Opinions on the noise my 2006 Explorer 4.6 v8 3V is making

Yes, same like the sparkplugs, it's a design issue, and ford let it go for 6-7 years.

My buddy`s dad has an 07 F150 with the 5.4L. he had the chains, guides and phasers done under warranty at 50k miles. he now has 110k on it and it needs everything again! and this guy is an over maintainer, oil is changed religiously every 3k miles. these failures are a defect in design.

Jus2shy -

thanks, that's my noise :)
It looks live Livernois may have solution.

PS: It's amazing that not just Ford, but every brand will have parts that will fail by thousands and aftermarket needs to come up with a solution, while the manufacturer will keep producing the "defective" part. I can't complain since 200k is a decent mileage before it went bad, but I read about same issue coming up at 60k or so.

Some Cam Phaser vids, one with the noise, the other with how to replace:
Cam Phaser noise 5.4
Cam Phaser noise II
The Fix
There's another fix of just making the phasers non-adjustable.

Sounds awfully similar to the original vid the OP posted.

My understanding of cam phaser noise is that it generally occurs at engine oil temps >160F and at RPMs <1200 RPM. If the issue isn't present cold or above 1200 RPM than I would suspect cam phasers.

Take your truck to a good independent mechanic shop. By now, they all have substantial experience on the Ford Modular motor.

They may can tell you exactly what the problem is without having to spend much time.

Have you tried the Ford Truck Enthusiast forum. Someone recommended them to me when I had a problem.

I am using a stethoscope but the noise is coming from same way when I listen to both sides of valve covers.
Thanks anyway, I think it is more valve train related.

Link | Quote | Print | Notify Moderator

How would I know if the flex plate is cracked without pulling the engine out ?

To inspect it... pull inspection cover off the bell housing (engine/tranny-connection... for lack of better wording) you won't see the complete flex plate, but enough perhaps. You could purchase a fly wheel tool to manually rotate it for inspection or simply use large screw driver and slowly rotate plate by prying on the teeth of the plate and engine block as a fulcrum. Or a wrench using the torque converter bolts as a fulcrum. Or use the harmonic balancer bolt to turn the crank shaft. Note you may have difficulty actually seeing cracks or separation where the plate bolts to the Torque converter or to the crank shaft.

You could use a mechanic's stethoscope to listen at each cylinder for stuck bad lifters/valves or if stethoscope a long screw driver pushed against the heads at each cylinder and pressing your "good" ear to the handle of screw driver and listen for suspect cylinder.

Its a Jag but might be similar in "noise" your describing


here for your info what may look like with bell housing inspection cover removed.

How would I know if the flex plate is cracked without pulling the engine out ?