At 8,000 miles, engine started tapping noise at start-up lasting several seconds. 3 visits to the dealer, they claim they can't hear it. Seems to me a lifter is leaking down. Can't get dealer to even acknowledge the problem. Suggestions?

 

Just out of curiosity , what kind and spec motor oil are you using? Is it what the owners manual recommends?

 

Motorcraft 5w20 (dealer installed.)

 

Can you tell from which side/part of the engine that tapping sound may be coming from? At this point it could be anything, so we try to pin down an approx area.