Slight "ticking" sound from motor

[PStansberry78]

[MENTION=242785]FR-425[/MENTION] & [MENTION=9584]4x4junkie[/MENTION] were so helpful in my first thread that I thought I'd push my luck and see if the forum could help me with another less critical issue on my "new" 93' XL.

Now that I seem to have my fuel delivery/performance issue straightened out (knock on wood), as I'm driving I'm noticing a slight "ticking" sound coming from the engine compartment. As best I can tell while I drive, it's on the passenger side... but that may be my ears playing a trick on me.

It gets consistently and noticeably louder under RPM load (hills, upshifts, etc...) and from my limited past experience with older (less computer controlled) vehicles I might suspect a lifter tapping.

I'll be checking the oil levels tonight, and a friend at work suggested a change with a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil (http://amzn.com/B0009JKGJW) subbed in for one of the quarts of oil. But before that I thought I'd see if the collective knowledge here could offer me any suggestions on things to look for.

Thanks!
Paul

 

[littlebro294]

if that doesnt help take a look at your MAF, mine was making my engine act funny and make a noise or two that didnt sound right. I cleaned it and i havent had a problem with it since. will need to be replaced soon but it still got rid of my ticking noise.

 

[4x4junkie]

It's certainly possible it's valvetrain noise (I've read the Cologne motors sometimes have upper-end lubrication issues though I haven't personally experienced them myself).

If it gets louder under load though might also point to an exhaust leak at the manifold/cylinder head.

I'm not big on oil additives. My family & I always used Valvoline Conventional and so far have never had an engine last less than 200K, usually at which point the car was sold due to having "other" issues).

 

[FR-425]

x2

 

[PStansberry78]

Thanks, guys.

My brother-in-law, whom I got the truck from (and who's Dad was the original owner) says the truck is on it's fourth turn through the odometer. So all things considering it's running OK.

I keep hearing MAF for a variety of things. BIL says he cleaned this one not long ago, but I'm beginning to wonder about it anyway. I'll take a look.

If it's an exhaust leak, it's more annoying than anything... right?

Paul

 

[FR-425]

Should be cleaned every time you change the air filter.

 

[Bobmbx]

Thanks, guys.

My brother-in-law, whom I got the truck from (and who's Dad was the original owner) says the truck is on it's fourth turn through the odometer. So all things considering it's running OK.

I keep hearing MAF for a variety of things. BIL says he cleaned this one not long ago, but I'm beginning to wonder about it anyway. I'll take a look.

If it's an exhaust leak, it's more annoying than anything... right?

Paul

Depends. If you're into HP, you'll be losing some. Not much, though.

If the leak is serious, and in a vital spot, you can end up overheating cables or hoses leading to a stranding failure, and this will always occur at least most convenient time and/or place.

Its most likely a manifold gasket which are cheap and not that hard to replace, although with yours at the 400k mark, those manifold bolts are not gonna want to move.

If you've got a cracked pipe, a quick pass with a cheapo welder can fix it. Maybe JB Weld can plug it for you, too. The manufacturer doesn't recommend it, but your mileage may vary.

 

[PStansberry78]

The more I listen to it... the more I think it is exhaust related. I'm going to look more closely this weekend and maybe run it over to my local exhaust shop to see what they think.

Paul

 

[jacksonh18]

Thought mine was a lifter, but........

http://youtu.be/NhJwApGnxXI
Here is the sound mine was making you can hear it in the video. The 4L OHV has rollers on the lifters, but as you can see in these pics my pushrods and rocker arms were worn out causing the pushrods to have more play and that tapping noise. This probably happened when the oil pressure changed when my head cracked and let coolant into the oil. I hope it is not the problem you are having.

 

[jd4242]

http://youtu.be/NhJwApGnxXI
Here is the sound mine was making you can hear it in the video. The 4L OHV has rollers on the lifters, but as you can see in these pics my pushrods and rocker arms were worn out causing the pushrods to have more play and that tapping noise. This probably happened when the oil pressure changed when my head cracked and let coolant into the oil. I hope it is not the problem you are having.

those dont look that worn at all.need to show the other side where it hits the valve, thats where most wear happens

 

[makeshiftwombat]

I recently had a tick on my 2001 SOHC mountaineer that I was sure was a lifter, but lo and behold I changed the spark plugs and wires and it went away, along with my slight accelerator hesitation.

