Any Bullitt engine ticks?

[Bullitt]

Hmmm.... just saw a post and ford video in the maintenance section regarding a oil spec question. Watch the video if you can. So.....how about this new "Crazy Talk" theory for a Saturday morning. The knock sounds some are hearing is from pre- detonation from oil particles in the combustion chamber. The new Motor Craft oil WSS-M2C945-B1 (5W30) has a pre- detonation formula (according to ford) to help combat the detonation and so when folks immediately changed their oil to another brand (which doesn't have the mystery pre-detonation formula) many reported the car was fine until they changed the oil and now it ticks/knocks. Which leads me to ask do oil catch cans help with that as it keeps oil out of the intake or are the oil particles in the combustion chamber coming from the cylinder walls (bottom end)? I'd be curious to know if folks with catch cans who have changed oils still have the same incidence of tick/knocks or are there more? Lets not forget these are high compression engines. Back in the day 12:1 compression pistons meant race fuel and very dialed in ignition timing or the motor would grenade pretty quick. Factor in the low octane questionable fuel that some people get from their corner store and well....hmm.

As Bullitt mentioned our engines do have unique calibration with mapping that provides different low end torque (i.e. ignition timing) that regular GT's so maybe we have less (or more) to worry about. I checked the MC 5W30 oil I had ordered a few weeks ago. Its the "B1" so at least when I change my oil I'll have the right stuff in it. And I did install a oil catch can when i got the car and just checked it. It had about 3 table spoons or so in it after only 1100 miles. I gotta get off this website before I develop OCD to go along with my newly formed paranoia.

Interesting, hadn't heard about the unique oil formula so thanks for sharing. This is why as tempted as I am to run my preferred brand of full synthetic, I'm doing things by the book and putting the motorcraft in. I probably won't do my first oil change till the spring (only at 3,700 miles still, waiting till 5k). If you hang out in the maintenance/issues section too long you'll definitely get paranoid, which is why I never venture there lol. Just remember they sell ~7,500 Mustangs every single month, so out of the over 100,000 2018+ Mustangs, you see how many on the forums complaining, a few dozen tops? It's a tiny percentage. So just try not to think about it, have fun, remember the chances of something happening are very low, and worst case scenario, you have a warranty.

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[OldPhart]

Hmmm.... just saw a post and ford video in the maintenance section regarding a oil spec question. Watch the video if you can. So.....how about this new "Crazy Talk" theory for a Saturday morning. The knock sounds some are hearing is from pre- detonation from oil particles in the combustion chamber. The new Motor Craft oil WSS-M2C945-B1 (5W30) has a pre- detonation formula (according to ford) to help combat the detonation and so when folks immediately changed their oil to another brand (which doesn't have the mystery pre-detonation formula) many reported the car was fine until they changed the oil and now it ticks/knocks. Which leads me to ask do oil catch cans help with that as it keeps oil out of the intake or are the oil particles in the combustion chamber coming from the cylinder walls (bottom end)? I'd be curious to know if folks with catch cans who have changed oils still have the same incidence of tick/knocks or are there more? Lets not forget these are high compression engines. Back in the day 12:1 compression pistons meant race fuel and very dialed in ignition timing or the motor would grenade pretty quick. Factor in the low octane questionable fuel that some people get from their corner store and well....hmm.

As Bullitt mentioned our engines do have unique calibration with mapping that provides different low end torque (i.e. ignition timing) that regular GT's so maybe we have less (or more) to worry about. I checked the MC 5W30 oil I had ordered a few weeks ago. Its the "B1" so at least when I change my oil I'll have the right stuff in it. And I did install a oil catch can when i got the car and just checked it. It had about 3 table spoons or so in it after only 1100 miles. I gotta get off this website before I develop OCD to go along with my newly formed paranoia.

Hi -I’m not scheduled to get my car until Feb, but I asked a question about the 12:1 compression ratio a while back when I first joined the forum. I was planning to use 93 octane anyway. I was assured via a response that the computer makes the necessay adjustments to the accommodate the octane rating of the gas being used to prevent pre-detonation and that even 87 octane was okay. I’m not a gear head (ie. Not a mechanical engineer who understands the workings of an ICE) and my only experience in this area was with GTOs from the ‘60s and higher octane gas always seemed the best solution. With my current ‘65 GTO I tried using the non-ethanol gas that’s available because several cohorts recommended I do that. That gas has a 91 octane rating locally and I started getting pinging so I added octane booster to solve the problem. The car didn’t seem to perform as well on this gas so I rebuilt the carbs with alcohol resistant rebuild kits and went back to 93 octane. All has been well for the past few years. So to continue with my old mindset, I wonder if anyone who has been having this “possible detonation” problem while using 93 octane, tried using an octane booster? Remember, I’m not a gear head, just a science guy who by nature is curious about “why things happen”, so don’t jump on me for being naive... Bruce

