Diesel F150 Forum banner

Strange sound on startup

2K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  jmperlik 
#1 ·
My 2021 F150 3.0L often makes a clattering sounds right after I start it. It usually only lasts a few seconds then goes away. I've attached videos of the sound. Please let me know what y'all think! I've looked into everything and can't figure it out, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
 
#2 ·
Welcome! I wish you were not having the issue, but hopefully it can be cured and allow you to fully enjoy your new truck. I have heard that sort of noise from a faulty injector but only some testing and diagnostics can tell for certain.

A couple of quick questions. I imagine you are under warranty? Have you had it to a dealer? Do you have a MIL light on the dash? Have you pulled codes yet? Pulling codes is quite easy and can tell you a lot.

Also when I am looking at something like this I use a short piece of garden hose holding one end up to my ear and listening to various areas of the engine to see if I can narrow down the affected area. This can easily tell you if it is in the valve train area, down in a specific cylinder or even in the lower part of the block.

A few years ago I had a terrible intermittent noise on my 2013 F150. Finally found it- a loose heat shield on the exhaust. Made the engine sound like it was about to blow. Took about two bucks and ten minutes to fix it.

Best of luck, please do update this and watch this thread, some real experts will be reading this and may be able to offer much better input.
 
#3 ·
Welcome! I wish you were not having the issue, but hopefully it can be cured and allow you to fully enjoy your new truck. I have heard that sort of noise from a faulty injector but only some testing and diagnostics can tell for certain.

A couple of quick questions. I imagine you are under warranty? Have you had it to a dealer? Do you have a MIL light on the dash? Have you pulled codes yet? Pulling codes is quite easy and can tell you a lot.

Also when I am looking at something like this I use a short piece of garden hose holding one end up to my ear and listening to various areas of the engine to see if I can narrow down the affected area. This can easily tell you if it is in the valve train area, down in a specific cylinder or even in the lower part of the block.

A few years ago I had a terrible intermittent noise on my 2013 F150. Finally found it- a loose heat shield on the exhaust. Made the engine sound like it was about to blow. Took about two bucks and ten minutes to fix it.

Best of luck, please do update this and watch this thread, some real experts will be reading this and may be able to offer much better input.
I appreciate the reply! I haven't had it to a dealer yet but am definitely planning on it if I can't figure it out. There are no lights on on the dash, I pulled codes using a friend's code reader and thought I had a picture of the codes but can't find it now. I looked up the two codes that came up when we pulled them and one was a generic computer related code, and the other was something unrelated like an old tire pressure code or something. The computer code I believe may have been from when I installed a Stealth Module that brought the check engine light up but was quickly cleared. The clattering sound on startup existed before the stealth module was installed so it isn't due to that. I'll keep y'all posted if I find anything out. Thank you!
 
#4 ·
That does not sound good or normal at all!

The sound is too slow/erratic/loud to be something internal in the engine. Sounds like something in the engine bay that is loose and flapping into one of the spinning belts. I'd check around the fan and fan belts for something loose.

If it's a 2021, then this is definitely covered under 3yr/36K bumper-to-bumper warranty, so I would let the dealer diagnose & fix, as even the salesman who sold you the truck should agree that what you are hearing is not normal or acceptable.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top