Help..oil pressure/noise in engine

[natenkiki2004]

It does, maybe a bit louder and the engine was shaking a little. I noticed your oil pressure gauge wasn't moving up a lot. Is that the norm?

That's the sound of valvetrain noise. If it's bad enough, and mine will do this occasionally, it will have a hard time opening the valves and then that particular cylinder can't breathe. Thankfully in my case, when it does happen, it usually goes away within 5 seconds of starting the engine. I can feel shaking in my seat while that noise is going on. It's a lifter that bled down completely (total lottery when the engine stops, which valves are up and which are down) and needs to be filled with oil again.

If yours is valvetrain noise, it's a good and bad thing. Good thing is that the engine doesn't need to be rebuilt. Bad thing is that the heads need to be pulled to replace or service (may as well replace) the lifters. Personally, I've come to terms with it and am not pulling the heads. Because for both you and me, that means taking the heads to a machine shop to check them out because they're likely cracked (known failure of 1991-1992 90TM heads). If they're cracked, that means new heads. If you replace one, may as well replace both. Add in gaskets, bolts, time, fighting exhaust manifolds, plus the cost of lifters and if you decide to throw in new pushrods and rocker arms and maybe rocker arm shafts... it adds up to a cost that just ain't worth it. Doing it yourself may be $1000 in parts. Having someone else do it could be double that. That's why mine ticks and will continue to tick

To touch on what 92exp4x4 said, pumps don't usually fail. They are bathed in oil! The reason pressure is lost is due to excessive clearances in bearings due to wear/damage. Bearings and the weight of oil that the manufacturer recommends go hand in hand. They design a tolerance for a layer of oil to be pumped into. That tolerance creates a restriction, that restriction creates pressure against the flow/volume of oil that the pump creates. This pressure makes sure that oil is forced into all the bearings and goes throughout the engine. Excessive wear means that pressure isn't created and the top end, the valvetrain, suffers as a result. That may be what happened, your connecting rod bearings might be on their way out, reducing pressure to the point that your lifters no longer pump up and can't open the valves fully.

These are all maybes, guesses.

Good luck and do let us know what the mechanic finds.

 

[pmprdldy99]

That's the sound of valvetrain noise. If it's bad enough, and mine will do this occasionally, it will have a hard time opening the valves and then that particular cylinder can't breathe. Thankfully in my case, when it does happen, it usually goes away within 5 seconds of starting the engine. I can feel shaking in my seat while that noise is going on. It's a lifter that bled down completely (total lottery when the engine stops, which valves are up and which are down) and needs to be filled with oil again.

If yours is valvetrain noise, it's a good and bad thing. Good thing is that the engine doesn't need to be rebuilt. Bad thing is that the heads need to be pulled to replace or service (may as well replace) the lifters. Personally, I've come to terms with it and am not pulling the heads. Because for both you and me, that means taking the heads to a machine shop to check them out because they're likely cracked (known failure of 1991-1992 90TM heads). If they're cracked, that means new heads. If you replace one, may as well replace both. Add in gaskets, bolts, time, fighting exhaust manifolds, plus the cost of lifters and if you decide to throw in new pushrods and rocker arms and maybe rocker arm shafts... it adds up to a cost that just ain't worth it. Doing it yourself may be $1000 in parts. Having someone else do it could be double that. That's why mine ticks and will continue to tick

To touch on what 92exp4x4 said, pumps don't usually fail. They are bathed in oil! The reason pressure is lost is due to excessive clearances in bearings due to wear/damage. Bearings and the weight of oil that the manufacturer recommends go hand in hand. They design a tolerance for a layer of oil to be pumped into. That tolerance creates a restriction, that restriction creates pressure against the flow/volume of oil that the pump creates. This pressure makes sure that oil is forced into all the bearings and goes throughout the engine. Excessive wear means that pressure isn't created and the top end, the valvetrain, suffers as a result. That may be what happened, your connecting rod bearings might be on their way out, reducing pressure to the point that your lifters no longer pump up and can't open the valves fully.