 

[OldPhart]

Hi -I’m not scheduled to get my car until Feb, but I asked a question about the 12:1 compression ratio a while back when I first joined the forum. I was planning to use 93 octane anyway. I was assured via a response that the computer makes the necessay adjustments to the accommodate the octane rating of the gas being used to prevent pre-detonation and that even 87 octane was okay. I’m not a gear head (ie. Not a mechanical engineer who understands the workings of an ICE) and my only experience in this area was with GTOs from the ‘60s and higher octane gas always seemed the best solution. With my current ‘65 GTO I tried using the non-ethanol gas that’s available because several cohorts recommended I do that. That gas has a 91 octane rating locally and I started getting pinging so I added octane booster to solve the problem. The car didn’t seem to perform as well on this gas so I rebuilt the carbs with alcohol resistant rebuild kits and went back to 93 octane. All has been well for the past few years. So to continue with my old mindset, I wonder if anyone who has been having this “possible detonation” problem while using 93 octane, tried using an octane booster? Remember, I’m not a gear head, just a science guy who by nature is curious about “why things happen”, so don’t jump on me for being naive... Bruce

I should point out that my ‘65 GTO has a compression ratio of 10.5:1... Bruce

 

[BrettT]

Hi -I’m not scheduled to get my car until Feb, but I asked a question about the 12:1 compression ratio a while back when I first joined the forum. I was planning to use 93 octane anyway. I was assured via a response that the computer makes the necessay adjustments to the accommodate the octane rating of the gas being used to prevent pre-detonation and that even 87 octane was okay. I’m not a gear head (ie. Not a mechanical engineer who understands the workings of an ICE) and my only experience in this area was with GTOs from the ‘60s and higher octane gas always seemed the best solution. With my current ‘65 GTO I tried using the non-ethanol gas that’s available because several cohorts recommended I do that. That gas has a 91 octane rating locally and I started getting pinging so I added octane booster to solve the problem. The car didn’t seem to perform as well on this gas so I rebuilt the carbs with alcohol resistant rebuild kits and went back to 93 octane. All has been well for the past few years. So to continue with my old mindset, I wonder if anyone who has been having this “possible detonation” problem while using 93 octane, tried using an octane booster? Remember, I’m not a gear head, just a science guy who by nature is curious about “why things happen”, so don’t jump on me for being naive... Bruce

Only running Chevron Techron 94 in my Bullitt. Sure they say it will run on 87, but no way I would ever use it. This is a high performance, hi compression engine, and while I'm sure engine technology and software, enable it to run on lower octane, there is just no way I would run anything less than 91. I run 91 in my '13 Escape 2.0 Ecoboost, just because....

 

[Tony Alonso]

It's hard to say (still) what running changes would get made and when. It is my belief, similar to Matt, that there have been updates in response to what has happened in the previous model year. I have just under 3000 miles on mine. The only thing I hear is in a very specific RPM and throttle application range. Mind you the engine that went in my car was probably built earlier sometime in the middle of the year, although I have not verified that.

Also, what is objectionable to some might not be noticeable to others. Most of the time, everything sounds OK to me.

If a calibration change is going to fix what I hear, it's a good bet it will be introduced sooner rather than later. At this point, I plan to continue to drive the car normally. If I experience any issues, I will let everyone know.

As others have noted, something catastrophic would be covered by warranty, assuming you don't fiddle with the engine. I would not advise folks to make changes now but rather wait until we get through this model year.

Hang in there OldPhart...I have hope you will be fine!

 

[MUS550]

I know of at least one bullitt here in Australia that has the dreaded tick and it’s done less than 1000 km :(

 

[Tim Kiely]

I just gotta say it’s a good thing that not one car I have previously owned had any weirdness or gremlins with it...not one.....every single one is more like it!

 

[Tim Kiely]

Finally broke the 1000 mile mark on Saturday. Ran about 220 miles, mostly freeway driving. Ran beautifully. Had a young lad in a vey nice 14 GT stalk me for about 25 miles or so in some pretty good traffic. Love watching him try to bait me. Finally had a nice opening and dropped it down to third at about 60 and punched it. Jumped in front and hit fourth and just ate him up. After I slowed down he came up with a big smile and gave the thumbs up. Got up to about 120 in fourth. Just ran like a beast. Got almost 23 MPG

 

[Ken F. Williams]

My Bullitt is close to the 1000 mi mark and so far so good. Has anyone had any unusual ticks or knocks coming from their engines like the 2018-2019 Gt owners? Seems like the coyotes in the 2018 F150's have had similar issues but I have heard there are TSB's coming out for them.

