'00 Very noisy at idle

[bluevolume]

Still looking to fix up a few things on my '00 XLS. This one has bugging me for a while -- there is a noise coming from somewhere under the truck. You can hear it best when the truck is idling in park, and you stand outside by either front door.

It is a rattling sound that I can't pinpoint. It sounds to me like it is coming from inside the engine, but the shop insists the engine is solid. It isn't a lifter ticking sound, or a rod knock, it is just a loud rattle. I'll record the sound and post it if it might help someone figure out what is causing it.

Thanks for any advice.
Blue

 

[TPLYNCH]

OHV engine?? If so, it's probably the wrist pins. Mine has made that noise ("marbles in a tin can") since I bought it.

 

[bluevolume]

Yes, it is the OHV. Should I get this fixed? I have the Ford ESP.

 

[TPLYNCH]

They'll tell you it is normal for the engine, and won't cause damage. Some Ranger owners managed to get new engines several years ago, not sure your dealer would be willing. THe wrist pins were redesigned in '98 to improve emissions, but the result was the noisy engine.....

 

[joe doe]

engine rattle

i have just bought a 2000 explorer sport.the 2 nd day i have it ,it began making this noise.sounds like a rattling in the engine or trans.can be heard best when cold,first start of the day,sounds like the rattling of a desil motor kinda.it tends to go away when warmed up a bit.when i accelerate i can feel it in the gas peddle too.i know this isnt normal.i just bought this for 14 grand without a warranty.stupid me.truck has only 33,000 miles on it.
you can hear the noise from standing outside the truck.
any ideas guys???the dealer wants to look at it monday but for christs sake i just bought it last week and now they want in my pocket again ....help......

 

[Jason_25]

joe, first we need to know whether it is the OHV or the SOHC.

Sounds to me like it is the SOHC though. Search for 00M12 on the site. It's the name of the Ford program where your truck can be fixed for free.

 

[joe doe]

reply

the truck is a ohv engine.it only has 33,000 miles on it.
let me know what you find out...thanks......joe

 

[whj812]

I have the same problem. The truck runs great, just that sound is annoying! I get great gas mileage, great power, everything is good except that dang sound.

 

[Jason_25]

The sound is normal for later model OHV's. It shouldn't affect the life of the engine at all.

 

[vbtruk]

Hi guy's i just noticed this today, at cold start up my engine makes areally loud rattle like the caconvertor heat shield is clatering but it not, you can hear it when listening near the front wheel's or directly under the car and when i poped the bonnet it was quieter but when i opened the oil cap i could here it in there! it seem's to get softer when the engine is warm but it's still there constant. i have had the timming chain tensioner done and oil pump done under warranty so what else could it be and what is the best way to check what it is??? thanks.
by the way: SOHC V6 4.0L, 155,000Km's

 

[TPLYNCH]

Got Oil?? How long ago since they replaced the tensioners?? There is another TSB that's been discussed but is not a warranty work item. Noise is present at warm idle, not just cold. Search posts from past couple months and you should find it, or someone else will chip in w/ the TSB#. I only remember it having an 08 i think.

 

[captain jack]

I have an XLS with the same engine. My tinny rattle at idle turned out to be one of the exhaust shields. It was on the right side and was hanging loose between the engine and the exhaust pipe. It uses spring steel clips which push into recesses . Actually I don't remember if the recesses were on the engine block or some other part but the shield is oriented parallel to the bumper. I found it by carefully poking around with a broomstick while the engine was running---didn't even have to jack it up. Good luck.

 

[twomedicine]

engine "rattle" noise

I was just in a state of panic since I started to hear the same noise, I hope, that everyone else is saying is normal for the OHV engine.

It does sound like a diesel or an episodal shaking of the "marbles in can" type of sound. It doesn't seem to keep up the same rythmn as the engine though, just kind of a random subdued rattle. Just started about 2500mi ago, I now have close to 80K. I believe it is more pronouned now that when it originally started, but I was camped out in the big sky country where noises are eaten up more readily.

I just changed the oil and it seemed at first more audible than before. It did smooth out as the engine ran for about 5min. The heat shield for the tranny is not the source, nor are the other shields. I checked around with a wooden dowel as a stethoscope to components such as valve covers, water pump (thought it was a likely culprit), other pumps, alt....and the oil pan area. The oil pan area seemed as though the place whereby the noise would transfer. That's why I am paranoid.

I sure hope this is a normal thing. I just drove in from the NW and it ran very strong at high speeds (75-80MPH in the western states). Nothing else out of the ordinary is happening....yet///

 

[skumancer]

My 98 Explorer does that also, trouble is, I don't know what OHV means. My engine is a 4.0 SOHC V6 with 46K(corrected, my last listing was in Km) on it.

Any help? Thanks

 

[dan leon]

My 2000 ranger 4.0 ohv makes the same noise - I guess.. I bought it with 15k on it, now it has about 45k. Sound has not worsened - but still very noticable.

 

[twomedicine]

Originally posted by skumancer
My 98 Explorer does that also, trouble is, I don't know what OHV means. My engine is a 4.0 SOHC V6 with 75K on it.

Any help? Thanks

Over Head Valves (OHV). Yours is the Single Over Head Cam, a much more powerful engine, like maybe 40-50 horses more. But I think that engine has had noise problems relating to the cam chain tensioner (?). You could do a search on noise and OHC

 

[dogfriend]

Originally posted by vbtruk
Hi guy's i just noticed this today, at cold start up my engine makes areally loud rattle like the caconvertor heat shield is clatering but it not, you can hear it when listening near the front wheel's or directly under the car and when i poped the bonnet it was quieter but when i opened the oil cap i could here it in there! it seem's to get softer when the engine is warm but it's still there constant. i have had the timming chain tensioner done and oil pump done under warranty so what else could it be and what is the best way to check what it is??? thanks.
by the way: SOHC V6 4.0L, 155,000Km's

Check out this TSB 98-21-1 to see if it could be the problem.

 

[VOATMJ1]

Everyone relax. I have a 2000 Sport (OHV), and it USE to make that same sound. I went to my Ford dealer, (only had 10,000 miles on it at the time), and spoke with the owner of the dealership, and he called Ford, and printed out a TSB on the, as Ford calls it, "marbling sound" of the OHV engine.

It will not cause any problems, and is normal for the OHV engine. My dealer suggested using synthetic oil, and I'll be damed, within one day that sound was completely gone!!

I now have 35,000 mile on my X, and it still runs quiet in the garage cold or hot, even when it is below zero in the winter, it is quiet as a church mouse, so to speak.

Try switching to a synthetic oil, it has many, many benefits over reg oil, PLUS, it may quiet your "marbling" engine sound, it did for me!

 

[twomedicine]

Potential cure

Thanks for the post regarding the synthetic oil reducing/eliminating the "marbles" noise in the OHV engine. Mine just started at around 77K.

My initial thoughts were not to waste my time or my Mobile 1 on an engine having design flaws. I have a case of Mobile 1 5w30 sitting around and will give 'er a try next change (since I just changed it out, it'll be another 2 months before I can post the results).

Yes it does have many benefits for sure. Many a sub-zero Wyo & MT mornings I could start up without a block heater.

2med

 

[Runnin'OnEmpty]

I too have a 2000 model Sport with the OHV engine. It had a rattling sound when I bought it, but after changing the oil a couple times, its a lot quieter. If it's indeed wrist pin noise, I suspect the oil is "cushioning" the pins and reducing the noise a bit.

I'm currently using 10W-30 Castrol GTX, with 3K mile changes.