Hi. You've asked a pretty common question, from what I am reading and from what Ford says, no damage will occur. I didn't buy that and so had my cam phasers replaced when my new-to-me 2018 had 37,000 miles. I have turned off the auto stop / start function and do oil changes 2x a year (which for me is about every 3500 - 4000 miles). I also run it very hard when I get a chance to on the open highways.

 

But - there have been documented issues after cam phaser replacements, primarily due to the lack of attention to detail or skill by the mechanic(s) doing the repairs. If you do decide to replace them, be sure to find a shop you can trust. Ask them how many they've done successfully!

 

The noise does not cause damage, the source of the noise can. The noise heard is the failure of the VVT drive "phasers" not fully locking into place. The shocks set by the slippage and attempted locking, shock the valve train, gears, chains etc. as they slip, catch, slip. The lock up is driven by oil pressure so dissipates with driving. This can be reduced by priming the oil system. A so called "flood start" by holding the throttle pedal to the floor, then cranking the starter, the engine will not fire till the throttle is released allowing oil pressure to build. There are quite a few threads on this problem to search.

Welcome to this forum, ryeneorat! I'm sure many members will chime in on this topic. KM

 

Also - read this thread - IGNORING CAM PHASER NOISE. | F150 Ecoboost Forum

 

I received an official letter from Ford (as did about a million other people) talking about a "Customer Satisfaction" campaign. In my case, for a 2019 Expedition. I do have the startup rattle. The form clearly states it is a cam phaser noise. A NOISE, and nothing more, it says. It literally says the noise does not damage the engine. It goes on to say Ford will be glad to repair if desired (this campaign expired Jan of 2023), in order to keep customers happy. It was NOT a recall.

So there you have it. You can believe Ford Motor Company and not do anything. Or you can take others' word for it and assume it will soon explode.

I chose the former. Tens of thousands of miles later and mine still operates like a brand new engine, sans a startup rattle for 1.5 seconds.

 

how many miles on it now, i have the same issue at 120k miles

 

Despite what Ford says, it CAN cause damage, depending on the usage situation. Logging will show a delayed reaction to timing retard when the phasers are 'rattling' on startup. Around town, no load, you won't notice. Tow up a grade in hot weather, and you may experience severe pinging before it retards timing, and in some cases, it can't retard enough. It's not the rattling itself that's causing damage, so even if you 'prime' it before starting to avoid the rattle, the in-use delayed reaction to timing retard is still present.

 

For what it's worth, I've been driving my 2015 Expedition with 3.5L ecoboost (at 145,500 miles) with cold start rattle (presumed to be cam phaser issue), which goes away in 1-2 seconds, without issue for ~60,000 miles! When I first noticed it several years ago at around ~80,000 mies, I took it to my local garage and they couldn't determine the cause. I've since been using it local / city driving, long-distance road trips, and pulling my 8,000 travel trailer...again no issues. I only now started to research it myself as I'm wanting to sell the vehicle, and convincing a buyer that there is nothing to worry about or worth spending $3-5,000 repairing, isn't an easy sell.

 

I have a 2018 F-150 with 3.5 ecoboost currently at about 130K miles. I bought it with 20K miles and seem to recall the cam phaser noise starting on cold start-up starting some time ago. It has become more frequent over time and would happen when it sat for shorter and shorter periods of time. I wait a minute or two for the noise to go away before I start driving and never noticed any lack of power or anything and it has never shown any codes.

I've seen how this seems to be a very common issue with this engine and I've read through numerous posts regarding people getting the cam phasers replaced, new vs updated style phasers from Ford, etc, etc.

One thing I've never seen mentioned though is the type of damage this issue could cause if any if I just keep driving it. I like my truck and don't like the noise it's making but it seems to drive and seem normal after a minute or so and I've read a couple of people on here that ignored it and racked up many more miles. That being said, is it just an unpleasant noise for a minute or two or am I risking something catastrophic by ignoring it?

I drive a ton of highway miles and I'd rather not drop thousands of dollars in service for a soon-to-be high mileage truck just for a noise especially if it's just going to start clacking again in 35k miles like many have reported. Thoughts?

