Welcome to the Forums!
To help - the above is a "Cut away" of the cams display of a 4-cylinder 1.6L they use in our Fiestas.
The "root" is Sigma - then moved to Duratec (goes by those names including others)
The "Tapping"? You're not alone - I too, being a delivery driver, our fleet we use Ford - including Fiestas.
The startup and running especially in the Morning - these things are noisy tapping rattle that can be heard across our parking lot. It's due to the wear of the cam lobe to follower clearance that moves the valves as they follow the cam.
We use 5W-20 in various blends so the noise doesn't go away - it's a clearance issue - so either you rebuild the upper cylinder head or just live with it.
So to help with oil passage, how or what filters are you using for your Oil?
As
@scotman already eluded to, the volume of oil from the pump is what makes the "pressure" appear on gauges, so if the oil level got too low or cavitated from excessive speed or rev-up - that foaming and cavitation can cause some damages so using a good quality oil is important but also begs the question of other aspects of maintenance.
Since the vehicle I use is a 2013 Fiesta S with Auto (no nothing sporty) with currently over 184,000mi (or +296,000km -
take that! you warranty freaks!) I'm not going to have them to simply drop the motor and fix the noise, because once the engine is warned up - that noise is nearly gone. I sit in traffic so I hear other vehicles noisy engines far more than what I can hear out of the Fiestas motor I run with.
But to help that upper cylinder head with a lot of miles on it, might need a rebuild - but as to the lack of or possible failure - it's not imminent - as long as the service intervals for maintenance have been followed an performed - you should be ok.
It is a 2011 Fiesta - that's a pretty good track record
But the deposits you mention in another post concerns me...
I want you to think of the following as a "third party" looking from the outside as an observer - for I see tapping noises from previous vehicles I've owned as a sign of premature wear - and you'd have a right to feel cautious in that way too.
So, as if you did up a checklist...
If you used the proper oil (5W30 or even 5W20 - only small viscosity changes between the two - else the 5W properties remain the same) and used the recommended filter - this tapping sound may mean something got cleaned out - especially when you have NOT done an oil change in a year or you just got the car and you don't know or see any maintenance records.
I also presume you checked the Radiator for blockage and or leaks and the Coolant tank (on right side of the engine compartment) that it is intact not leaking and has fluid in it. An overheating motor can deform the engine and you get noises like this when the valve train "lobs" due to the warpage or high heat deformation in the bearing to journal clearances - lets more oil flow out but reduces the pressure present to flow further into the motor - let alone keep the metal to metal contact from occurring.
If the old oil filter had rust on it, then it's a sign that gunk and lack of an oil change from previous - is the reason - the gunk kept the noise down, until the new oil cleared out the passages and the filter is plugging up from the gunk the got loosened.
That the "black crud" you speak of, usually indicates low-heat, short trips with little start-stop traffic.
That may be more of a self-perpetuating demon that kills engines - it's called short trip.
Rich fuel mixtures are needed when a vehicle is first started up - so that alone can generate a lot of soot and dilute oil because the unburned fuel and soot reduce the oils effectiveness as being a lubricant - even though it has detergents and suspension qualities - that does little good if the particles can't get trapped in the oil filter or removed thru the tailpipe - or worse they do get removed, but plug up the filter media and reduce it's ability to flow a given volume of oil the engine needs for every revolution it makes.
In using todays oil formulations this "crud" is less likely when the engine is driven even for only a 10 minute short trip to and from work. So this tells me that there may be some thermal or short trip drives that - show you how the motor slowly dies a carbonized sooty death from the build up - a lot like a smoker that when you're behind them in traffic, you can easily see (and smell) their habit(s) are well underway.
It is also sad to see the condition of the vehicle, (the photo above) in some cases; the habit takes precedence more than the maintenance of the vehicle.
Now, after several weeks into this, I reviewed your video and I noticed something far more disturbing.
Did you "catch" the noise - it's increase of VOLUME? When you went to the pavement with the camera facing the motor?
That is when the noise got a LOT LOUDER and that is where my concern is.
You recently did an oil change - so as long as the Oil Light
symbol is not on, you seem to be ok.
But the noise is from the BOTTOM of the motor - that is the area around the Crank and the exhaust manifold to catalyst.
Did you do anything further to find that noise?