These are all maybes, guesses.

Good luck and do let us know what the mechanic finds.

I will make sure to update you! I have learned/relearned a lot of good information from you and the others. As I am a single female, I really feel a need to be informed so that I won't get taken by some repair facilities. Thank you so much for your help. Would you recommend seafoam?

 

[natenkiki2004]

I've tried Seafoam and a couple other products. I didn't do a long interval but it didn't make any difference. If anything, it helped my seals ruin a bit faster. The issue with the lifters in the Explorer is that oil can go in but it can't come out. There's no flow through the lifters thus they can't be cleaned very well unless you disassemble them. You'd have to leave a solvent in them a long time to break down whatever is in there and hope that the oil pressure might massage it out or that it might bleed out after you shut off the engine. It's just not very easy to clean them unfortunately.

 

[pmprdldy99]

I've tried Seafoam and a couple other products. I didn't do a long interval but it didn't make any difference. If anything, it helped my seals ruin a bit faster. The issue with the lifters in the Explorer is that oil can go in but it can't come out. There's no flow through the lifters thus they can't be cleaned very well unless you disassemble them. You'd have to leave a solvent in them a long time to break down whatever is in there and hope that the oil pressure might massage it out or that it might bleed out after you shut off the engine. It's just not very easy to clean them unfortunately.

So, I talked to the mechanic who feels that the top end is toast. Anyway, with the cost involved, my son in law and I are going to tear it down to see how deep the damage is. It's a no loss situation. I may be calling on some of you guys for advice in the near future.

 

[natenkiki2004]

Well, that's not the worst case scenario I think if I were in your shoes, I'd pull the engine and pop off the oil pan and take a look at the main bearings, connecting rods and cylinders, see if the short block is worth returning to service. It likely is but you should plastigauge bearings to see why the top end failed.

If you need parts, I have a 1991-1992 engine block complete that I can pull parts off and send your way. That is, if you can't buy new or can't find a used engine. Things like rocker arm shafts or... anything. I can slap the calipers on things and measure them.

 

[pmprdldy99]

Well, that's not the worst case scenario I think if I were in your shoes, I'd pull the engine and pop off the oil pan and take a look at the main bearings, connecting rods and cylinders, see if the short block is worth returning to service. It likely is but you should plastigauge bearings to see why the top end failed.

If you need parts, I have a 1991-1992 engine block complete that I can pull parts off and send your way. That is, if you can't buy new or can't find a used engine. Things like rocker arm shafts or... anything. I can slap the calipers on things and measure them.

Thank you for the info. I will make sure to keep you posted on what we find. I'm sure we will have questions along the way. We will be working on it In the evenings, and when I am able to return to work, that will be limited to 2-3 nights a week. As I'm sure you know, this will probably be a lengthy project. I very much appreciate everything you have done for me.

 

[natenkiki2004]

You're most welcome, I'm just giving help and info as an homage to the people that have helped me here. It's a great community to be a part of.

 

[malohnes]

Cool to see a mom involved like this...my mom taught me to fish, clean and cook them too!! Lots of talent, intelligence and wisdom on this forum!!

 

[pmprdldy99]

Cool to see a mom involved like this...my mom taught me to fish, clean and cook them too!! Lots of talent, intelligence and wisdom on this forum!!

Oh, believe it or not my dad taught me how to cook! As a female, I believe I need to know at least a little about cars. I am very fortunate that my ex was in the automotive industry... well that plus I worked in the auto trade in the office. I really appreciate your comment. By the way, I think our trucks are twins in appearance!

 

[malohnes]

I've found that reading the Haynes manual, following this and the Ranger Station forum and a bit of attention to details with a can-do attitude makes many of these repairs and troubleshooting issue very doable for a home mechanic. Willingness to learn makes all the difference in the world...give these trucks a bit of TLC and they will return the efforts with reliability and fun.

By the way, I think our trucks are twins in appearance!

Cool!!! I love my truck, but my pic is not current and she looks much different now that I've painted the rust away!!!