BBQ tick - another attempt to understand

[Andy13186]

TSB RELEASED FOR THE RATTLE ON 5.0 F150s. Same noise my mustang has :

TSB 18-2354

edit, saw it was posted above. Same exact noise mine has.

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[Andy13186]

This is mine in neutral-

yours sounds completely normal...

 

[Andy13186]

Got my car back from my dealer they said my rattle was exhaust cam phaser but the part is backordered... I still think its the same thing as the f150 though and I will be looking out for a TSB

 

[GT Pony]

Best way to stay in viscosity grade is to run a good 5W-30 that has a HTHS of 3.2. I'm running Valvoline Advanced full synthetic and the engine sounds better than it did with 5W-20 Motorcraft synthetic blend.

 

[18P51GT]

Here is my experience with the BBQ tick:

I bought my 2017 GT with the performance pack new and I did NOT notice the BBQ tick. I would have taken it to get looked at if it was making that noise early on.

I drove on the factory fill to approximately 5k miles and changed it myself. I refilled the car with the MC 5w-20 semi-synthetic oil and MC filter. Did not pre-fill the filter since I've never done this on any vehicle ever. I do not recall noticing the tick immediately after, I wasn't really paying attention to it and it's hot here in AZ so I drove with the windows up most of the time. I did eventually notice it occurring randomly between 1,200-2,000 RPM. I put approximately 3k miles on it with the 2nd fill of MC 5w-20.

I did some research here and found it was a common complaint. Only found one documented case of connecting rod bearing damage where they only replaced the bearing caps and the BBQ tick ceased. Mostly what I found were theories and opinions. I could always make the ticking go away by driving the car hard and getting it nice and hot. Personally, I think if there was mechanical damage the noise would always be present at all engine speeds and would vary linearly with RPM. The fact I could get it to go away by driving hard put my mind at ease. I do believe there are cars with cylinder and connecting rod damage, I just don't think mine does because I would expect a hot engine to make more noise under load than it does at idle if there was an issue.

I got tired of the tick so I changed the oil with M1 extended performance 5w-20 and used the Ford Racing M-6731-FL820 filter. This seemed to make the tick more noticeable. I feel like it was louder, and occurred more often between 1,200-2,000 RPM. I put about 3k miles on it with M1.

By this point I was getting really annoyed with the tick. It was embarrassing to drive slow through parking lots and through my neighborhood with my essentially new car click clacking away. Took a lot of the enjoyment out of driving my first new vehicle, and the first performance oriented car I've ever owned. My beater 2000 S10 with 260k miles sounds perfect. I decided to refill the car with MC 5w-20 and another Ford Racing filter. The ticked seemed to reduce to the level it had prior to the M1 oil change. It was still aggravating me so I decided to try some Liqui Moly MOS2 additive. I used about half the recommended "dose" because I didn't want to overfill the car. This stuff made no difference in regards to the tick. I put about 300 miles on the car with this oil.

Last week I was detailing my car and getting it ready for my first track day. Finally using the car for what I really bought it for. I decided to drain the 300 mile MC oil which still looked fresh, just a little tint from the MOS2. I refilled with Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w-30. I did not change the filter since it was so new. I have heard great things about this oil and I wanted a bit heaver weight for the track. I had read on here that it eliminated the tick for some, maybe all, people who tried it.

At first I was a little disheartened because my car still ticked while driving slow while it was warming up, although it was reduced in volume and frequency. I was at the track yesterday and I could hear my car ticking each time I drove slowly through the pits on my way to get on the track. As expected based on all my previous experience, the tick was nonexistent when I came off the track. This morning I decided to retrace all the steps that would induce the ticking. I was driving with a cold engine out of my neighborhood and I could hear the ticking as I drove slowly. I hopped on the freeway and drove gently for a few minutes and went to the mall so I could drive around slowly through the parking lot. I drove next to cars and along curbs and buildings and for the most part the tick was absent. I could still get it to tick, albeit very very minor, when slipping the clutch from a stand still at low rpm, like you would when navigating a crowded parking lot. In fact, this might be a separate tick related to the clutch but it sounded similar to the BBQ tick. Driving normally the BBQ tick is completely gone, and I did not hear it while driving slowly through my neighborhood on the way home. Keep in mind, at no point on this drive did I drive aggressively.

