Engine HELP!! 1998 XLT

[zjjeepin]

I [posted this in under hood/drivetrain about 3 hoursd ago, but no luck...
I picked up my first explorer last night for a price i could not pass up... It is a 1998 XLT 4.0l 6cyl auto. It has a serious problem though. Whenever the truck is runing, there is a horrible rattle/knock/tick coming from the bottom end of the engine. It is not the catalytic converter, and it is not the top end of the engine. The noise does not stop no matter what. Is this a common problem, and if so, does anyone know what it is?!?! I was thinkign that it may be the starter not dis-enguaging, so it is ticking when the gears are making contact? Any ideas anyone!
Thanks
Matt

 

[SkanlaxJMO]

I [posted this in under hood/drivetrain about 3 hoursd ago,

give it time and somebody will most likely answer you.

 

[ma96782]

IF the starter gear were stuck to the fly wheel it would sound like a high windin' elec motor going full on. Most folks who have that problem get under the vehicle and w/hammer they tap the starter, knock....knock style, sometimes the tap w/ the hammer will cox it to disengage.

Though, I don't think that is your problem.

Aloha, Mark

 

[zjjeepin]

Skanlax, i will wait, i just figured i may get a bit more of a response on here... By the way, i forgot to mention its got only 103,500 miles on it! i just dont get it... clean oil and everything.
Mark, thats what i figured, and i dont think thats my problem either, although i did whack it with a hammer a few times... I just dont get it... it sounds ike a serious enging problem, yet it still has killer amounts of power and doesnt hesitate...
Thanks
Matt

 

[762mm]

Cam chain tensioner

Yeah... horrible rattle from the engine, huh? I bet it's an SOHC like mine... This noise is basically a bad cam chain tensioner and also possibly a bad timing chain tensioner as well. I had mine done on my last month of the Ford extended warranty at approx 80k miles. Ford had to actually pull the engine out to fix it, and replaced both the front cam and timing chain tensioners (the original ones that came with the trucks are cheap plastic, and they had to put in revised ones).

I have a 99 XLT and before I had it fixed, it sounded like a damn diesel when idling. Apparently the SOHC is a great engine, but this is a common problem with these, and each one will have to be eventually fixed with revised tensioners (should be a recall, but isn't). If you have it fixed, the engine will go forever with no problems, according to a veteran Ford mechanic I know (tensioners are the only major weakness of the stock SOHC). And new oil or additives won't make any diffrence at all... Good luck with that, if I remember correctly it took Ford 12 hours of labor to fix mine, including the time to pull the engine out and to put it back in (on warranty, so it was no big deal for me).

 

[zjjeepin]

holy Bajeezus! Thanks so muc h for your help... at least i know what it is now... Think its worth it to fix, or just replace the engine?
Thanks again

 

[762mm]

holy Bajeezus! Thanks so muc h for your help... at least i know what it is now... Think its worth it to fix, or just replace the engine?
Thanks again

Well, it's always worth fixing it if your engine has a decent mileage and is in good shape. If you change the engine, you might end up with the same problem anyway (if you get a used engine), because it's a known problem with these SOHCs. From what I was told, not fixing it could result in the chain eating through the engine casing if the chain becomes too loose, then you will have to change the engine. I had mine fixed and everything is running quiet and smooth ever since.