can sludge lead to a knock?..

[markoloma]

i bought an 01 xlt with 145k thats a knocker...i wanted to pul lit and swap to an 04 ranger engine that my buddy will sell me for 350..but then a question came up what if it will be cheaper if i just fix it..i noticed the engine was slammed with serious sludge..thought maybe that can lead to the knocking noise. the thing is it runs good and performance doesnt lack any whatso ever.. just a loud annoying clatter.

it knocks with the pace of the rpms..the higher they go the faster it knocks..

i was told to look inside the crankshaft and see in there but i wanna know is it even worth dealing with and will it be cheaper to fix or should i just pull it.?

 

[safn1949]

can sludge lead to a knock? The answer is that the dope who owned the truck before you never changed his oil and more then likely the engine is toasted.I would say the bearings and bearing surfaces (crank,rods,cam,etc) are just worn out from lack of lubrication and dirt in the oil.

If it runs good,run it.It might last for years,I have seen it happen.Run the hell out of it and if it blows you aren't really going to lose anything.See,that's the fun part when you know the motor is junk and you can say "yahoo,lets beat this thing" and not care.

 

[markoloma]

thats exactly what imma do!! what if it jammes in the middle of me muddin or really ridin it is there a possibility i can do damage to the tanny?

 

[safn1949]

I doubt it,more than likely it will just start hammering or drop dead.

 

[Electrohacker]

just another idea, couldnt he stop beating on it and rebuild the bottom end before it gets worse?

I'd imagine it could throw a piston the wrong way if the bearing's went all to hell

 

[Sbyrne97]

likely if theres a knock theres damage being done...it would be cheaper to buy an engine than rebuild

if its a bottom knock it will throw a rod...top knock valve damage

either way its cheaper to buy an engine

 

[safn1949]

Cost a fortune to rebuild it,it's about $2000 for a new engine with 3yr/36000 warranty.If it throws a rod or the piston hits the head when it does,so what.It's almost junk now anyway.The bottom end rebuild would be crank,bearings,oil pump,complete gasket set ($$$),and if it needed a couple of rods then you have to pull the heads and hone the bores and yadda,yadda...holy crap.

Buy a motor+get warranty= happy me.

 

[markoloma]

hahah awesome! thanks.. yeah i picked up the other engine..its a little different than mine..its got a different intake manifold. not like my 01 engine..but everything els is the same! im gonna start on the swap tomomrrow morning!! STOKED...oh and it costed me 375 total with gas..2k is way to much for me lol

 

[safn1949]

Good luck,glad you found a deal.Don't worry,just 3 years ago $2000 was like $2,000,000 to me so I know how that is.Replace all of your seals and gaskets and freeze pugs while you have it out,also good time to do plugs and wires.

Pull the pan and clean it out,rear main maybe but if it ain't leaking forget it.

 

[markoloma]

AWESOME THANK YOU!! really appreciate that..but one question..would you know if the valve cover is actually plastic on the 02 4.0 sohc? cover has like what looks like a crack..idk if its a cover ontop of the actual valve cover or the valve cover is actually plastic!