Overall I'm happy. I've convinced myself there is nothing mechanically wrong with my car because I don't believe a change of oil brand or weight would mask any real mechanical issue. I can live with the tick while cold, I'm just glad it actually goes away when the car is at temperature which it didn't used to do unless I drove the car hard. The PUP 5w-30 is great oil, and its not expensive so I will be using this for every oil change from now on.

Sorry for the long winded post, maybe someone will find it useful. I will update this if I notice anything contrary to what I experienced above. Still stumped by what the noise actually is. Weird.

How’s it running now?

 

[thelostotter]

How’s it running now?

1500 miles on the PUP 5w30, still running the same as when I posted that. Slight tick while the motor is warming up but quiet once it’s up to temp.

 

[18P51GT]

1500 miles on the PUP 5w30, still running the same as when I posted that. Slight tick while the motor is warming up but quiet once it’s up to temp.

Total mileage?

 

[thelostotter]

Total mileage?

13,xxx

 

[18P51GT]

13,xxx

If you don’t mind, take a listen...

Tell me what you think

 

[thelostotter]

If you don’t mind, take a listen...

Tell me what you think

Different sound than what I was experiencing. Mine has never ticked at idle that uniformly. Only at some random rpm slightly above idle in neutral or creeping creeping along slowly in 1-3rd gear. It’s intermittent. If you speed up or slow down it will go away.

Or are you talking about the 2-3 random ticks towards the end of the video? Or both?

I recorded audio of my car doing it a long time ago and found the frequency was 1/2 the engine speed. So at least in my case I was thinking it’s something in the valve train or a rod or piston that gets loaded in a way that causes it to tick on the exhaust or intake stroke. The fact that oil brand and viscosity has so much influence on it is strange.

 

[18P51GT]

Different sound than what I was experiencing. Mine has never ticked at idle that uniformly. Only at some random rpm slightly above idle in neutral or creeping creeping along slowly in 1-3rd gear. It’s intermittent. If you speed up or slow down it will go away.

Or are you talking about the 2-3 random ticks towards the end of the video? Or both?

I recorded audio of my car doing it a long time ago and found the frequency was 1/2 the engine speed. So at least in my case I was thinking it’s something in the valve train or a rod or piston that gets loaded in a way that causes it to tick on the exhaust or intake stroke. The fact that oil brand and viscosity has so much influence on it is strange.

Strange. So mine had a bad bearing which scored up a wall. “Better” oil won’t put the metal back lol.
It did a lot of what you described around 10000 miles and earlier. I took that at bout the time it wouldn’t go away at all. I got over 13 on it now. Should be ready to drive next week.
If you take it in and you want to keep it, make em fix it. If they won’t go to somebody else. Notify the company and get a case number. Hope everything works out well

 

[dtewfoster1974]

This is mine in neutral-

I would take it back if you can. I’m not sure what the situation is with your dealer in America but in the UK they are not easy to deal with as the salesman gets commission on the sale.

 

[D6tse]

I would take it back if you can. I’m not sure what the situation is with your dealer in America but in the UK they are not easy to deal with as the salesman gets commission on the sale.

I’m UK, they are telling me it’s normal.. I can’t win at all

 

[dtewfoster1974]

I’m UK, they are telling me it’s normal.. I can’t win at all

Sorry to hear that but I would take what they say with a pinch of salt pal. The seller has a duty of care to the buyer. Which dealer did you buy from? Was the car direct from the production line?

 

[D6tse]

Sorry to hear that but I would take what they say with a pinch of salt pal. The seller has a duty of care to the buyer. Which dealer did you buy from? Was the car direct from the production line?

It was ex demo with only 300 miles, I’m currently dealing with Ford Uk and the dealership but I drove it home from around 200 miles away so I can’t just ‘pop back’. I’m dealing with my local dealer who has had it 2 weeks, I’ve driven it about 3 times. I’m so upset about it all. If it can’t be fixed and even replacement engine the same then how is this fair?

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