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

[Jstang23]

So what's his theory on what actually causes the typewriter tick? Adding a friction modifier (as little as 150 mL, which is half a bottle of Ceratec) can cause the ticking to go away almost instantly (as you witnessed). The key to why the tick goes away is obviously due to the friction level of the oil changing from the additive.

Ford use to sell the Motorcraft XL-17 back when the Gen1 Coyote came out, but they don't sell it any more. Could be it's in big drums as the factory now, lol.

He didn't give me a clear answer as to why the bbq/typewriter tick happens. I can shoot him another email and ask. I'd bet money there is a lot of large drums of XL-17 at the factories, lol!

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[subframe]

Just a thought, if the tick is causing any type of damage would"nt something show up in oil analyzing from someplace like Blackstone Labs? I have a 2019 Bullitt that I got used with 14,300 miles on it. I sent out my first oil change and the report came back normal. I haven't heard the tick. Maybe I,m one of the lucky ones. I have no history on the 14,300 miles. Rich

 

[Jstang23]

Just a thought, if the tick is causing any type of damage would"nt something show up in oil analyzing from someplace like Blackstone Labs? I have a 2019 Bullitt that I got used with 14,300 miles on it. I sent out my first oil change and the report came back normal. I haven't heard the tick. Maybe I,m one of the lucky ones. I have no history on the 14,300 miles. Rich

The Ford engineer said that the common ticking noises do not cause any damage. So I would not expect any reports from blackstone to show any.

 

[barron64]

Mine would get the tick at cold startup and after the car has been driven for a while, shut down for 30-45min, then restarted. The hot re-start made the most noise btw. Got the tick on the OEM fill from the factory at around 3500mi. Tried Mobile 1 and Castrol Edge 5w-30 with basically same results...Had to add Ceratec to get rid of the noise. Finally tried Penzoil Ultra Platinum 5w-30 and tick is no more. 55K miles at the moment and no issues, no oil consumption issues either.

 

[Jstang23]

Mine would get the tick at cold startup and after the car has been driven for a while, shut down for 30-45min, then restarted. The hot re-start made the most noise btw. Got the tick on the OEM fill from the factory at around 3500mi. Tried Mobile 1 and Castrol Edge 5w-30 with basically same results...Had to add Ceratec to get rid of the noise. Finally tried Penzoil Ultra Platinum 5w-30 and tick is no more. 55K miles at the moment and no issues, no oil consumption issues either.

Interesting, but with every scenario there are always outliers. I wonder if you developed tick on your OEM factory oil because there was enough were material in the oil. I found some metal flakes in my first oil change at 1000, a tiny bit in my second at 5000, and none in my 3rd oil change. Could be that the amount of material caused the lubricity on the oil to lower.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Mine would get the tick at cold startup and after the car has been driven for a while, shut down for 30-45min, then restarted. The hot re-start made the most noise btw. Got the tick on the OEM fill from the factory at around 3500mi. Tried Mobile 1 and Castrol Edge 5w-30 with basically same results...Had to add Ceratec to get rid of the noise. Finally tried Penzoil Ultra Platinum 5w-30 and tick is no more. 55K miles at the moment and no issues, no oil consumption issues either.

FWIW to anyone with the tick who has not exchanged vows with some other oil, members have said that PUP cured theirs. Not for everyone, so suspect only works for cars that needed a small amount of Ceratec. If I had the tick, I would try that since NOT adding a modifier has certain advantages.

 

[Jstang23]

FWIW to anyone with the tick who has not exchanged vows with some other oil, members have said that PUP cured theirs. Not for everyone, so suspect only works for cars that needed a small amount of Ceratec. If I had the tick, I would try that since NOT adding a modifier has certain advantages.

I'm just curious to what advantages you are referring to? Ceratec was designed to improve all engines, not just ones with ticking noises.

 

[accel]

My engine was ticking before the first oil change was done. And I did not change oil until it was due according to service manual. Apparently they ranout of xl-17 for the batch my car was in.

Other than ceratec - someone at this forum just added carbon black powder to the oil which fixed the tick insytanteneously just like cetratec. And guess what, xl17 is that carbon black plus some oil base.

which makes me believe it is some padding, not oil friction that fixes the tick.

 

[Skye]

When a new mustang 5.0 rolls of the line it has 5w-30 oil and an additive that we call XL-17.

The references to XL-17 are interesting and support my beliefs on factory fill versus what we buy off the shelf.

FWIW, I completed my initial oil change this season. Analysis concluded the oil had a viscosity which was tick less (pun intended) than 5W-30. Testing for fuel and water contamination proved they were not a factor.

I need to study XL-17, oil viscosity and what impacts it. No concerns. Just general education and interest.

Thanks for the insight.

 

[ice445]

Seems like oils or additives high in boron are what cures the tick for some reason. I've listened to my car more lately after my FP tune saga, and I've found that the car only BBQ ticks hot, but at very low RPM's. Somewhere above idle, but under like 2000rpm, I can hear it very faintly if I drive next to a wall or something. I'm currently using Valvoline EP synth which is pretty decent.

I might consider using an additive at some point, but given how mild my case is there's no real need.

 

[geep81]

If your tick doesn't bother you then don't add it!

Mine was loud sometimes, driving in the city hearing it bounce back off of buildings loud. I had to do something.

 

[RalphK]

Any one ever thought about the oil cavitating????
In other applications cavitation can cause a metal clicking sound.
Changing viscosity can eliminate cavitating in other applications

 

[GT Pony]

Any one ever thought about the oil cavitating????
In other applications cavitation can cause a metal clicking sound.
Changing viscosity can eliminate cavitating in other applications

Oil cavitation has been discussed many times in this thread. If it's cavitating enough to hear, then it's probably also causing damage to the surface of journal bearings. Ford's SSM says the typewriter tick is not detrimental, but extreme and continued cavitation will erode the material surface (due to imploding air bubbles) in the location of the cavitation. Also, from the info I've studied on journal bearing cavitation, it would become worse with thicker oil, but the typewriter tick isn't heard when the engine is cold and the oil is also cold and thick. That's when cavitation would be the worse ... when the oil is thicker.

I still think it's the big end of the connecting rods dancing back and forth on the journals and hitting the crank, and when the friction level of the oil is changed with something like Ceratec the dancing changes - ie, stops or becomes less. Not all engines have the typewriter tick, so the tolerances involved in the whole bottom end most likely plays a role also.

 

[GT 550]

I still think it's the big end of the connecting rods dancing back and forth on the journals and hitting the crank, and when the friction level of the oil is changed with something like Ceratec the dancing changes - ie, stops or becomes less.

Or the frequency (of whatever it is) changes at the point of incident such that it's no longer audible. Probably need a scope to see if the magnitude of the impulse/action stays the same but the frequency changes ie does it stop the action or just the noise.

 

[aero84]

Anyone else experienced the tick since new or only after first oil change?

mine is ticking since new

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