The two back passenger spark plugs were never changed despite the fact you can easily access them from under behind the wheel. changed and they were original, after 250k miles you can imagine the problem. it was almost gone inside, but still working (not well) at least.

It was my grandpa's and although he had a mechanic constantly going over it with a fine toothed comb and he always did all the maintainence on a schedule (he did a lot of driving for his work) after owning it for 2 years I have replaced the steering shaft (mechanic used part for F-150, it was slightly too big and was causing like an inch of play in the steering wheel) the brake shoes, also the wrong model for the car, the alternator, which was for a completely different car, even though it fit, it wasn't outputting enough amperage for the mounatineers electronic gadetry and the overhead console I got for 6 bucks, and the upper control arms which were never greased despite getting a "grease job" every oil change. That mechanic was shut down by the IRS and BBB and I think he ended up with something like a six figure fine and I knoe he served 3 months in county. God I hate slumchanics.

 

[jacksonh18]

those dont look that worn at all.need to show the other side where it hits the valve, thats where most wear happens

If you look at the arrors in this picture you will notice that the holes on the rocker arms are larger on one than the other. It is because friction has cause the pushrod to widen the hole in the rocker arm and started to push the rod through the rocker arm. This makes the rods loose and gives it the ticking noise that you can hear in the original video that I posted.

 

[jd4242]

If you look at the arrors in this picture you will notice that the holes on the rocker arms are larger on one than the other. It is because friction has cause the pushrod to widen the hole in the rocker arm and started to push the rod through the rocker arm. This makes the rods loose and gives it the ticking noise that you can hear in the original video that I posted.

In the first arrow you have a rocker failure that is uncommon but is a problem for delta rockers also.its rear and typically doesnt happen on stock rockers....yes wear occurs in the pocket and to the tips of the rods but as long as the ID of the cup is smaller than the OD of the rod it can not ""push through""the other side is where most wear occurs, the pad and valve tip wears fast and add that with the cup and pushrod wear is when it adds up.but normally its the pad and valve tip that wears first..

Notice in these pictures of the pad wear.also the second picture is a picture of two BRAND new rockers just different companies. .the holes are different, the one with the larger hole is the better rocker made by sealed power..trust me I know the insides of the OHV better than I know myself.

This is what happens like in your case when the cup is casted to deep or is drilled to deep (in delta case).the pushrods can wear and push through but only if there was a issue with the rocker to begine with.this was a new rocker, the ones with the smaller holes in the picture above

 

[jacksonh18]

So would you recommend the sealed power over the Deltas??

I'm at a stand still right now because I spent all my money on nicer new heads. After my head cracked and I pulled everything out I realized one thing after another and ran out of money.

Also, have you ever had problems ordering the right size manifold studs? Mine were M8x1.25 but all the parts stores are saying my Xplorer uses m10s... Ford wants 13 bux a stud and as nice as the Ford ones are I can't pay 150 bux for a handful of studs even if I had the money.

 

[jd4242]

So would you recommend the sealed power over the Deltas??

I'm at a stand still right now because I spent all my money on nicer new heads. After my head cracked and I pulled everything out I realized one thing after another and ran out of money.

Also, have you ever had problems ordering the right size manifold studs? Mine were M8x1.25 but all the parts stores are saying my Xplorer uses m10s... Ford wants 13 bux a stud and as nice as the Ford ones are I can't pay 150 bux for a handful of studs even if I had the money.

Sealed power is the best replacement for sure.
when you say studs I assume your talking about the ""studs"" that hold the fuel rail to the lower??

 

[jacksonh18]

by "studs" I meant the double sided bolts that attach the cylinder heads to the exhaust manifold.

It is pretty obvious that the ones that every auto parts store say go on my explorer dont fit

 

[jd4242]

by "studs" I meant the double sided bolts that attach the cylinder heads to the exhaust manifold.

It is pretty obvious that the ones that every auto parts store say go on my explorer dont fit

Oo the early ohv dont have studs, they have bolts.but they are m8.what I run


http://m.summitracing.com/parts/stg-6919