Coaldragger, sounds like a very viable option to what's happening but I know someone with a Ford that sounded like a diesel. They had the engine rebuilt under warranty and it purrs like a kitten at 5*, as it was tonight. My truck sounded like a brand new 6.4 diesel when I started mine up.
Oh yeah, the Ford has VVT as well as cats. I just wonder why Toyota couldn't get us an engine that sounds like a diesel.
Honestly, I'm not joking around - mine REALLY sounds like a 6.4. I know that b/c I test drove a 6.4 three weeks ago.
-rockstate
What model of Ford truck has variable valve timing on both intake and exhaust valves? None that I know of. As far as I know the valve timing can only be adjusted independently on a DOHC motor. The Ford SOHC engine will not have the ability to have as wide a range of adjustment, and most likely can't operate with the exhaust valves opening as early as they do on a 5.7L Toyota with dual VVT-i and dual overhead cams. If this were attempted on the Ford with only the single overhead cam the engine would probably run very rough, if at all, because the intake valves would be completey out of synch with the ignition and fuel injection.
Keep in mind Toyota is the first manufacturer to use dual variable valve timing on a truck motor, but the technology has been used by other makers to boost engine performance and flexibility. BMW, Porsche, Lexus (Toyota) all use it for those reasons and all of those are DOHC motors instead of SOHC motors for a reason. If the wide range of adjustment could be accomplished with only one camshaft per cylinder bank those companies would be using SOHC engines. Too bad a SOHC cam layout can't accomplish those things because having fewer moving parts would reduce costs, reduce complexity, reduce parasitic power losses due to friction,.... well you get the picture.