This weekend I went to start up my truck and it started up with a knocking noise for 3 or 4 seconds and then went away. Thought a bird had gotten into the fan or something. Drove it to the store, was there for about 30 minutes, started up to head home, no sound. Later that evening, started it up again and it did the sound again. So after some internet searching it sounds like it has the "Cam Phaser Issue"? Wanted to see if anyone know:

A) Should I get it looked at?
2) How much am I looking at to get it fixed?
D) What's the trade in value?
&) What should I buy instead because my past 2 fords have had problems

Thank you so much for the reply. I really do appreciate it!

dtkprowler said:

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Thank you so much for the reply. I really do appreciate it!

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You're welcome and good luck! I had lifter failure on a 2011 Flex 3.5L Ecoboost years ago and it took 5 weeks to get it fixed under the Ford CPO warranty. The issued a TSB at the time but it only covered the trucks and ingored the Flex and Taurus SHO that had the same engine. Was a major PITA.

Now I'm waiting for the same sound on my 2019 Raptor, it's only a matter of time with these trucks.

The sound will only happen when the engine is dead cold. I usually had to leave the Flex sitting over night to replicate it.

Follow up question for anyone who might have a suggestion...

Do you recommend taking this to a Dealership to get looked at? Obviously the truck isn't under warranty anymore and I haven't had to do any major repairs outside of warranty in a very long time, thankfully. I am also not familiar with any good shops in the area but can obviously ask around. Any suggestions?

dtkprowler said:

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Follow up question for anyone who might have a suggestion...

Do you recommend taking this to a Dealership to get looked at? Obviously the truck isn't under warranty anymore and I haven't had to do any major repairs outside of warranty in a very long time, thankfully. I am also not familiar with any good shops in the area but can obviously ask around. Any suggestions?

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Where are you located?

Kaufman, TX. About 45 minutes east of Dallas.

I had the same issue on my 2011 F150 3.5L EcoBoost , bad chain rattle at 155,000 miles. Elected to invest in fixing the engine as was handing it down to my Ag student..these folks in Dallas were great, explained the whole thing. Sitting at 180 k now and all is good

https://dtxautomotive.com

Thanks! Will give them a look!

dtkprowler said:

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Follow up question for anyone who might have a suggestion...

Do you recommend taking this to a Dealership to get looked at? Obviously the truck isn't under warranty anymore and I haven't had to do any major repairs outside of warranty in a very long time, thankfully. I am also not familiar with any good shops in the area but can obviously ask around. Any suggestions?

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I wouldn't take it to a dealer since you're out of warranty, they're just going to charge you exorbitant rates. Find a good independent shop or two and get quotes. I don't know who to recommend in your area as I'm even further east.

I had the local dealership fix my Flex because it had a Ford CPO warranty.

If/when my Raptor starts having this issue, then I'll take it to 501 Automotive in Longview. I know the owner and trust them more than other places. They also do extended warranty work, which I'm hoping will cover mine at least to 105K miles. If it's not covered by warranty, then I might do it myself.

Crjdoc said:

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I had the same issue on my 2011 F150 3.5L EcoBoost , bad chain rattle at 155,000 miles. Elected to invest in fixing the engine as was handing it down to my Ag student..these folks in Dallas were great, explained the whole thing. Sitting at 180 k now and all is good

https://dtxautomotive.com

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I have also used them for another F150 issue and they were great.

My F150 decided to randomly set off the alarm 4 times in the middle of the night last night. I ended up having to leave it unlocked to make it stop.

dtkprowler said:

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Follow up question for anyone who might have a suggestion...

Do you recommend taking this to a Dealership to get looked at? Obviously the truck isn't under warranty anymore and I haven't had to do any major repairs outside of warranty in a very long time, thankfully. I am also not familiar with any good shops in the area but can obviously ask around. Any suggestions?

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I had the same issue during covid and the dealer couldn't even get the parts. Took it to a local independent shop and they fixed it for around $3,000. No issues in the last 60k miles.

Had this problem as well, mine ended up being a main battery going bad, I have had this truck since 2011 and have gone through a battery every 4 years , Texas heat is tough on them

I've had the cam phaser rattle for over4 years and 90,000 miles, hasn't gotten any worse or gotten any better. No performance issues at all. All that to say, this isn't an emergency.

Bronco6Gen said:

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I've had the cam phaser rattle for over4 years and 90,000 miles, hasn't gotten any worse or gotten any better. No performance issues at all. All that to say, this isn't an emergency.

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My son has a 2016 Explorer with the rattle. When DOES it become an urgent issue? Will the chain eventually stretch enough to jump teeth? Is there interference where it will trash the engine or will it just quit running?

Well, if we make the assumption that it is the same rattle as mine, it shouldn't ever really become a huge issue. Has nothing to do with chain. There's a pin in the cam phaser that prevents oil from leaking out when the engine is off. If the pin is loose, oil leaks out when the engine is off. The brief startup time for the oil pressure to build enough to fill the cam phaser is when you hear the noise. I personally am not that concerned about it (obviously). If it starts to affect the performance of the valve then I would get it fixed, things like rough idling or acceleration hesitation, that would be clues that it's "getting worse".