Wastegate rattle vs cam phaser, the costly 2017-20 F-150 mix-up
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Two very different problems make almost the same noise
A rattle at startup on an EcoBoost F-150 has two separately documented causes, and Ford’s own paperwork puts about eight hours of labour between them. Telling them apart before you approve a repair is the whole job of this page.
Start with the situation you’re in:
- It only rattles on the first start of the day, then goes quiet. Section two has Ford’s exact wording for that noise.
- It rattles at idle or while driving, not just cold. That description belongs to a different component entirely.
- You’re still in warranty. Go to the coverage section; your channel is different from an out-of-warranty owner’s.
- You’re holding a quote. The cost section shows Ford’s published labour hours so you can check the line items.
- You’re deciding whether to fix it at all. Coverage first, then cost — in that order, because one changes the other.
Your engine, model year and build date decide which document applies, and F-150 problems mapped by model year covers the rest of the generation.
ℹ️ Safety Note: This article is a diagnostic and cost reference, not a repair procedure. Confirming either fault means inspecting components that Ford’s own bulletins say are for trained technicians, so have a qualified technician confirm the source of the noise before you authorise any teardown.
What each rattle actually sounds like, in Ford’s words
Ford describes the two noises differently in its bulletins, and those descriptions are the most reliable thing an owner can check without tools.
| What you hear | Ford’s wording | Applies To | Cause Ford names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rattle on the first start of the day, 2–5 seconds | Ticking, tapping or rattle from the top front cover area after a cold soak of six hours or more | 2017–2020 F-150 and 2018–2020 Expedition/Navigator, 3.5L, built on or before Nov 30, 2019 | Worn variable camshaft timing (VCT) unit |
| Rattle that comes and goes at idle, on acceleration or on lift-off | Rattle from the engine compartment under various operating conditions | 2017 F-150, 3.5L | Excessive play in the turbocharger wastegate linkage |
| Rattle traced to the turbo area | Turbocharger wastegate rattle | 2024 F-150, 2.7L, built on or before Oct 4, 2024 | Missing wave spring at the wastegate actuator lever arm |
Sourced from Ford TSB 23-2143, TSB 20-2016 and TSB 25-2215, all hosted at NHTSA and checked September 12, 2026.
The cam phaser description is narrow on purpose: a specific location, a specific trigger, a specific duration. The wastegate description is the opposite — Ford writes it as occurring under various conditions, with no cold-soak requirement.
🔍 Why It Happens: A VCT unit is moved by engine oil pressure, and oil pressure is at its lowest in the seconds after a long shutdown. Worn internal parts can clatter until pressure builds, which is why the noise is brief and tied to a cold start. A wastegate linkage is mechanical, so its play doesn’t care how long the truck sat.
Ford’s bulletin also names diagnostic code P164C, which may appear with an intermittent no-restart during auto-start-stop — but the bulletin describes the noise as occurring with or without that code stored. A clear scan does not rule the phasers out. Our deeper write-up on the cold-start rattle Ford confirmed in writing follows that trail further.
Which trucks each bulletin actually covers
Build date decides this, not model year, and it is printed on the driver’s door jamb label.
- Cam phaser bulletin family: 3.5L EcoBoost only. TSB 23-2143 covers 2017–2020 F-150 and 2018–2020 Expedition/Navigator built on or before November 30, 2019. An earlier bulletin, 20-2191, covered 2017–2018 F-150s built on or before July 10, 2018.
- Wastegate linkage bulletin: TSB 20-2016 covers the 2017 F-150 with the 3.5L, and no other year.
- Wastegate wave spring bulletin: TSB 25-2215 covers the 2024 F-150 with the 2.7L built on or before October 4, 2024, North American market.
A 2020 truck built in December 2019 falls outside the phaser bulletin’s stated range, which is the detail most pages drop when they write “2017–2020.” The same boundary applies to the SUVs, covered in what Ford confirmed about the Expedition and Navigator phaser.
One honest gap: we found no published Ford wastegate bulletin covering 2018–2020 F-150s with the 3.5L as of September 12, 2026. Owner forums offer explanations for that silence, but no Ford document we retrieved states one, so we’re not repeating them as fact.
What Ford told dealers to do about each one
The instructions are as different as the noises, and each carries a part number you can quote at a service desk.
For the phaser noise, Ford’s bulletin on the cold-start ticking and rattle tells dealers to replace all four VCT units, and specifically not to replace other timing components not on its parts list. For the 2017 wastegate noise, Ford’s wastegate linkage bulletin calls for a spring washer kit, HL3Z-9G488-C, one per actuator. The 2.7L version installs a wave spring kit, RL3Z-9G488-D, on both turbochargers.
📋 On the Record: Ford TSB 23-2143, dated May 4, 2023, supersedes 22-2200 and covers 2017–2020 F-150 and 2018–2020 Expedition/Navigator with the 3.5L EcoBoost built on or before November 30, 2019. Ford TSB 20-2016, dated February 13, 2020, covers the 2017 F-150 3.5L wastegate linkage. Ford TSB 25-2215, dated May 20, 2025, supersedes 25-2008 and covers the 2024 F-150 2.7L. Status checked September 12, 2026: all current, none superseded further.
