Hello everybody, first time posting here and looking for some advice. I have a 2007 mercury mountaineer 4.6 3v, I know it's not a mustang but the mercury forum is dead these days and figured you guys would be more knowledgeable. Like above I have a 4.6 3v and it recently started a loud ticking on passenger side rear of engine. I replaced spark plugs 10,000 miles ago but am going to recheck them to make sure they are tight because I heard that could cause ticking. It ticks loud enough I can hear it in the cab and it follows rpm that just started about 1000 miles ago. I just changed the oil and no difference in tick. I also cut open the oil filter and saw some very light sparkling and I'd assume very very small shavings that are barely noticeable to the eye. So looking for advice on where to go from here, maybe some pictures of how much is too much of a sparkle in the oil filter or pictures that show to much wear of parts, or some stickys or tips that show how to pull that side valve cover and replace lifters?? Or whatever it be. Thank you all in advance

 

I highly recommend you seek the advice from forum member: houtex.. He's very knowledgeable when it comes to advanced engine troubleshooting issues.. Just contact him directly by submitting a PM and I'm certain he'll be able to address your 4.6L 3v ticking issues. Meanwhile, best of luck and welcome to TMS.

 

Ok thank you, I have never had any dealings with overhead cam type engines but am mechanically inclined so not too worried about the work. Mostly looking to see how big ofa job, tips and tricks, and cost wise it'll be. Or if it's something major if it's worth fixing since I bought it for cheap with 190000 miles on the clock

 

Howdy! Welcome to the forums!

Thankya for the shout out, m05! But I'd rather keep these things to the forums so that the hive mind can work on it, as while I admit I do like to help if I can, I'm not always right, and/or others have experiences that I can learn from and add to my bag of tricks!

With that, to the problem... And thank you *very* much, V, for that excellent detail on your issue. It's pretty much narrowed it down to the one thing: One of the cam followers locked up on the either 3 or 4 cylinder on the passenger side. Or it's slipped off, and hopefully it's resting somewhere out of the way... But the silver in the oil filter, the loudness, and the side... yep. That's going to be the thing, I bet.

This is an unfortunate problem with some 3v engines, whether 4.6 or 5.4. As they age, the rollers in the cam follower gets gunked up or worn out... wrong oil, too long between oil changes, contamination, or just unlucky. It's a thing.

I'm going to point you to FordTechMakuLoco's video on this subject, as he's laid it all out there for ya and you can decide what you need to do. Look for it below. I might know some things, but he's the Master I'm learnin' from vicariously through them videos he makes. He's an excellent resource on the 3V Ford Modular engine, or any Ford Modular, and more.

The valve cover itself can be removed and you can see the cam itself. That's not too terrible a job, might need to move some wires or such. I'd take the battery and the tray out because it's sorta in the way, but it's not completely necessary if you don't mind weird angles and scraped knuckles. And when you see the cam I have a feeling that all the lobes will be nice and smooth, even wear, looks great... and then one (or more) of the lobe(s) on 3 or 4 are just chewed up, rough, nasty. And if the follower(s) involved is still there in place, it will have worn itself a nice flat spot, and all that means the metal in the oil filter.

Thankfully, it's not *terrible* to do this job, but you will need a couple of special tools, mainly the wedge tool and the valve compressor tool for this application, and then you'll need a new cam and all the followers and lash adjusters... and patience. And meticulous work ethics, as you gotta keep/get things *clean* during all this, you can't be droppin' dirt in the system. Also, if you're doing one side, you really should consider doing the other... and maybe investigate redoing the timing, because the oil pump maybe needs replacement. Neglect (not that you did!) of oil changes causes sludge and build up and that kills the valve system and the timing. Oil pump failure/weakness can be a cause too, and if that has to be replaced, you're doing the timing too. Don't not do the timing.

And having said all that, this is a *guess*. The thing is you need to tear it down and find out. You can also take a long screwdriver or a long tube to your ear, or get a mechanic's stethoscope, and touch the other end on parts of the engine to see if you can pinpoint exactly where the noise is coming from if you're not sure. The noise will be very amplified by these methods. Although I've spoken of a little doom and gloom, it's entirely possible an exhaust manifold has cracked, the exhaust gasket's blown, the manifold to downpipe connection is loose, the spark plug/coil is sparking across because the spring isn't connecting good... all kinds of nifty things are possible. I'd invest in that stethoscope myself.. Here's an example.

