[lazer96gt]

Found this. It only mentions the Cobra but I'm sure this applies to all C head Mustangs. I'm sure this was similar to my 4V tick. LH as well.

ENGINE - MUSTANG COBRA - TICK NOISE FROM ENGINE - COBRA VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH ENGINES BUILT BEFORE 11/1/2002 ONLY

FORD: 2003 MUSTANG


ISSUE:
Some 2003 Mustang Cobra vehicles with engines built before 11/1/2002 may exhibit an unusual engine tick noise that is present at all temperatures during idle. This noise may be due to valve guide wear in the left bank cylinder head. Guide wear manifests itself as a tick noise which can be heard at the rear of LH head, through LH catalyst, at the LH front wheel well and may not be heard with the hood open.

ACTION:
Use the diagnostic procedures listed in this article to evaluate the vehicle condition and replace the cylinder head if applicable. Refer to the following Service Procedure for details.

SERVICE PROCEDURE

NOTE: THIS REPLACEMENT CYLINDER HEAD WILL NOT IMPROVE OR REDUCE PERFORMANCE.



In order to diagnose noise, the following items must be checked.

Verify noise by placing a stethoscope on the back of the left head near the exhaust ports.
Verify that the noise is heard in the left side exhaust system (left side wheel well or catalytic converter, from underneath the vehicle).
Try to isolate the noise by canceling the cylinders, by unplugging the injectors one at a time (start with #8 cylinder).
Verify that there are no exhaust manifold leaks.
Check to make sure that the camshaft spacers are in place. If not, install cam spacers and retest vehicle.
Check for proper cam sprocket bolt torque, retorque to spec
Check for spongy lash adjusters
Verify that the timing chain tensioner pin has been removed.
If the above diagnostics does not eliminate the noise while the cylinders are cancelled, and the engine was built prior to 11/1/2002, replace the left side cylinder head and cam assembly with Part Number 3R2Z-6049-GA.

[2k4mk1]

My 04 has 45k on it and I have no tick
Quick ck is park it running with the D/S close to a wall. If it ticks you will hear it.
Also dont confuse the injector ticking noise for the other "tick"

[RaceRat]

The tick that Ford refers to in the TSB's posted here is very obvious and sounds like you have serious engine damage.

In an open area with the car running and the hood closed, kneel next to the driver's side wheel well. If it sounds like metal on metal and the motor is going to fall out of the car, you could have the tick. Otherwise, it's injector noise, exhaust leak or normal engine noise.

If you have longtubes, I almost guarantee it an exhaust leak. 99.99% of these cars with LT's have/develop a small exhaust leak.

Speaking of spark plugs. Check them. A plug that's working it's way loose will rattle and tick and cost you a motor.

Also, check/change the blower oil if you haven't recently. The Heaton's are very rattly when the oil gets low or old.

Have you done any high speed pulls in the car recently? Have you done a leak down test?

Originally Posted by lobra97

do all termies do that?

No. Very few Terminators actually have a tick due to valve guide wear. My car was built in May 02 and never had a tick. Of all the 03/04's I've heard personally in the last 6 years (several hundreds), only ONE had the head tick and it was very, very obvious.

Originally Posted by 4.6stanger

WHy dont you take it to the dealer, to see if they can do anything about it. they Should if its a TSB.

A TSB does not automatically qualify for warranty work. It is not the same as a recall. If the car is out of warranty, Ford is not likely to fix a TSB problem.

Originally Posted by BlackSunshine01

i rember hearing about this too. also have heard the way to tell that it has been fixed is if the head has blue spraypaint going down it. but then again i dont own a 4v.

100% False. Blue paint on the head has nothing to do with this problem. Some cars had blue stripes on the driver's side, some passenger side, some both, some none. There is no correlation.
The revised heads weren't released until after production ceased and have more spark plug threads.

Originally Posted by 2k4mk1

My 04 has 45k on it and I have no tick
Quick ck is park it running with the D/S close to a wall. If it ticks you will hear it.
Also dont confuse the injector ticking noise for the other "tick"

You're right about the injector noise.
Driving next to a wall in 03/04 Cobra will just make everyone paranoid about having the tick! There's a reason these cars don't have knock sensors...it's because the motors are so damn noisy!

[seco]

thanks 2k4mk1 and RaceRat and all....


i have a garage and I park on left side so the tick is indeed obvious
with hood closed. I confirmed the tick is not the injectors, but the
tick isn't loud like the "motor gonna fall out of car" as RaceRat put it.
I know what exhaust leaks sound like.... and it doesn't seem be that.
I'll see about the spark plugs, compression check, leakdown test...
What's done during a "leakdown test"?
I've heard of some type of T fitting kit one can buy to better
distribute coolant flow to drivers head. How true is this? What's
all involved with installing this T fitting? What does TSB stand for?
I drive a 2003 Mach 1.
Sorry for all the questions.... LSS has always been an excellent
source of tech advice for me

[lazer96gt]

my tick was minimal. didn't sound like a major issues. We have had a couple 4v cars on the lot over the years with the tick. I've heard of the 4v tick ALOT, but no one ever describes their noise as massive. Maybe this is why the TSB only covered some cars. They knew that the ones with minimal tick were not a major issue.

[311-420]

Originally Posted by lazer96gt

I see alot of "Termi" on SVTP. Didn't know it was an issue.

didnt realize that was a problem for some people either...wow..

[lilblue302]

TSB = technical service bulletin

[ridestang89]

termi,termi,termi,termi,termi,termi,termi,termi, ok gotta go i will return tommorow with termi, lol

[lobra97]

lol^^

[96greengt]

Originally Posted by seco

What's done during a "leakdown test"? That test will do nothing for you

I've heard of some type of T fitting kit one can buy to better
distribute coolant flow to drivers head. How true is this? Your engine has that already

What does TSB stand for? Technical Service Bulletin
I drive a 2003 Mach 1.
Sorry for all the questions.... LSS has always been an excellent
source of tech advice for me

A TSB is just a fix that the engineers and Ford have released to aid the dealer techs in repairs, by no means is a TSB a RECALL for a FREE repair, only RECALLS/CAMPAIGNS are Free from the dealers.