I haven't opened her up past 4500rpm yet, but I assume I'll give her the beans at some point and hopefully won't have any issues. Is everyone following the manual on engine break in? Anyone also doing the past recommended engine practice of revving very, very, slowly to red line to allow pressure to build and everything to seat?

NONE . . . I have been driving the crap out of my BULLITT since the day that I got it which included a 2 Day, 2,000 km drive home from Saskatoon, SK, to Vancouver. My race car mechanic told me to drive the hell out of it starting day one and I have : ))
Love the BULLITT . . . best car I've ever owned and there have been a lot of them since my 1967 Cougar GT when I was 17 way back in 1967. I cancelled my order for a 2020 Shelby GT500. Can't stand the Lexus grill on it. Looks, looks, looks like crap, not a Mustang!!! Can't wait to drive the BULLITT everyday. Can't believe how many thumbs-up I get from men and women young and old. The exhaust sound is to die for!!! Love the Recaro seats.
I will be getting the wheels widened and adding a supercharger.
Zoom, Zoom

 

[Retroman1969]

Mine sounds tight at idle with no tick that I can detect (1,200 miles on it so far).
I have noticed since day one a light sewing machine rattle while cruising at lower rpms (around 2,000) that goes away if you give it more gas or let off the throttle completely.
It goes away after warmed up.
I’ve been trying to decide if that’s a problem or not.

 

[Schwerin]

So I'm wondering if the BULLITT has had so few tick reports is due to the 2018 GT intake manifold having its own tick that people are hearing, adding to the worry about the cars. As the BULLITT has the 350 Manifold that is potentially eliminating a source of noise and letting people hear if they really have an engine tick or not.

To me this means that if you DO hear an unusual tick, not related to the direct injection, that you should take it to Ford and potentially ask for them to scope the cylinders.

I feel like we will have many less Tick reports on the Bullitts, but the ones we DO get reported are more likely to be real issues. Someone in another thread said that his car was found to have both Cams and Rods out of spec, to me this says that Ford is REALLY lacking in the QA department right now.

 

[CAL Captain]

Mine sounds tight at idle with no tick that I can detect (1,200 miles on it so far).
I have noticed since day one a light sewing machine rattle while cruising at lower rpms (around 2,000) that goes away if you give it more gas or let off the throttle completely.
It goes away after warmed up.
I’ve been trying to decide if that’s a problem or not.

I have both the tick and the rattle—which sounds to me like really fast castanets—but it doesn’t go away.

Going to try both Ceratec and BG Synchro Shift II.

 

[Tony Alonso]

I have noticed since day one a light sewing machine rattle while cruising at lower rpms (around 2,000) that goes away if you give it more gas or let off the throttle completely.
It goes away after warmed up.
I’ve been trying to decide if that’s a problem or not.

That's the same condition under which I hear the noise you do.

 

[Schwerin]

I made a Ticking survey in my signature. If people would like to post it around to other Mustang forum that would be great.

So far I have seen just 3 people mention possible ticking on their Bullitts. To put that into perspective, assuming that 3000 are made in 2019, and that there are 3 others we do not know about, that is still just 0.2% of Bullitts with an issue.

 

[SLOBullitt]

I made a Ticking survey in my signature. If people would like to post it around to other Mustang forum that would be great.

So far I have seen just 3 people mention possible ticking on their Bullitts. To put that into perspective, assuming that 3000 are made in 2019, and that there are 3 others we do not know about, that is still just 0.2% of Bullitts with an issue.

Curious about the build date of the Bullitts with the ticks. We all know coyote engines have a history of ticking, but not all ticks sounds should be concerning. A check for metal in the oil filter should probably be done before anyone starts overthinking it. Could the coyote engine issues that SOME are experiencing be from a bad production batch? Seems like the bulk of the issues were from 2018 vehicles with a smattering of 2019's. And a common thread seems to be a high percentage of owners with the tick "Drove it like they stole it" during break in.

I don't have a tick, but on a couple of occasions I thought a heard a weird sound coming from the engine for a few seconds. Of course I now have OCD and acute paranoia ever since I started reading posts about typewriter ticks and piston slap, etc. I say lets just enjoy our new girls but also not stick our heads in the sand. I will be checking my oil filter and catch can for foreign material when I do my oil change at 5K and will report back any findings, but until then enjoy that green beauty!

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