A bulletin is not a recall and adds no coverage of its own — it only tells the dealer how to perform the repair. Who pays is decided by the next section.
Both cam phaser programs have expired
Coverage for the phaser repair ended on January 1, 2023, and nothing has replaced it.
Ford ran two linked programs. CSP 21B10 reprogrammed the PCM with no mileage limit. The program that gated the phaser coverage then fed CSP 21N03, which extended phaser warranty to January 1, 2023 — but only for trucks whose 21B10 repair order was dated on or before February 28, 2022.
📋 On the Record: CSP 21N03 paid on a mileage scale taken from the repair order: 100% up to 69,999 miles, 66% from 70,000–79,999, 33% from 80,000–89,999, and nothing at 90,000 or above, with Lincoln bands 10,000 miles higher. It was a one-time repair that transferred to later owners, and Supplement #4 of March 25, 2022 added Raptor and Limited variants. See the program’s mileage proration table. Status checked September 12, 2026: expired.
No safety recall covering either noise appeared in Ford’s or NHTSA’s published campaigns for these trucks when we checked on September 12, 2026. Recalls are VIN-specific, so run yours through both the NHTSA and Ford lookups — only Ford’s shows customer satisfaction programs, and our Recall & VIN Lookup Helper walks through both.
One job books at 1.9 hours. The other books at 9.6.
Ford publishes a labour operation for each repair, which is the most checkable number on any quote you’ll be handed.
| Repair | Labour operation | Hours | What It Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Replace all four VCT units, 2017–2020 F-150 3.5L | 232143A | 9.6 | Labour only; Raptor 9.7, Expedition/Navigator 9.8 |
| Wastegate linkage spring kit, 2017 F-150 3.5L | 202016A | 1.9 | Labour only; two kits, one per actuator |
| Wave spring, both turbos, 2024 F-150 2.7L | 252215C | 1.4 | Labour only; inspection alone books 1.0 |
Labour operations quoted from Ford TSB 23-2143, 20-2016 and 25-2215, checked September 12, 2026.
💵 On these numbers: Costs shown are typical ranges, not quotes. Labour rates vary sharply by region and between dealer and independent shops, and parts pricing moves. Use these to judge whether a quote is in the right neighbourhood, not to predict your invoice.
💵 What It Costs: Multiply your shop’s posted hourly rate by the labour operation above — 9.6 hours against 1.9 is roughly a five-to-one difference before a single part. On parts, one online Ford parts retailer listed the intake VCT unit (HL3Z-6256-CD) at $100.76 and the wastegate spring washer kit (HL3Z-9G488-C) at $14.02 on September 12, 2026; the phaser job needs four units plus gaskets, seals, oil and coolant. Those are retailer listings, not dealer counter prices, and a shop may add access or related-damage time. Our Repair Cost Estimator and what a cam phaser repair should cost break the full job down.
What to ask before you approve anything
The gap between those two bills is why confirmation matters more than repair speed.
✅ Do This: Ask the shop four things and get them on the repair order: which bulletin number they’re working from, which labour operation they’re billing and its hours, whether your build date falls inside that bulletin’s range, and whether the wastegate lever arm and turbine housing were physically inspected on both turbochargers.
That last one matters because Ford’s wastegate procedure begins by removing both front wheels and both inner splash shields. It is not a driveway check, and no document we retrieved supports diagnosing either fault by ear alone.
Common questions about EcoBoost startup rattle
1. Is cam phaser rattle covered by a recall?
No. Ford handled it through customer satisfaction programs 21B10 and 21N03, not a safety recall, and both have now expired.
2. Is CSP 21N03 still available?
No. Coverage ended January 1, 2023, and only applied to trucks reflashed under 21B10 by February 28, 2022.
3. What years did Ford document the wastegate rattle?
Ford published wastegate bulletins for the 2017 F-150 3.5L and the 2024 F-150 2.7L built on or before October 4, 2024.
4. Does wastegate rattle damage the engine?
No Ford document we retrieved states an engine-damage outcome. The real risk is paying for a phaser job that never silences the noise.
5. What is P164C on an F-150?
P164C is a powertrain code Ford links to a worn VCT unit, though its bulletin says the noise occurs with or without it.
6. Do I have to replace all four cam phasers?
Ford’s bulletin instructs dealers to replace all four VCT units, which is why the labour operation books 9.6 hours.
7. Why does my truck only rattle on the first start?
Ford scopes that noise to a cold soak of six hours or more, lasting two to five seconds as oil pressure builds.
8. Does the 2.7L EcoBoost have the same problem?
The 2.7L has its own wastegate bulletin, 25-2215, covering a missing wave spring — it is not a cam phaser issue.
9. Can a dealer tell them apart without removing anything?
Not the wastegate. Ford’s procedure starts by removing both front wheels and inner splash shields to inspect the actuator. Have a qualified technician confirm which component is rattling before authorising a teardown.
10. What should I ask before approving the repair?
Ask which bulletin number applies, which labour operation is being billed, and whether your build date falls inside that bulletin’s range.
Before you authorise the teardown
Check your build date against the bulletin that matches your engine, then ask the shop to confirm which component is actually rattling. On a wastegate rattle vs cam phaser call, that one question separates a two-hour repair from a ten-hour one. Every date, campaign number and labour figure here was checked on September 12, 2026.
