1989 Ranger V6 lifter noise.

[hideway]

Hello everyone, I just purchased a 1989 ford ranger with a V6. 63,000 original miles, original owner all verified by auto check. Pass smog, no problems, nice quiet engine. 5 Speed. I drove on the freeway and after about 5 miles the engine sounded like a coffee can full of stovebolts in a cuisine art blender. I brought my new find down to an idle and the engine started to quiet down. I owned a 1954 ford at one point and they referred to the V8 engine as a valve job special. At that time you could buy a top oiler kit at the autotorium on Geary St. in San Fran, no such luck these days. Any ideas out there as to what my next step should be? Thanks Martin Please post or reply passage33@prodigy.net

 

[410Fortune]

switch to synthetic oil, run a bit of lucas oil treatment in your crankcase also

the 2.9L is KNOWN for noisy lifters and valvetrain

its a lubrication issue, not enough oil getting to the valvetrain.... synthetic will help a great deal I prefer Valvoline or Mobile

also check the base timing, dist cap and rotor
clean the IAC valve and check for vacuum leaks

 

[1Aauto]

Welcome to the site.

 

[hideway]

Thanks for the welcome and quick reply. Great site, real rainy day stuff. Anyway the blogs on google have some interesting info on the lifter noise issue. Can anyone verify the following.
1. Rubber bits from a pan gasket or other gasket is clogging the oil pump screen
2. The cam bearing is worn causing pressure to be lost at or near the point of delivery
3. Such a low mileage engine may have varnish from sitting too long
4. Clogged passage somewhere between the pump and head
5. bad oil pump
6. A lot of these concerns seem unlikley on such a low mileage car
Any thoughts ? Martin

 

[410Fortune]

I believe in 1989 they only have a 5 digit odometer, how do you know its not 163K miles?

you can pull your valve covers and have a look see in there, see if oil is making it to the top end at high rpm

does it do it while in the driveway or only under load?

have you changed the oil?

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I've moved your thread into the Ranger section. Connect an oil pressure test gauge to see exactly how much oil pressure there is. It's possible that the oil pump might be bad.