Had some time this afternoon, so I went ahead and drove it by the dealer. I was able to get my service guy to come out and listen to what's going on. He got in and held the rpm's so I could hear it from the egine bay as well. It doesn't sound like exhaust. It sounds more like valvetrain noise. It's a busy dealership so I've got to drop it off on tuesday for them to take it back and look at it. They already started the deal about it maybe being a 'normal' thing. I'm not sure how this spells normal. It doesn't do it any more/less, and isn't any louder cold vs. warm; And only under load between 1k and 1300 rpm or so.

On the exhaust note, I was able to tighten up my midpipe clamps a bit; still have the hissing, and obviously didn't have any effect on the ticking. A question these clamps: can they be overtightened at all? I was able to get all 4 bolts to turn a bit, and could prob pull them around a tad more, maybe. But can I tighten them too much?

 

Hey HOTRODD77,

It's great they were able to get a technician to take a look at it with you, and I'm glad they scheduled the appointment to figure out where the noise was coming from. I hope they were able to get your Mustang back on the road.

~Natasha

 

Thanks! It's back on the road, but with a diagnosis of 'normal'; Not sure if I can live with that. He told me to have my next oil change done at the dealership and he guaranteed the "noise would reduce by 50%". I've always used mobil1, and he said there's actually a tsb out on this noise that says it can be worsened by getting away from the motorcraft oil. I haven't been able to locate this tsb. Anyway, we'll see after my next oil change at the dealership. Not sure what else to do right now.

 

You know, Jim Sr. at JDM told me the same thing. He said Ford didnt spend a ton of time engineering that oil for nothing, and thats why thats all he uses. He said Ford designed that oil specifically for the 3v motor and the cam design. I too think I am going to try the synthetic motorcraft next and see what happens.

 

Hmm, that's interesting. I guess we'll see. Hopefully it will remedy this

 

Yeah I am going to try it next and see how the car responds to it. Also what brand filter are you using? I read that some aftermarket filters are louder than others, but I have always stuck with the FL820S Motorcraft filter and never had a problem

 

Thanks for the update, HOTRODD77. As grabber blue gt said, Motorcraft parts & fluids are designed for your specific vehicle, and will maximize the performance. If you are still concerned after your oil change at the dealer, please let me know. Have a good night!

~Natasha

 

Well finally came around for another oil change, so I took it in to the dealer and let them do the motocraft in it. The noise is still there I've only driven a few hundred miles since, so we'll see if it calms down at all. If not, I might go back and see if they'll take one more look at it. I'll update in a few weeks...