hello from georgia-noisy lifters

[greasemonkey6886]

First of all hello.I am a new member to this forum and a owner of two of these great little machines.I had owned a couple of them a few tears back and had to sell them when times got tough,regretting it ever since.Now I am back in the world of happy owners again.I recently purchased two,an 89 XLT and an 88 XLT.Both have been sitting idle for a while and I'm in the process of getting both running again.Both have the 2.9L and 5 speed manual trannys with manual trasnfers and hubs.Anyhow, I managed to get the 89 running yesterday after a lot of coaxing.It runs fairly good but it has a lot of lifter,valvetrain noise.I remember that my previous BII's with the 2.8's had that same noise and I was told back then that it was common with them after they had a lot of miles on them.Question is the 2.9 also ailed by this same problem or is it a sign of mechanical issues?I know that these two engines are simular so I would like some feedback from other owners and gearheads like myself.This is a great site and I have learned a good bit allready about these little beasts by reading other posts on here.I plan on doing the axle swaps and engine swaps as money allows.Thank you in advance and proud to be a member.

 

[jeepshop]

First of all hello.I am a new member to this forum and a owner of two of these great little machines.I had owned a couple of them a few tears back and had to sell them when times got tough,regretting it ever since.Now I am back in the world of happy owners again.I recently purchased two,an 89 XLT and an 88 XLT.Both have been sitting idle for a while and I'm in the process of getting both running again.Both have the 2.9L and 5 speed manual trannys with manual trasnfers and hubs.Anyhow, I managed to get the 89 running yesterday after a lot of coaxing.It runs fairly good but it has a lot of lifter,valvetrain noise.I remember that my previous BII's with the 2.8's had that same noise and I was told back then that it was common with them after they had a lot of miles on them.Question is the 2.9 also ailed by this same problem or is it a sign of mechanical issues?I know that these two engines are simular so I would like some feedback from other owners and gearheads like myself.This is a great site and I have learned a good bit allready about these little beasts by reading other posts on here.I plan on doing the axle swaps and engine swaps as money allows.Thank you in advance and proud to be a member.

No, lifter noise in a 2.9 is not acceptable, and will eventualy ruin the lifters and cam. 2.9's have a problem of the lifters going bad, I'm putting new heads on a customer's '89 right now and am installing new litfers too. The lifters would all clatter on cold start and eventualy quite down till 1 or 2 were still clattering. My oil pres was a good 67 psi at idle cold so I'm ok with installing new lifters. However, the donor 2.9 giving up it's heads has all the lifters colapsed. 2.9's and 4.0's have a problem like the old Y blocks, the cam bearings turn shutting off oil flow to the lifters. I'd run some internal engine cleaner in the oil, then change the oil and run the engine at 3K for a bit and see if the lifters come back to life.

 

[greasemonkey6886]

Thanks for the info.Kinda what I had figured but it doesn't hurt to ask ya know?Well time to check the oil pressure with a reputable gauge and go from there.I'm not sure what parked it in the first place so this might be the original problem.I'll keep you updated.Again thanks for the info!!

 

[Bronco II]

No, lifter noise in a 2.9 is not acceptable, and will eventualy ruin the lifters and cam. 2.9's have a problem of the lifters going bad, I'm putting new heads on a customer's '89 right now and am installing new litfers too. The lifters would all clatter on cold start and eventualy quite down till 1 or 2 were still clattering. My oil pres was a good 67 psi at idle cold so I'm ok with installing new lifters. However, the donor 2.9 giving up it's heads has all the lifters colapsed. 2.9's and 4.0's have a problem like the old Y blocks, the cam bearings turn shutting off oil flow to the lifters. I'd run some internal engine cleaner in the oil, then change the oil and run the engine at 3K for a bit and see if the lifters come back to life.

Don't forget to mention that the heads HAVE to be pulled to change the lifters on the 2.9 & 4.0 engines.

 

[greasemonkey6886]

Well changed the oil and filter today.Put a bottle of engine cleaner and 4.5 quarts of 20w50 oil in it.Ran it for about 5 min. at 2500-3000 and no change to the noise.I even drove it about 3 miles to make sure it was well circulated.Still nothong. Oh well looks like lifter time.By the way,I was allways told that if you change the lifters you have to change the cam also due to wear issues.Is this not that big of a deal with the 2.9?

 

[Bronco II]

Don't know if you "have" to change the cam, you probably should, I would with new lifters. I'd also get a valve job done on the heads, install a new timing chain & a new water pump too.

 

[danism]

i have heard that you can put 2.8 heads onto a 2.9 i don't no if this is true but if it is you can at least adjust them quite easaly

 

[jeepshop]

That's an urban myth, not possible in any way shape or form.

 

[greasemonkey6886]

well I have had to use the heads off of the 89 on my 88 due to them warping so know the lifter problem is not an issue.I'm just going to do the 4.0 swap.Found an exploder for 600.00 that just has a bad tranny but runs good.This way I get the good axles and driveshaft that I can get shortened.Does the explorer rear leafs give any lift to the BII once you do the spring seat relocation?I think I had read that it may give a half inch or so but I dont remember.Buy the way my 88 is taged and driven everyday know.Had a couple of issues with the cooling system hence the warped heads but got those problems fixed now.Got to expect things like that with a truck that has sat for 4 years with a partially completed engine swap.I still don't have over 1500 in both of the BII's so I'm happy.