Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums

I was going to run down to the pop machine in town a  few minutes ago to get a can of dr pepper (i've cut way down...this would've been my first soda since wednesday) and when I started the Mounty, well, there was a knock.

I shut 'er off, checked the oil, just a wee bit below the full line, not nearly low enough to make it knock. Started her up again, the same. Revved on it, went away, but at idle, it's got a definite knock. I'm not certain if it's rod or main, so I'm going to park it unless absolutely necessary.

Looks like I need to start planning a trip to the city to hopefully grab a replacement Exploder/Mounty 5.0....

I'd sort of hoped she'd last awhile longer. Has 258xxx on it and still has plenty of power. Nothing lasts forever though.

Thats a sucky development, sorry.

My 2 cents, drive it till it gets really loud and don't let it bug ya. Not saying take it crossed country or anything, but id beat it until it pukes. They always start to run really well right before they let go.

It actually runs really well now, but then, it always has. Been a most reliable vehicle, only time it ever failed to start was when the (cheap) battery terminals corroded and drained the battery and caused it to lose a cell or whatnot. Replaced it, and put on brass terminals...that was the winter of 2012/13, and has been excellent since, and I have a pretty loud system in it, too.

Heat, cold, and in between, always cranks over and fires instantly.


Funny thing is, at higher RPM, like...1K and faster, it's fine, just the noise at idle. If I know I'll mostly have the engine spinning faster than idle speed, I'll drive it. No parking with the engine on though, and thankfully, not a lot of sitting at lights.

Really impressed with the high mileage Mount, too...all I've had to do to it was brakes, tires, hubs (2x...do NOT use cheap hubs for these), and of course U joints for the rear driveshaft. Got some minor issues, but nothing that affects the reliability of it to start, run, and haul stuff. Put a different door on the back driver side, new hinge bushing on the front driver, etc.

I'll have another one, maybe a 2000 or so...a little newer, less miles. Good stuff, maynard.

What oil do you run in it?  Could piston slap due to excessive cylinder wall wear.  If it was a rod bearing it would just get louder as you rev it and then stack metal parts in your oil pan.  Could be weak lifters that finally pump up at higher RPMS.  Lots of things that could cause the noise other than internals.  Pull the belts off the accessories and see if the noise goes away.

Darren

You know, it might be piston slap....the previous owner cut the cats off, and I know a guy, so inspections aren't an issue (no sniffer here, just a visual), but the ed thing seems to run a bit rich and the mileage has never been what it ought to be, even though it is obviously the 5 liter...

It doesn't sound high pitched such as a lifter, a little more meaty, and deeper. I'll see if i can get some audio or even a video of it, though audio with anything but a higher echelon camera is , at best..

It definitely goes away as I rev it a little, maybe it's an accessory bearing... I'll do some more investigating, but I'm not getting my hopes just quite yet lol.

Could be a blown out exhaust seal or something like that also that goes away under load. I had one car i bought with a "bad" motor. I was sure it was toast, and so did everyone who saw it.

It actually ended up being the heat shield on the cat was vibrating like crazy at idle and hitting the floorpan. One day i hit a speed bump and the noise disappeared.

I just turn up the radio a little louder.

I agree^^^^^ radio fixes everything with fords :hick:

We had that same exhaust thing happen on a work van(Chevy). Would have sworn the motor was toast, just needed new cats.

add a half qt of 85w140,,, you have farm equipment.

I don't pay much attention to minor little knocks.
to be honest when my 20th was in the 180k mile range I was sure the engine was giving me warning signs but for some odd reason the noise just simply went away.

You'll need a quart or more of the 85-140 to make a difference in a 5/10W-30 oil...

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/viscosity-charts/

1 qt of 20w50 makes a difference.

I changed the oil, added a little thicker stuff, new filter (motorcraft, duh), and so far so good. The oil was thin and starting to turn color, so....

I drove it into town last night for a few groceries, goosed on it hard coming onto the highway, no issues.

I'll drive 'er till she blows, and then put another motor in it. ed thing will probably outlast me.

That's pretty much what I'd do: Drive it until a rod decides it wants to see what life is like outside the block. Depending on whether I liked the vehicle or not, I might even baby it to extend its life...

Well, I like it, despite it's age and the usual nitpicky issues for something of the year and the miles. I'd use my E cam 5.0, but Mounty PCMs tend to not work well with aftermarket stuff, at least, not with factory engine management, anyway.

A little off topic, but this thing has always fascinated me. Would be sick to make one as fast or faster than the Jeep thing....that SRT beast.