Lousy Lifters, I guess

[Dillon]

My 92 XLT has alot of lifter noise. At a cold start, the engine runs quiet for 4-5 mins. (opposite of most everything I've read on this board) Then the valve noise starts. It sounds like a diesel. Oil pressure is fine according to the Dash gauge. I pulled the valve covers and have plenty of oil up top. Since I'm pretty sure the lifters are clogged, my question is there anyway I can avoid replacing the lifters? ($35 x 12) Has anyone sucessfully used motor flush or ATF for this problem? Has anyone else had this problem? Its a good truck, and has been well cared for. 81,000 with oil changed every 3k.

Thanks
Dillon

 

[SteveVB]

I would first look at the rocker arms and the push rods they wear quite a bit. The lifters are a known source of frustration after a few miles. Check Vanir tech (www.vanirtech.com), they have new set of lifters for 200 or so. When I was looking a year ago Dead Link Removed also had some.

good luck and have fun

 

[Tech]

Sounds like your engine just has a case of sticky lifters. Most of the time, this problem can be cured by simply using an oil additive that is made for this particular problem.

I've owned cars in the past with sticky (clicking) lifters and additives cured the problem every time. Sometimes it may take several oil changes with new additive to completely cure the problem.

Another little tidbit: I had the cylinders heads off my '91 Explorer when it had 97k miles and the lifters looked great, as did the cam. I seriously doubt your rocker arms or pushrods are worn unless you've had coolant in the oil for any length of time. In that case, those parts will wear very
quickly.

Dave

 

[Dillon]

A twist-Sorry didnt mention this b-4

I have tried every oil additive on the market. (At least in Inadiana) still have lifter noise. When the lifter noise first appeared I changed the oil and noticed a heavy gasoline odor in the oil, and it was super thin. Any ideas?
My theory: (Tell me if I'm wrong) My wife used to drive this truck to work and back everyday. About 4 miles round trip. I believe that unburned fuel seeped past the rings, contaminated the oil, and ruined the lifters. To add to this, I recently changed the plug wires for the first time (Bad I know but they looked good and it ran great!) Using an ohm meter, and testing between the old and new set, I found that the old set was Bad. The longest wire, #6 I think, read 15,000 ohms while the new wire,(same length) read about 500 ohms. The shortest old wire (#3) tested at 5,000 ohms. So there you go. I have many sleepless nights in this theory so tell me I am right and let me sleep....

Dillon

 

[SteveVB]

Well its the lifters- do a search of this site and you will get more than a few hits on the lifters in early models. The lifters themselves are the problem and there have been many reports of failures in the 80-100k range its pretty common. No amount of cleaning solutions snake oils, or magic in a can will fix them. Need to replace them to do it right. I forget the part that breaks but it is an actual mechanical failure not a stick, I believe it has to do with the inner and outer shell design of the lifter. Ill have to go look at my old ones to find out.

The rockers and push rods are also problem areas in the engines.
Check this info Rick found it has some items that will interest you if you run the 4.0.

Dead Link Removed