I hope that helps! Here's that video, and another regarding changing it out, and another on various noises to consider. They're on the 5.4, but it's almost exactly the same for the 4.6 3v. I'd also just highly recommend you follow his four part series on the entire timing swap out he has, because other techniques that may apply, and also discussion/consideration of the timing in general, since you're sorta dealing with it. Just a word of advice: If you do the timing, DO the oil pump (340HV from Melling), and do *not* be fooled by how much 'easier' the 5.4 oil pump swap is, you *will* have to drop the oil pan to get that thing swapped out... and that's all I'm going to say. Here we go:

 

Thank you so much for your time, I'm going to do some more investigating and try to figure it out! Going to check the spark plugs and look for an exhaust leak but the driver side has a slight exhaust leak already on start up i think from the 2 broken studs I can see. the passenger side just started 1000 miles ago and is constant all the time unlike the exhaust leak on driver side, plus it sounds completely different from the exhaust leak. I've only owned this vehicle for 13,000 miles I've driven so still mostly new to me

 

Just to clarify Tex! The suggestion for having the OP submit a PM to you directly, was for a faster response to his issue concerns. It had absolutely nothing to do with keeping things from the forums.

 

I checked spark plugs and they were fine, and listened to things using a long extension. I swear it was coming from the passenger head right under besidethe last injector but not on the plastic intake. If I listened lower under the spark plug or even lower, I couldnt hear it as loud or clear as that one spot. I unhooked the injector and the sound was still there just slower because,I think of the lowering of rpms. Does that give anyone an idea? if it was the injector the sound should go away completely when it was unplugged right? Im still not too clear on what everything looks like under the valve cover from pictures. I'm going to check the exhaust tomorrow for leaks to double check

 

I checked spark plugs and they were fine, and listened to things using a long extension. I swear it was coming from the passenger head right under besidethe last injector but not on the plastic intake. If I listened lower under the spark plug or even lower, I couldnt hear it as loud or clear as that one spot. I unhooked the injector and the sound was still there just slower because,I think of the lowering of rpms. Does that give anyone an idea? if it was the injector the sound should go away completely when it was unplugged right? Im still not too clear on what everything looks like under the valve cover from pictures. I'm going to check the exhaust tomorrow for leaks to double check

 

Aw, now, c'mon, I'm pretty quick on the topics!



I hear ya, 'preciate it!

Can't say it's changed much of my armchair diagnosis, to be honest. And that diagnosis would be RPM dependent as well. All of it will, it's all in/around the heads and that's all RPM related.

Keep us in the loop!

 

For sure, you always are pretty quick on the topics, no doubt

 

Took it apart and found the last intake roller bearing was out, haven't checked the lifter yet though. So who has the best rollers and lifters for these or can I just use oem or napa ones? The camshaft has a groove the same size as the actual roller, I can catch a fingernail on the sides but doesn't seem out of shape. Is it ok to run this cam without replacing it? I'll get some pictures tomorrow, thanks for all the help

 

Regarding the best kind of followers and adjusters: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fms-m6529-3v
This kit. It's the upgraded one to address this problem, or so I understand it. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but still, I put that kit on my engine when I rebuilt the timing. I figured if FTM told me it's better, then it's the one. I'd also do both sides, which that kit is for, because honestly, if you're doing it, may as well. Of course, I can understand you not wanting to do all 24 valves, and only the one... I would just at that point question why, because...

Regarding the cam... if that cam's what you say it is, that's a new cam. It is definitely *NOT* ok to run. Any groovage is automatic disqualification from reuse. Toss it. Reason is the lift/duration of that lobe is changed, and clearances for the follower aren't going to be right, so there's two dangers: The less lift/duration is going to cause air/fuel mixture issues, and the follower's going to likely either get chewed up or spit out, if not both.

So at this point, the dilemma becomes cost. In time, materials, tools, patience, desire... and whether it's all worth it for the car, or you personally. The follower/adjuster kit's near 300, and the one cam would be 75 if you went to RockAuto and got the SKP... or 300 for the Melling stocker... if you decided to just get the one follower and otherwise run what you brung, that's only 25 bucks maybe... You'll need the valve compression tool... the wedge... And did I mention time? Patience?

For Awesome it's a no brainer: She's getting fixed, 'cause I can do that and have ALL the tools. But for a Mountaineer? Can't say I'd say the same, really. I'd probably trade it in, get something else, than toss money into it.

That's me, though, and not my car. If you're deciding to save the thing, fantastic! To that end, here's a youtube search list of videos on how to swap out the cam (and other things in some cases). It can be done in car, but you definitely wanna watch it first if you don't know how to already. There's plenty of tricks/advice... and bad practices, sure, but if it works... Hope it helps anyway!
https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...+camshaft+swap

 

Your welcome!

 

Everything else seems good under the cover so I'm just going to replace the roller and send it, maybe during the summer tear everything down and change it. so I'll report back on how it turns out after some time

 

Alrighty then. Understandable, given the overall situation, for sure.

I wish you good luck on your adventures in engine repair!

 

Thank you very much for all the help and advice!

 

If it helps, CJ Pony has a sale on the Ford Performance lifters $282.99, I bought them, the Cams and Phaser bolts.

 

Ok thanks for the info! I'll probably be doing them all along with camshafts this summer because every single camshaft lobe has a wear groove in the middle where it's lower than the sides from having so many miles 209,000 I'd imagine? Under the valve cover it was immaculately clean . But I did put it back together with just replacing the one roller and it solved the tick