 F150/Mustang 5.0 “Typewriter Tick” is a normal characteristic

[TTown]

We can hope.

And I don't think Ford says its normal but rather that it's not harmful. A distinction without a difference for afflicted owners.

Ford specifically said that the tick is an “operating characteristic of the 5.0L engine and no repairs should be attempted.” I guess they didn't say "normal" but that is implied.

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[GT Pony]

Ford specifically said that the tick is an “operating characteristic of the 5.0L engine and no repairs should be attempted.” I guess they didn't say "normal" but that is implied.

I think the carefully chosen words "operating characteristic" (only for some Coyote engines) is just a less dramatic/alarming way of saying "not totally normal". How many other engine makes exhibit this BBQ ticking phenomenon right after an oil change? I never heard of this phenomenon for any engine in over 40 years happening after an oil change until I bought a Mustang with the Coyote.

 

[spedy7]

(TLDR - 45 pages is a lot) Brand new '23 and I do have a nice consistent tick at idle when warm. The '22 I had had no similar noise to it whatsoever. Tick has been present since I bought it ~500 miles ago. No issues I can feel performance-wise. Kinda lame to have a noisy motor, but as long as there's no observable issue there's no need for repair IMO.

Doing some minor research, it looks like LS's had/have a similar issue possibly due to forged pistons with a shorter skirt design to help skirt emissions. Most pistons these days are pretty compact, so piston slap doesn't make sense to me (no 1.0/1.5/1.6/2.0/2.3/2.7/3.0/3.3/3.5/3.7/4.6/5.4/6.2/6.8/7.3 piston-related noises as far as I know). The piston should expand to proper size too when warm (if forged), unless due to manufacturer inconsistencies it doesn't. So could be something not piston related - blowby? oil pump gear? lifter followers? valves? VCT's that Ford has issues with on other V-style engines?


As far as filling oil filters - y'all are overthinking lol. Most techs here never pre-fill and have never had a direct correlation to engine failure. Newer engines are pretty well engineered with lubricity, and oil still remains in the oil passages, bearings, pump, heads, valley (if its a OHV engine), lifters, VCT's, timing tensioners (if oil pressurized), and also just hanging around surfaces due to surface tension. Newer engines also usually have a relatively small filter vs older engines (ex: my 302 with a FL-1A vs coyote FL-500), so no huge void to fill. 10k mile oil changes though...that's something I don't agree with.

 

[GT Pony]

Doing some minor research, it looks like LS's had/have a similar issue possibly due to forged pistons with a shorter skirt design to help skirt emissions. Most pistons these days are pretty compact, so piston slap doesn't make sense to me (no 1.0/1.5/1.6/2.0/2.3/2.7/3.0/3.3/3.5/3.7/4.6/5.4/6.2/6.8/7.3 piston-related noises as far as I know). The piston should expand to proper size too when warm (if forged), unless due to manufacturer inconsistencies it doesn't. So could be something not piston related - blowby? oil pump gear? lifter followers? valves? VCT's that Ford has issues with on other V-style engines?

Yeah, it's definitely not piston slap. It's got to be some moving mechanical parts contacting/tapping each other that are sensitive to the friction level between them. One theory is that the rod big ends "dance" back and forth on the crank journal, and the dancing is set off by the friction level of the oil. When a friction modifier like Ceratec is added to the oil (even as small as 150cc in 10 quarts of oil - 1.5% by volume) and the ticking almost immediately stops, that's a big clue it's friction level related. Theory is the anti-friction tribofilm is stripped off to some degree when an oil change is done, and that's why the tick starts right after an oil change ... again that points to a change in friction level between moving parts.

Sound familiar? Rod big ends tapping on the crank won't cause any real damage, just noise.

 

[TTown]

A lot people, me included, developed the tick well BEFORE the first oil change. That throws a wrench in a lot of theories.

 

[spedy7]

Yeah, it's definitely not piston slap. It's got to be some moving mechanical parts contacting/tapping each other that are sensitive to the friction level between them. One theory is that the rod big ends "dance" back and forth on the crank journal, and the dancing is set off by the friction level of the oil. When a friction modifier like Ceratec is added to the oil (even as small as 150cc in 10 quarts of oil - 1.5% by volume) and the ticking almost immediately stops, that's a big clue it's friction level related. Theory is the anti-friction tribofilm is stripped off to some degree when an oil change is done, and that's why the tick starts right after an oil change ... again that points to a change in friction level between moving parts.

Sound familiar? Rod big ends tapping on the crank won't cause any real damage, just noise.

I think your theory might be right, sounds about the same. I was wrong in that Coyotes have forged rods and crank, but not pistons. I'd think forged stuff would definitely cause a racket if something is hitting something, especially if there may be design or manufacturing inconsistencies.

 

[GT Pony]

A lot people, me included, developed the tick well BEFORE the first oil change. That throws a wrench in a lot of theories.

Does the ticking then go away later, or after an oil change? Have you tried Ceratec to see if the ticking changes or goes away? Could be something else going on without some testing to see what makes it change. Coyotes make a variety of ticks and rattles.

