Tapping noise coming from somewhere in the GT engine bay - normal?

[dirtgnome]

Just wondering if anyone else is experiencing this and if it's supposed to be normal. There's tapping noise coming from the engine bay, it almost sounds like two plastic trim pieces tapping against each other. As far as I can tell, there's no rythym to it; it'll tap once or twice - pause - then tap again several times or once again. I noticed the sound started around the 3K miles mark. The sound is hard to hear unless the car is up against a wall like a drive-thru or inside a garage and I only notice it during idle, but that just might be because the cars pretty loud.

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[Skye]

If you can offer an audio, that'd confirm it, but it reads like the Coyote BBQ tick. The tick sounds just like the name: a BBQ pit igniter. It has existed since the Gen 1 Coyote. The sound has been noticed by so many, Ford officially advised this is a normal characteristic of the engine and no further action is required.

 

[ListedGuru]

If you can offer an audio, that'd confirm it, but it reads like the Coyote BBQ tick. The tick sounds just like the name: a BBQ pit igniter. It has existed since the Gen 1 Coyote. The sound has been noticed by so many, Ford officially advised this is a normal characteristic of the engine and no further action is required.

I have a 24 GT on order and only heard of this Coyote BBQ Tick earlier this week. Seems strange the some cars have it and some don't. Also I read that sometimes the 'tick' doesn't manifest until after the first oil change but again I'm new to this so just passing along what I've read. I really hope I can a good Mustang with fit and finish, etc and it would be great to get one without the tick but I guess if it's 'normal' what are you going to do?

 

[Skye]

There are countless threads and theories about the tick. Some shrug their shoulders and move on. For others, it's annoying AF.

I've never read a post of someone hearing the tick and later experiencing engine issues. It often starts after the first oil change, but there is no consistent trigger. Oil change, brand of oil, weight of oil, driving style. It doesn't seem to matter.

@Bikeman315 made one of the better summations: all Coyote engines have the BBQ tick; some are just louder than others.

Under hood injector clattering, BBQ tick and the 2K rattle have all been sounds common to the Coyote from the beginning.

For those who are concerned, many appreciate and use Ceratec oil conditioner; it often silences the tick at first use.

 

[highvoltage]

I have a 24 GT on order and only heard of this Coyote BBQ Tick earlier this week. Seems strange the some cars have it and some don't. Also I read that sometimes the 'tick' doesn't manifest until after the first oil change but again I'm new to this so just passing along what I've read. I really hope I can a good Mustang with fit and finish, etc and it would be great to get one without the tick but I guess if it's 'normal' what are you going to do?

All cars have it. Some just don’t hear it like others. Or it’s super quiet. But it will probably get louder with age. I haven’t seen one long term 5.0 without it. It’s part of the engine.

 

[highvoltage]

With Ceratec though you have to continually use it to hide the BBq tick. It’s $25+ for one bottle that’s supposed to be for 5qts so you would need two. But I’ve seen one bottle gets it done usually.

 

[Dena]

I have about 1,600 miles (no oil change) on my engine and it is noisy. There is a click that seems to occur once an engine revolution. For those who date themselves, it matches the old engine driven fuel pump that was driven directly off the crank shaft. I assume that is the high pressure fuel pump that provides fuel for the direct injection. The lifters rattle a lot and I suspect that's because the oil pressure drops so low during an idle that they aren't fully pumped up on each cycle. I am not worried about either sound because I know this isn't a luxury car so controlling the sound wasn't a major design issue. Besides that, once you're above an idle, both sounds go away.

 

[ListedGuru]

While we're on the Coyote engine subject do we need to worry about carbon buildup on the 5.0 at all or is that more for boosted cars? I know the EB's can get carbon buildup but even the 24 EB has port injection added to it's direct injection so I think that should help.

Anyway just curious if carbon buildup is an issue with the Coyotes?

 

[Dena]

There is a thread about this here but the port injection cuts down on the carbon buildup. It probably depends on how much fuel is contributed by each system. The combination should go 100,000 miles or more without the buildup becoming a problem.

 

[Skye]

I've not read of build-up being an issue, so long as drivers are using a Top Tier, detergent fuel.

https://www.toptiergas.com/gasoline-brands/

 

[Mastermind46]

Having port and direct on the V8s may wash the back of the valves but no matter what fuel you use, carbon build us is an issue with DI. Cleaning valves is not a fun process.

I will have to take a look through 6g to see if this has been documented by now. Would be awesome to get some pictures of valves after like 25k, 50k, 75k, 100k miles.

 

[ListedGuru]

Having port and direct on the V8s may wash the back of the valves but no matter what fuel you use, carbon build us is an issue with DI. Cleaning valves is not a fun process.

I will have to take a look through 6g to see if this has been documented by now. Would be awesome to get some pictures of valves after like 25k, 50k, 75k, 100k miles.

Very good info. Please let us know if you find anything out. I know I've seen posts on the internet about 5.0 having 150K even 200K miles but I think they were older models. Not sure how long the 5.0 has been using direct injection?

Also kind of interesting that Ford added port injection to the 2.3 EB for the 24MY. I was previously going to get an EB (had one on order) but recently said to heck with it and opted to switch to a GT. You only live once as they say and buy once cry once

 

[Skye]

The 5.0 has had PI/DI since the Gen 3 engine, which debuted in 2018.

 

[Dena]

I found it. Don't let the name of the thread fool you because a catch can is one way of dealing with the carbon buildup.

oil-catch-can-yes-or-no

 

[dollybud]

I have a 24 GT on order and only heard of this Coyote BBQ Tick earlier this week. Seems strange the some cars have it and some don't. Also I read that sometimes the 'tick' doesn't manifest until after the first oil change but again I'm new to this so just passing along what I've read. I really hope I can a good Mustang with fit and finish, etc and it would be great to get one without the tick but I guess if it's 'normal' what are you going to do?

Welcome to the forum. You must have read about the inner

While we're on the Coyote engine subject do we need to worry about carbon buildup on the 5.0 at all or is that more for boosted cars? I know the EB's can get carbon buildup but even the 24 EB has port injection added to it's direct injection so I think that should help.

Anyway just curious if carbon buildup is an issue with the Coyotes?

NO, drive it like you stole it Only in a lower gear 5 or 6 thousand RPM on occasion thats what its built for.

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