Cam Phasor Rattle..?

[Theherofails]

Edit/Update:

It is indeed the cam phasers rattling on startup.

It's a 'cosmetic' issue (safe to still drive with the noise on startup) that effects several different Ecoboost engines.

Dealership is ordering parts to repair.


______


I believe this sound has been there the entire time and recently gotten louder/more noticeable over the general engine start noise. Always lasts about 1 second during a cold start (~1 hour between starts) and then the vehicle drives excellent. No other issues. Vehicle did some Baja stuff yesterday with no issues.

If you kill the engine and restart, its not there.

My only guess is cam phasor rattle? Is it just the fuel injection system? Sounds.. not great.

This is the 2.7.

Any guesses before I give my local Ford dealership a chance to screw something else up?

The plot thickens - I checked oil levels as I hadn't done so in about 2,500 miles and noticed it was low a quart. Tossed in a quart of 5w30 synthetic and now I can't get the sound... I'll try again in the morning and see if its temperature dependent.

No leaks, so Im now curious on being a tad low on oil.

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[VelocityBronco]

Doesn't sound like the cam phasor rattle that the 3.5 has in my F-150...pop the hood and see if the sound is higher, lower, front, back? Almost sounds like a heat shield rattle, but strange that it just goes away.

A trick to eliminating the cam phasors being possible is 'dry start' the engine for a few seconds by holding down the gas pedal to the floor, and release the gas pedal so it starts. See if it makes the same noise. This method will 'prime' the engine with oil, which is why the cam phasors in the 3.5 rattle and need to be replaced, lack of oil during start-up.

 

[Theherofails]

Doesn't sound like the cam phasor rattle that the 3.5 has in my F-150...pop the hood and see if the sound is higher, lower, front, back? Almost sounds like a heat shield rattle, but strange that it just goes away.

A trick to eliminating the cam phasors being possible is 'dry start' the engine for a few seconds by holding down the gas pedal to the floor, and release the gas pedal so it starts. See if it makes the same noise. This method will 'prime' the engine with oil, which is why the cam phasors in the 3.5 rattle and need to be replaced, lack of oil during start-up.

I'll give that a shot and see what happens.

Yeah it sounds a lot like if you stuck something in a metal fan for a second or two but the general area is non descript so far.

I'm going to be taking it in to the stealership for an oil change here shortly and I can have them look then, but I'd like to have a general idea of the problem beforehand.

 

[VelocityBronco]

I'll give that a shot and see what happens.

Yeah it sounds a lot like if you stuck something in a metal fan for a second or two but the general area is non descript so far.

I'm going to be taking it in to the stealership for an oil change here shortly and I can have them look then, but I'd like to have a general idea of the problem beforehand.

I get it!
I really hope cam phasors are not an issue with the 2.7 like they are on the 3.5.
With the 3.5, you would usually get the rattle after it sits for 8+ hours, and even than, it would happen every time.

Let us know what you find out.

 

[Spooled]

That's some pretty bad phaser rattle if so. I agree with the suggestion above. Hold the accelerator pedal all the way down and let it crank for 5 seconds then let off and it will start. If the noise is gone it's most likely phaser rattle.

 

[Theherofails]

That's some pretty bad phaser rattle if so. I agree with the suggestion above. Hold the accelerator pedal all the way down and let it crank for 5 seconds then let off and it will start. If the noise is gone it's most likely phaser rattle.

I'm headed out to give that a shot right now. I'll report back in a sec.

 

[VelocityBronco]

The F-150 forums for the 2.7 seem to think start-up rattle comes from wastegate on drivers side exhaust manifold and is normal? Maybe not the same for our 2.7, but its an alternate theory, and less scary than cams.

Found this video of bad phasors in a Lincoln 2.7, which had the phasors replaced and fixed the issue.

 

[Spooled]

The F-150 forums for the 2.7 seem to think start-up rattle comes from wastegate on drivers side exhaust manifold and is normal? Maybe not the same for our 2.7, but its an alternate theory, and less scary than cams.

I thought about that too, but I went and listed to a couple on YouTube and they don't sound anywhere that bad!

 

[segt1915]

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/2-7l-tick-on-cold-start-up.33954/#post-1130627


OP - I had the exact same sound start in early December. It was diagnosed as a cam phaser issue and it sat at the dealer for two months waiting on the parts to fix it. I was told I could drive it in the interim but I chose to put miles on the loaner instead of my diesel sounding bronco with 2500 miles on it. For now the fix has worked but it's only been 300 miles.

 

[Wolfeman]

Just had the cam phasers done on my 2019 F150 before trading it in. Based on the video and your description of when it happens, it sure sounds like that might be the culprit. Definitely time to take it in to your dealer. Let us know what they say.

 

[Rayder]

Does sound like phaser rattle but louder than I'd expect. Never heard it on a 2.7 though, it's much more common on 3.5's and 5.0's.

 

[Theherofails]

The F-150 forums for the 2.7 seem to think start-up rattle comes from wastegate on drivers side exhaust manifold and is normal? Maybe not the same for our 2.7, but its an alternate theory, and less scary than cams.

Found this video of bad phasors in a Lincoln 2.7, which had the phasors replaced and fixed the issue.

This is exactly what it sounds like.. eesh.

 

[Theherofails]

https://www.bronco6g.com/forum/threads/2-7l-tick-on-cold-start-up.33954/#post-1130627


OP - I had the exact same sound start in early December. It was diagnosed as a cam phaser issue and it sat at the dealer for two months waiting on the parts to fix it. I was told I could drive it in the interim but I chose to put miles on the loaner instead of my diesel sounding bronco with 2500 miles on it. For now the fix has worked but it's only been 300 miles.

So its not going to blow up in the meantime? I'll be a week or so before I can get it into the shop and it needs to be driven down to the carwash first.. I just got back from a trip out to an abandoned mine so its filthy.

 

[ThunderTom]

I took my Bronco 2.7L ~3k mikes in for cam phaser rattle on cold start. They have had it 2 weeks so far, hope to get it back this week.

 

[da_jokker]

The plot thickens - I checked oil levels as I hadn't done so in about 2,500 miles and noticed it was low a quart. Tossed in a quart of 5w30 synthetic and now I can't get the sound... I'll try again in the morning and see if its temperature dependent.

No leaks, so Im now curious on being a tad low on oil.

So what was your dipstick at? To be a quart low means your dipstick should be reading about at the max line (where the rest of the world would normally say your perfect)

To be where you should be, your oil should measure "into the twist"

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