2014 Roush Raptor startup 'tapping' sound?

[ToddReynolds]

I do have the full Kooks dual with green cats setup. I wouldn't buy it again. It immediately started rusting - and I'm in Denver, not the rust belt. I put it on a couple years ago and it looks like garbage now - not that I care about the looks too much, but the mega rusted ass bolts are super fun. Parts have fallen apart, some covered under warranty (resonators fell apart internally), some not (mufflers). Maybe they would have been, but it's impossible to get a hold of Kooks. I had to replace the mufflers entirely cause they just tore apart from general use, not from impacts or anything. The whole assembly has split in half at the rusty clamps probably six times, but I got REALLY good at putting it back together. I had it down to about 5 minutes, carrying the proper tools in the bed. After the last time I went in and had it welded together, no more clamps. I have to constantly tighten the flange connections at the front of the setup when I hear them leaking. In short, Kooks sucks, and you can't talk to them. Sorry you already have their product. I'll never buy their junk again. At least the cats have held up.

I'm not sure about needing a tune prior to the Whipple. I'd recommend asking JDM, but I want to guess it would be beneficial to get one, but I don't know if you NEED one.

Thanks for your honest feedback. I was concerned about corrosion as well so I went ahead and sent them to Jet Hot. These are not cheap and when I first ordered everything they welded up the wrong cats to them. I had to send back and wait for the green ones. I went ahead and sent the greed chatted pipes to Jet Hot as well. Hopefully that will help with the corrosion. I really thought for the price of these things they would be high quality. I will definitely reach out to JDM. Thanks again

 

[gtraptorguy]

Had the exact same issue on my ‘14 Roush. Position your ear in tight to the right fender, above the tire while someone does a cold start. The noise will be very noticeable but will almost disappear when the manifold heats up and expands so the crack narrows. Apparently it happens frequently if you are pulling a load for extended periods and building boost/ heat.
Close to $2k to have it replaced several years ago.
Good luck!

 

[Biltx77]

Just spent 10 hrs replacing the exhaust manifold, passenger side. Had 2 broken studs at the rear most cylinder. Mine has a whipple supercharger. The manifold was warped almost 1/8inch front to back. Installed a new manifold and plugs. I could have sworn that there was a bad lifter or rocker. It made that same noise every time I started it up. Usually took a good 3 to 5 min to go away. Replaced the manifold and the tic magically went away. I'm a 20yr mechanic and can usually tell the difference between an exhaust leak and a valvetrain noise, but this one got me. Hope yours works out the same.

 

[Biltx77]

I have heard that the manifolds have issues when put under heavy extended loads. Some owners are running flexible ducting from the front, if you can find some clean air, to the rear of the valve cover directed at the exhaust manifold.
I'm going to see what o can do to get some cool air to that area myself.

 

[FordTechOne]

I have heard that the manifolds have issues when put under heavy extended loads. Some owners are running flexible ducting from the front, if you can find some clean air, to the rear of the valve cover directed at the exhaust manifold.
I'm going to see what o can do to get some cool air to that area myself.

Cracked manifolds are not common on 6.2 engines, but that’s on stock applications. Slapping a supercharger on one, which it was never designed for, throws all OEM reliability out the window.

An aftermarket supercharger kit exceeds design intention on every part of the engine, including the exhaust manifolds. Trying to direct airflow to the manifolds will have no effect on the exhaust temperatures, which are the reason that they’re failing in the first place.

 

[Dane]

Thanks for your honest feedback. I was concerned about corrosion as well so I went ahead and sent them to Jet Hot. These are not cheap and when I first ordered everything they welded up the wrong cats to them. I had to send back and wait for the green ones. I went ahead and sent the greed chatted pipes to Jet Hot as well. Hopefully that will help with the corrosion. I really thought for the price of these things they would be high quality. I will definitely reach out to JDM. Thanks again

Those flanges in your pic are my current problem children. I have to tighten them every month or two when I start to hear the leak. I hope you have better luck.

 

[Viccern]

Just an update here for those who responded earlier... I never could get the Roush Cert. Mechanic to answer/call back and again - I refuse to take it to the local Ford Shop where he works. That said, I took it to another reputable shop that primarily does work on performance MOPAR here in town (the owner drives a TRX that's always parked out front, so it eases my anxiety at least a little) and they confirmed an exhaust manifold leak on the passenger side. I'm thankful it's that and not the Cam Phaser problem, and honestly that diagnosis matches what I was suspecting the issue was.

With that said, I'm taking the opportunity to make an upgrade and I've purchased Stainless Works 1 -7/8" Power Headers (Catted) to connect via Y Pipe to my Roush Exhaust. The kit should arrive next week and my install appointment is Oct 10th. Fingers crossed they can get the install done/sealed properly. I'm pretty excited to see how it sounds afterwards. Once that's done, I'll probably finally bite the bullet and get the JDM Tune I've been holding off on....

 

[Dane]

Just an update here for those who responded earlier... I never could get the Roush Cert. Mechanic to answer/call back and again - I refuse to take it to the local Ford Shop where he works. That said, I took it to another reputable shop that primarily does work on performance MOPAR here in town (the owner drives a TRX that's always parked out front, so it eases my anxiety at least a little) and they confirmed an exhaust manifold leak on the passenger side. I'm thankful it's that and not the Cam Phaser problem, and honestly that diagnosis matches what I was suspecting the issue was.

With that said, I'm taking the opportunity to make an upgrade and I've purchased Stainless Works 1 -7/8" Power Headers (Catted) to connect via Y Pipe to my Roush Exhaust. The kit should arrive next week and my install appointment is Oct 10th. Fingers crossed they can get the install done/sealed properly. I'm pretty excited to see how it sounds afterwards. Once that's done, I'll probably finally bite the bullet and get the JDM Tune I've been holding off on....

I'm confident it'll fix it right up. Isn't the cam phaser thing a gen 2 (V6) thing?

 

[FordTechOne]

I'm confident it'll fix it right up. Isn't the cam phaser thing a gen 2 (V6) thing?

6.2’s have phasers. However, like the 5.4 3V, they’re primarily for emissions, not performance.

 

[Snuggles]

Glad to hear you figured it out. Cam phasers are a huge issue on the 3.5 ecoboost. I haven’t heard of it being an issue on the 6.2.

For anyone researching this in the future, here is one way to test this:

- next time you are doing a cold start, before starting the engine push the gas pedal to the floor and hold it there while also pressing the brake pedal. Hold them there.
- Attempt to start the engine while still holding the pedals down. The engine should crank but not start. Do this two times for about ten seconds each, then immediately start the engine as normal.

If there is no noise when it starts this time then you likely have a cam phaser issue.

The turning over will build oil pressure, which actuates the cam phasers early.

Since it’s not actually running, there is no heat to swell the exhaust manifolds, so a leak would still be noticeable on start. Same with a valve spring I guess, but that won’t go away as it warms up.


Also FYI. The trick above is a great way to gently get oil pumped through your engine after doing work on it prior to fully starting. I learned it when replacing the turbo on my wife’s ecoboost. A “hot” start on a dry turbo can cause problems.