What does your engin sound like?

[Curtis]

I have a 96 XLT, 4.0 L. It seems to be geared low for the purpose of pulling a trailor I guess. My father has 91 that used to sound exactly the same. Until the tranny went and he replaced it with one from an Aerostar. I used to have a 91 Aerostar with a 4.0L. It was so quite and car-like and peppy too. Quick off the line and could roast the rear wheels. My fathers explorer is now like this.
Anyone know how 2 of the same engines can sound so different? Is there a way to gear my explorer so it shifts like a car? I dont pull a trailer. Without spending a lot of money.

 

[Jason_25]

Something different happened in 96 with regards to the OHV 4.0. I know this because my truck is a 95 with a 96 model year engine. The 96 engine sounds alot different than the old 95 engine. It has what's called "piston slap" i think. A couple other people with 96's have said the same thing. I don't think it will hurt anything though.

 

[TPLYNCH]

My '99 is noisy... "marbles in a tin can" noise at idle. Ford redesigned the wrist pins for better emissions, but wound up with a noisier engine.

 

[Jason_25]

Tom, is yours an OHV or SOHC?

 

[TPLYNCH]

The good old-fashioned pushrod OHV...... 98/99 OHV are notorious for this sound. Ford re-redesigned the pins to fix it for 2000 I believe. They say it won't cause engine damage, but I got a 100K warranty, just in case.......

 

[Curtis]

As an update I dont hear any tapping or ticking. The engin is just has a loud roar to it. The point is, when the tranny was changed in my fathers, the engin got quieter. I guess because of higher gears the engin didnt need so many rpms to move. Thats how my 91 Aerostart sounded. Quiet and peppy. My 96 explorer "roars". Its not quick off the line but could pull a trailor fine i guess. Are there kits to change the gearing or shift points of a tranny to gear it towards speed instead of power?

Curtis

 

[Jason_25]

You mean it has a loud roar when it accelerates? That's a good thing man!

oh and BTW, if it has the tow package it will be quick off the line.

 

[Alec]

My G/F's 98 OHV is much louder than my 96 OHV was stock (roar). She has the 5R55E whereas I have the 4R55E tranny. I had 3.27 gears when stock, and she has 3.73s. Maybe it's like you said, the RPMs vs. load. Now you can hear me from at least a 1/4 mile away at WOT with all my mods.

While they won't quiet you down, power mods such as KKM, catback, TB, and chip will make the engine sound better.

 

[TSTONE]

Originally posted by Jason_25
It has what's called "piston slap" i think. I don't think it will hurt anything though.

you are correct about the term - it is refered to as piston slap, and well annoying - it actually shouldn't hurt anything or cause premature failure, i'm not saying you can't get the engine to fail - only that the slap is virtually never a related cause. a prime example of this was the 93 through early 96 mecury villager's, they had the same type of thing happening with the nissan engines, only 100 times more hideous sounding, and it was refered to as a nuisance noise and would be replaced if still under fact warr with a new engine or your engine warr was extended to 100K, but it's quite common for us to take in villagers with 200K w/ the original engine - complete w/ the original slapping sound.

 

[Jason_25]

TSTONE, that's interesting. What's even more interesting is that some 4.0's do it but some don't.

 

[TSTONE]

yeah we saw the same thing in the villagers, some do it - some don't no real rhyme or reason, just the tolerance differences i guess?

 

[Jason_25]

It would seem so.

My 95 sorta did it. But on the 96 it's real obvious, especially under the vehicle when it's first started in the morning. Funny thing is, the 96 engine pulls harder than the 95.

 

[IAmTodd]

my 4.0L sounds like it has a sinus infection atleast thats what my friends say. I like it. Quite unique, but when under acceleration it sounds almost like it has a miss then after passing 3k rpms it seems to even out? I dont' know it runs as of now and i'm worried about that stupid tranny, i'm paranoid what can i say!?