 

[cerbomark]

another theory; if it hasn't been brought to the table yet, someone who s engine is ticking would slowly add in a 1/2 quart or less as it running and see if it quiets down. Maybe it s an oil volume or air issue? Some have said they added the ceratec and stopped immediately . Others claim using all kinds of different oil made the tick go away, so maybe it s not the oil or additive but the volume. ? It s an easy experiment for someone with the tick.

 

[GT Pony]

another theory; if it hasn't been brought to the table yet, someone who s engine is ticking would slowly add in a 1/2 quart or less as it running and see if it quiets down. Maybe it s an oil volume or air issue? Some have said they added the ceratec and stopped immediately . Others claim using all kinds of different oil made the tick go away, so maybe it s not the oil or additive but the volume. ? It s an easy experiment for someone with the tick.

I doubt it's simply due to the oil level in the engine. I'm sure many guys with ticking Coyotes have the oil level proper on the dipstick.

Different oil brands can have a difference in the anti-friction additive pack. My suggestion is to use an oil brand that uses a lot of Molybdenum in their formulation to see if that makes the ticking less or go away. Ceratec is a friction modifier, and the ticking seems to go away almost instantly for many who use it.

 

[shogun32]

A lot people, me included, developed the tick well BEFORE the first oil change. That throws a wrench in a lot of theories.

Indeed. But so far nobody has offered evidence it's a manifestation of injury or otherwise shortens the lifespan of the motor under usual and customary. Not to mention Ford can't afford another million unit recall in $$ or PR. So short of it being fatal to the engine in the short term, they have no choice but to sweep it under the rug.

Now I'm sure there are many a man whose manhood is diminished in the presence of such an embarrassing display of ticking. But to those I say, did you not buy an American muscle car from a known purveyor of poor engineering and general craftsmanship? Why are you driving like such a girly man, letting the engine idle into the Tick Zone(tm) when you should be burying the throttle and erasing every memory in a cloud of white, choking tire smoke?

If you need assistance Hans and Franz are available to pump you up!

 

[SlaughterOfTheSoul]

I'd bet they know what it is, but don't want to really say. I think it has more to do with manufacturing tolerance stack-up on some engines vs other, and the friction level of the oil (why it can change with an oil change and/or Certec added). That's why not every Coyote has the BBQ tick.

its likely a tolerance stack up issue between the margins of the oil pump housing and the internal gear. Excessive tolerance can cause marring of the gear. Various youtube channels have pointed this out and solved the issue by manually verifying the housing tolerance with their respective gears. Basically, you have to order a handfull of housings and match them to the gears you have.

Makes sense as Ford seems to really struggle with properly engineering the oil pump of this car.

I personally changed the oil in my car since new and I've always made sure the oil filter was prefilled upon replacement. The car had a tick before its first oil change regardless. There's nothing we're doing that is causing or preventing damage; tick is a result of random mfg stackup.

I daily a diesel pickup and ticks less than my coyote did. If I was willing to take a risk and violate my warranty, I would have replaced the oil pump but principle demands that I not oblige the terrible practice of a company that intentionally deceives its customers for investor interest.

 

[blk_bean_s550]

Nearly 10,000 miles on my '21 GT, roughly 5,000mi without the oil pressure bypass solenoid installed. Still no issues, the lifter tick is completely gone, and the weird taser noise I had from the passenger side head near where the lifter tick was coming from has gone away also.

BBQ tick is still present even with ceratec, but honestly, it's not NEARLY as annoying as the lifter tick was. I only really hear the BBQ tick at idle while the car is warming up or in a drive-thru. So I'd say unplugging the OPBS is a good move for those who may have lifter tick, but not necessarily a solution for those with the BBQ tick.

 

[Hoose71]

It's interesting how the tick only happens to some and not others. I've had my 13GT for 10 years now and it always had the 'tick'. Over 167k miles and I beat the thing like it owes me money and never had an issue. But I tend to think that these ticks might not be the same cause in every case. <shrug>

 

[RagmopInKona]

Too bad they won't say what it is

I would bet they have fast bleed down cam followers that tick at low rpm for emissions.
On the same idea of the Rhoads lifters that were used to carm a cam down at idle,low rpm.
The tolerances are such that some have it and some get nothing or it goes away when you add something to the oil . Just like adding or using 20-50shut the Rhoads up.
Bet it was done for idle emissions .
Has anyone swapped the cam followers to another brand and see if the tick goes away?

 

[RalphK]

I would bet they have fast bleed down cam followers that tick at low rpm for emissions.
On the same idea of the Rhoads lifters that were used to carm a cam down at idle,low rpm.
The tolerances are such that some have it and some get nothing or it goes away when you add something to the oil . Just like adding or using 20-50shut the Rhoads up.
Bet it was done for idle emissions .
Has anyone swapped the cam followers to another brand and see if the tick goes away?

An easy way to tell if that were the case would be to disable/disconnect the oil pressure bypass that lowers oil pressure at low RPM.

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