My Cam phasers on my 2018 F150 3.5 eco-boost 163,000 miles and has been rattling for about a year on start up and has worsened over the last few months. Recently got engine light warning. I ran a diagnostic and it said it was a camshaft sensor but I was also noticing a little loss of power. And loss of gas mileage. So,,,,Took it to the dealership and come to find out the camshaft was out of time,
Ended up having to replace camshaft x2 from running engine a fraction off timing, , cam phaser’s , timing chain and guides .4200$, was told by supervising mechanic that had I drove it for another week. I would’ve ruined the motor..
Did not replace the camshaft sensor
It would be wise to replace the cam phasers after rattling for sometime and while it is tore down to replace the timing chain and guides as well.
I really like my F150 and I like the 3.5 eco-boost, just little parts that they should make more durable.,

 

I 100% agree, it is the little parts that are no longer “Ford Tough” that cause problems and significant repair $$$$$$

 

We had the reprogram done in March of 2022 and just now it started making the noise on a cold start up. In reading over everything we are not able to have Ford fix it now? This does not seem very fair!

 

Hi and Welcome to the forum. You need to go talk to your Ford Dealership Service manager first. See if they are willing to help out, or if they will contact Ford for assistance. If they say no, then come back and complain.

PS. What year and engine is your F150?

 

Phaser clatter absolutely feels unfair when you get it. Especially shortly after warranty has expired.

But there are so many makes/models that have similar unfairnesses. Phasers are just our example.

I swear I would be a lot less bothered about faulty phasers if I could just trust the repair itself. I don't know what the statistics actually are, but the botched repair is far too common for my confidence.

 

I have read that it "could" cause damage to the engine?

 

I have 2019 F150 that warranty ended 11/1/24. I took it in for recall and they flashed module in 2022. It never fixed noise and dealer stated there is no damage. I just took it in again for this noise and they want $4600 to repair. Only 51,000 miles. Ford is stating they will only cover about half. Seems pretty rotten to me…what else can I do besides get an attorney?

 

Sell the truck or fix the truck. Seems from recent posts that you're pretty fortunate that Ford will pick up half. My guess is an attorney will cost you a lot more than $2300 and I have yet to hear of folks winning in these cases. Plus, are you just gonna park the truck while the legal process plays out? Any driving you do may be used against you... ⚖

 

We all feel for you, there is no excuse for poor engineering. Sad as it may be, and given the circumstance, take the 50% they are offering today. They won't be down the road.

 

I appreciate the direct comments. My expectation that Ford would fix a problem that they were supposed to fix previously was delusional. I guess I am left no choice but to take the meek offering. I have bought Ford as my primary vehicle since 1992 and F150's since 1997. I'm not sure I'll get over this to the point where I buy another Ford.

 

Almost the same issue. I had mine since new 2.18 - I took it in multiple times complaining about a timing rattle - everytime they couldnt find an issue. Warranty expired in December and now they say its a critical $4000 fix. They are writing to see if Ford will assist with the repair. Like you I will not buy another Ford until I probably find out other manufacturers are just as bad. I was never that happy with this service department and now wish I'd gone to others. The problem was it would be there for 3 or 4 months when it was cold in NJ and would disappear in the warmer weather so I would forget.

 

I understand the point of view.

But ironically, it appears Ford finally has a decent phaser.
So you'd be switching to some other brands wart(s).

Kinda the devil you know thing.

 

Your 2013 was far more notorious for a stretched chain, and yes indeed ignoring THAT startup rattle is very different than ignoring the phaser startup rattle on a 2017+ 3.5 Ecoboost.

Or put another way, both generations can have the coldstart rattle, yet very different prognosis for immediacy and risk of catastrophic engine failure.

As for the spark plug being the source of the misfire?
The 3.5 Ecoboost is a posterchild for damaged and/or faulty sparkplugs. Absolutely the technician should find that first when addressing misfires.

 

I own both a 2013 and a 2018 3.5l ecoboost...never had any issues with startup rattle on the 2013 unless I was using cheap aftermarket oil filter. The way I understand it is that the oil filter actually has a backflow preventer in it. As long as I use motorcraft filters I don't have any issues in the Gen 1. The 2018 gen 2 on the other hand has been nothing but problems with the startup rattle. Cam phasers have been replaced TWICE under warranty before 100k miles. We had them done at 90k miles and now we're at 125k miles and the rattle is back with vengeance. I honestly think I'm just going to let it go this time because the "fix" still doesn't seem to be fixing the problem. I did verify they used the redesigned phaser part numbers the last time they did them. I'll report back in a couple years of letting this issue go to see what happens lol.

 

For what it's worth, my 2013 had the chain rattle at 80k-ish, fixes around 130k, and no rattles since at 257k. I think the trick is to just change the oil at a 3-4k interval, it's what I did after the rattle started, too late to save the original chain/phasers but the new one has outlasted my expectations.