Hydraulic Lifters....a few are 'worn'...

[unpredictable1]

Hey fellas I had my Explorer in to get a Rear Main Seal repaired under warranty and also had some ticking sounds checked. NOTE: it only happened once and it lasted maybe 5-7 minutes. Haven't heard it since but the mechanic did verify that theres 2-3 lifters that would need to be replaced.

It was their strong suggestion to do all of them since its the same labour and then i wouldn't have to worry about anymore more needing to be replaced anytime soon.

The warranty company agreed to pay for half of the total for the lifters (thats fair cuz i'm asking them to replace parts that are not faulty) but with the price of the labour, the warranty company covers 50 bucks an hour, the garage charges 78 so i have a difference of 28 dollars per hour for almost 7 hours work. my total comes to a figure I can't afford right now.

Am I risking my vehicle if i continue to use it if 2 or 3 of the 12 lifters are worn but i guess still work to some extent? Or should I just have the worn ones replaced and leave the others in there....


please help...thanks.

ps i figured it was a better idea to wait till i had more money to get all the lifters done...seems more logical and better in the long run.

thanks,

Leo

 

[unpredictable1]

no takers guys???

 

[JDraper]

You can replace individual lifters, but it's much more cost effective to do it at one time.

What a worn lifter will do is cause play between the pushrod and the lifter, the pushrod and the rocker, and the valve and the rocker. This in turn can wear all the components. It also may reduce the amount of oil delivered to the valve train around the worn lifter.

Older explorers are known for the tick, and some of them run many miles with ticking lifters.

 

[BRacing]

old trick

I know, it's an old trick, but SOMETIMES it actually works.

Try pouring some ATF into the engine oil. This has been known to free up the stuck lifters, as well as rings, etc.

I have a feeling that the new "Higher milealge" engine oils have the active ingredents from the ATF added to them to help the engines.

Just a thought.
-Brad

 

[Jim F]

Sound to me that if you babied it until you get the funds, getting all replaced would be your best choice. When I say baby it, I mean let the truck idle and start to come up to temp before putting it gear and taking off. This would let oil pressure come up and warm the worn lifters and reduce the risk of damaging the engine.

 

[Hotweels]

I have been running with about 4 bad lifters for the last 20,000km BUT expect to pay for rocker arms and push-rods, I have a 92 Explorer 4.0 in the garage in peices and the push-rods on nuber 1,3,4 cyclender are TOTALY FLAT witch in turn wore into the rocker arms,
Thus not only was there lifter noise but the sound of the pushrods hitting the rocked arm, I am NOT saying this will be the same as yours but there is a chance, If you run into this problem look around and find some one who will flame harden a new set of rods for you and you wont have to worry about this problem for a long time. Also check the explorer link's page on 4.0 rebuilding info.
(while you have the heads off y not get a port and polish thats what i intend to do it should give me a few x-tra ponies!!!!)

 

[Rhett]

lbrowne, I am just wondering how you still had warranty left since you have a 1993 Explorer.

 

[flyguy]

Bring it down here... order some lifters from ford parts network and Ill do it for ya. I can't guarentee it will work though.

nick

 

[unpredictable1]

the reason theres a warranty left on my 93 explorer, i bought it used and the lot put on an aftermarket used car warranty good for a 1 year/100k miles.

 

[zensius]

I would suggest that you also change your cam shaft and while it's off, your timing chain. I know this sounds expensive but lifters that don't fill and enlarge properly click because they are banging against the cam lobes and rockers arms like Hotwheels said. Just replacing the lifters might not be enough to take up all the slack. Plus a flattened lobe on the cam shaft reduces the amount the valve opens and reduces horsepower.

 

[SteveVB]

Hotwheels has the best answer here IMO, running with the lifters that are stuck will cause some additional wear since the plunger cant take up the additional slack in the valve train and will pound the pushrods into the rockers maybe requiring replacement of both at a later date. Flame hardening is a good idea, you could also order some pushrods with hardened tips from Smith Brothers.

Personally I would replace all of the lifters and pushrods and check the pushrod cups on the rocker arms. Do a search of this site for some parts sources- Stevens and Vanir have brand new surplus takeoffs that are much cheaper than other sources.
Smithbros has the pushrods in various tube dia for much cheaper than stock replacements. You may be able to afford to do the work if you round up the parts at your cost and have them installed- but it is a big job to get to one or two lifters and very few additional hours to do the rest- basically the cost of the parts.

Good luck

I wouldnt worry about the cam lobes they should be OK. Its a roller cam and as such usually doesnt have the same lifter/cam wear problems that flat bottomed lifters encounter.