rattling sound when i start to accelerate

[jd92887]

i am hearing a rattling noise when i start to accelerate, i heard it may just need new spark plugs, the truck has sat for about a year and a half.

 

[westfield]

Carbon build up perhaps...That can lead to pre-ignition and I understand it is common on our ex's as they put on themiles.

 

[DeRocha]

How many tanks of gas have you gone through since you started driving it again? If your truck sat for 1.5yrs the gas can get old and cause issues. In any case a tune up would be a good Idea. At a minimum change the plugs and air filter. Mice seem to like the air box and drag all kinds of things in their making it their home. After running a few tanks of gas through the system I would also look into replacing the fuel filter.

 

[JAYBOOGY1717]

id try running a higher grade gas....i use the plus and it makes my ping go away

 

[westfield]

Is plus okay to use ? I remember reading somewhere that plus is not good for our 4.0's.???

 

[JAYBOOGY1717]

ive been using it for like a year now with no negative results.....im no mechanic but with the age of ours trucks and the way they make gas now...i dont see anything wrong with it

 

[JAYBOOGY1717]

u should try it one time...if it makes no difference go back to regular but im sure one time wont f#%k anything up

 

[DeRocha]

Is plus okay to use ? I remember reading somewhere that plus is not good for our 4.0's.???

The link below is for an article on which gas to use for various engines. It alludes that using too high of an octane rating for an engine that doesn't require it may send unburnt fuel through the emission system (CAT(s)).

Which Gasoline to use

 

[Anime]

A loud consistent rattle from the engine could be the rockers, or even a bad lifter. With higher mileage, the stock rockers wear down and clatter, sometimes just on hard acceleration.

It's a good idea to check the other small items like the MAF (clean it), upper/lower manifold gaskets (tighten the manifold bolts to spec to seal any leaks), etc. Going through at least a few tanks of name-brand detergent gasonline is good as well to clean the injectors and any fuel system deposits.

 

[CraigRK]

jd92887

I have exactly the same issue with my "new" 94 Sport. Under load/acceleration (only) it sounds like all hells breaking loose under there (very loud rattling). This has been getting significantly worse in the ~1200 miles I've owned it (of 119k).

I just put in a tank of 92 octane and the rattling went away.
Completely.

The next step is to figure out how to eliminate it without paying for premium gas. I am still running the spark plugs that were in the truck when I bought it as I wanted to "baseline" my gas mileage, but I strongly suspect they are shot. I have a set of double platinum plugs ready to install, but after reading this thread possibly identiying carbon buildup as a contributing factor (thanks Westfield), I think I'll try a few other things first. (At the same time I do the plug change I will change to fresh synthetic oil, so want to do any messing with additives before the oil change.)

I was thinking of first trying a Seafoam treatment. Others have reported this stuff as pretty good for upper cylinder cleanup.

I might then also try one of those teflon oil treatments, as in the past, I've found them good at removing build-up.

I'll report back my results on this thread.

CraigRK

 

[JNO1256]

My '94 XLT Explorer has a constant ticking even at an idle. I think its a lifter, if i do an oil change w/ adding a quart of lucas would that stop the ticking?

 

[CraigRK]

Just a quick update. I gave the engine a Seafoam treatment on the weekend (suck Seafoam into the intake version). Seems to have worked very well. I'm back on regular fuel, with no rattling/pinging/pre-ignition.

CraigRK

 

[huntman58]

My '94 XLT Explorer has a constant ticking even at an idle. I think its a lifter, if i do an oil change w/ adding a quart of lucas would that stop the ticking?

no Idea if it was mine and it was one time I would add a quart of ATF instead but that’s me and some thing I have been doing for about 30 plus years now. Dad showed me that trick and he used it in his almost 40 years working when they had ATF. He was working on motors before they even had ATF or auto trannys. He even did it in his own business also. it cleans parts up nice but do not run it for 3,000 miles if you have a real dirty motor or a lot of sludge as you then take a chance of plugging up your oil pick up tube but that go's for any of the oil additives that clean or destick parts.

 

[FIND]

Chiming in late here..... but check the heat shield on your cat.

 

[JAYBOOGY1717]

yeah seafoam is like god's piss, works wonders