Higher Viscosity Oil for Knocking 3.0l?

[pjtoledo]

Yeah, my 5-cylinder ranger doesn’t work so good...

I don’t know how handy you are, but 50 years ago on my first truck, a 3-wheel drive Chevy (it was 4-wheel drive 18 years before I bought it), I could drop the pan, shine up the crank with emery paper, put in a new bearing and get another 4-500 miles on it driving it gently. I was broke in college, and I could do the swap in about 1-1/2 hours in the snow. Did it three times before old “Candy” blew up. I paid $135 for the truck and sold it for $75 with the blown engine. Financially, it was probably my best automotive investment....

I agree with Ranger850, I don’t think there’s any oil that would make a difference without causing equal problems on the small ports. The viscosity isn’t the issue. Once there’s space (the knock), it will keep hammering out the bearing until it breaks.

If the engine is otherwise tight, before it breaks, if it’s not spreading shavings now, you could probably pull the crank without pulling the heads and pistons, and have it refinished or replaced for less money than a rebuild. I think the engine has to come out in a Ranger. My old Chevy, you could pull the pan and swap it if you just loosened up one motor mount...

good luck with it.

well that was your problem, you should have used crokus cloth and a shoe string.

 

[Rick W]

I thought that, but it would have interfered with the duct tape....

 

[cbxer55]

I personally run thick oil too, that's a whole other debate i do not care to have, again. I just dont think it was going to help with OP's issues.

You mean like opining on running 93 octane or running CAI's. LMAO!!

Maybe he could do like them Harley guys years back when I worked at Chief Auto Parts. We kept a fully stocked section of straight 60 weight oil for them. I think with 60 weight, maybe he could drive it for a while with a spun rod bearing. Maybe try some 75-140 gear oil. LOL!!

 

[Ranger850]

You mean like opining on running 93 octane or running CAI's. LMAO!!

you get it.

 

[don4331]

My uncle dropped the pan on his Pontiac, removed the offending rod, put a couple hose clamps on the empty journal to limit oil loss/keep the other rod more/less in place and drove a V-7 for a couple more years. So long as you kept the revs low, the vibration wasn't too bad.

 

[Blue_Bunny72]

UPDATE:
I used a 10w30 weight opposed to the factory recommendation weight of 5w20 and the knock is noticeably quieter, especially on startup. Only time will tell whether or not this is a temporary solution.

 

[cbxer55]

If you know for a fact you have a spun rod bearing, anything you do is temporary.

In the case of my truck, what I thought was a tick, turned out to be a loose spark plug. Put new ones in, torqued them to spec, no more tick. Got lucky!

Even so, I will continue running 20W-50, as the truck is likely used to it after 20 years of doing so.

 

[Ramcharger90]

We all know what must be done.....

 

[19Walt93]

If you had a spun bearing different oil wouldn't affect it, a worn bearing, maybe.

 

[cbxer55]

If you had a spun bearing different oil wouldn't affect it, a worn bearing, maybe.

Yeah, maybe he lucked out on that one.