News: Cylinder Heads

[Constable]

As many of you know, my Marauder went under the knife in April. Ford gladly replaced my driver side cylinder head with a new casting and buttoned everything up. This procedure took care of the dreaded valve "tick" for approximately 1,000 miles... then it came back.

I figured that I was just going to have to deal with it, but I had enough. I went back to my dealer last week and notified them that the problem came back and was worse than before. Despite all the mods on my car, my service manager (and a NEW mechanic - they fired my favorite tech) decided to keep my warranty going strong. They contacted the Romeo plant AGAIN. Reps stated that the head i got in April was not a "fix" but a direct replacement. They stated that a "new & improved" head will be made available for the first quarter of 2005. My service manager assures me that this will be available by mid-to-late January. I have even been told that I may get BOTH heads... sweeeet.

Hope this info goes to good use... I know TripleTransAm pioneered the head-replacement surgery and had the tick come back. I figure they have to be serious about it. They also mentioned that tons of Aviators and Cobras are suffering the same problems. Ford promises a fix!

[DEFYANT]

What is causing this tick? I've heard of this on svtperformance.com....

[BillyGman]

thanks for this update Constable. I've heard many cobra owners talk about the "tick" also, and some of them say that they've put many miles on their engines while that tick was apparent, and w/out any problems. But if there's really going to be a genuine fix for this, then that would be interesting. A recall from Ford would be nice although from everything I've heard, I won't hold my breath waiting for that. But I would think that atleast there would be a TSB adopted for this "fix". I guess time will tell.

[CRUZTAKER]

Thanks man....I am soooo tired of the dreaded tick.:mad:

[TripleTransAm]

I know TripleTransAm pioneered the head-replacement surgery and had the tick come back.

Yes, no and yes... and no. Maybe.

As it stands now: shortly after the car was back on the road in spring, I heard a lighter version of the ticking, same place same timbre, but quieter (Tick Lite?). Then it went away almost a soon as I began to notice it and complain about it.

Then after two straight days of 12 hour nonstop driving (Dayton Ohio and back, plus assorted drives to Kilkare and Lebanon and Tipp City), the same area of the engine began tapping much like a diesel, for about 2-3 days. Audible not just at idle like with the dreaded tick (tm), but I could make out the tapping at low road speeds with the engine doing 2000 RPM (ie. TCC unlocked, during mild acceleration, etc.). After parking the car in sheer frustration for a week or so (and enjoying my WS6 and GTA), the next time I took out the Marauder it was quiet again.

In October, following a 5 hour nonstop drive to Vermont to pick up some wheels and tires... same story, same tapping. But it was gone by the next day (parked it for the day at that point as well).

I can occasionally hear the faint hint of a tick like the original one I had last year, but it's so brief that the moment I stoop to listen closer, it's gone. Maybe I'm just oversensitive... maybe I'm hearing normal injector noise (it's low enough to be attributable to this). Funny, though... why would my driver's side injectors be noisier than the passenger's side (even with the hood open)?

So for now, I'm watching my plugs and keeping my ears open. I'm going to suggest they verify the camshaft "hold-down" torque one of these upcoming visits, in case that's the reason for the tapping after long drives. If we get nowhere, I'm going to push for this final solution being mentioned here (the new heads for 2005) but only after I get concrete details of what was done to fix them, and after seeing others' experience with the new heads. I'm relinquishing my 'pioneer' status, especially considering I seem to still hold the title of quickest Marauder (1/4 mile ET) in a totally 100% bone stock configuration (with the current replacement head).

[RF Overlord]

I'm relinquishing my 'pioneer' status, especially considering I seem to still hold the title of quickest Marauder (1/4 mile ET) in a totally 100% bone stock configuration (with the current replacement head).

/Steve: Don't mess with success! If Barry the Burnout King has the tick and hasn't blown up HIS motor yet, then you should be golden!

[Constable]

In the words of my new tech, "All Marauders, Aviators, and every-other Navigator should come from the factory with a spare head next to the scissor jack."