The tech found a number of measurements out of spec and one cylinder was oval shaped instead of round. No exact diagnosis of what the ticking noise is though.
That's interesting. What I want to know, is why the majority of engines that do get measurements done, don't seem to have anything out of spec, yet tick for no apparent reason?
That's why I was asking what exactly did he measure, and how far out of spec was it?But did @orangefurygt know if his mechanic measured rod bid end side clearance or crank end play?
If it's actually oil cavitation, then over time that phenomenon can slowly erode journal bearings depending on the severity.
The excessive clearance theory would suggest there are thousands upon thousands of engines with machined components out of tolerance, which I find extremely unlikely given the Coyote has been in production for 10 years now. A problem like that would have been corrected early on in the 5.0's lifecycle.
What is being described here is very mild oil cavitation. I highly doubt the slight difference in pressure is going to erode anything. That fact that there are 100k+ mile Coyotes with the tick still running strong is just more evidence it's a non issue.
It does suggest that it's possible when manufacturing multi-thousands of engines that some have parts clearance stack-up that can cause some engine noises. And it's possible that some parts are on one end of the other of tolerance range when you have multi-lines of manufacturing machines making engine parts. We're talking about Ford here ... when have you ever seen them correct something in a timely manner?
If the ticking noise is from cavitation, the each "tick" you hear is an air bubble imploding which can cause some potential damage. It's like little land mines going off inside the journal bearing. It might take many thousands of miles to slowly erode a bearing surface depending on the severity. Time will tell, and most guys won't be keeping a car for 100,000+ miles anyway.