2.9 top end knocking

[donaldjoyner]

i have a 88 2.9 ranger and i replaced the head gaskett and after putting back togeter it was knocking on the top end sounds like passenger side valve cover woundering if i put the rockers back on wrong or what was not knocking before so it is something i did any ideas

 

[FordRanger1991]

ya you could have easily done the valve timing wrong this would create some chatter in the valves... did you redo the valve timing or just put a new head gasket on and hope nothing changed?
did it make sound before you changed the head gasket? as long as you torqued the rocker arm shaft to spec and put it on correctly (it can really only go in one way...) then that shouldn't be your problem. You just might need to do the valve timing... do you know how?

 

[donaldjoyner]

i just put it back together and it starded tha clater.but the instructions i got for puting the heads back on did not say what the torque was for the rocker so i just tignted them up with a wrench,but i took the valve covers off yesterday to have a look at the valves and i seen milky oil in the driver side valve cover so i know i have a cracked head and no i dont know how to set the valve timing.do you think it is worth buying new heads?

 

[FordRanger1991]

Well cracked heads dont cause the the vlave noise. Do you have an owners manual? And when did you change the oil last? When i rebuilt my engine i deffinantly replaced the heads. I got new ones for $150 from my local engine machine shop. If they are cracked you would be better off in the long run getting new heads. But if you are going to let it run how it is, do the vlave timing and torque down the rocker arm shaft. I forgot what the ftlb is off the top of my head but it is in any owners manual. How to do the vlave timing should be in there also. If you read up on those things and decide what you want to do let me know and i can walk you through the valve timing.

 

[donaldjoyner]

well im going to try and find some heads but i just hope that the knocking is not something else,but it should just be the valves cause it was'int knocking before,and the reason for the head gaskett change was it was over heating.sometimes it would run fine and cool fine and sometimes it would run hot,i drove 260 miles and it started runing hot so i stoped and looked under the hood then got back in the truck and it was back fine it did that all the time would a cracked head do that or would it run hot all the time?

 

[FordRanger1991]

Well before assuming it is the head gasket or head making your truck over heat you should check some other things. Make sure your thermostate is good, make sure water pump is good, make sure your coolent/water is full, look at exhaust and see if you got some white or colorful smoke even after it is warm. There are many things that should be checked before taking that thing to apart.
Are you sure the truck is even over heading? your dash gage could be wrong...
You can check where the noise is coming from by putting a solid piece of steal up agains the valve covers or oil pan and puting your ear to the other end. Or buy a Stethoscope from harbor freight for cheap.
These are just some of the many things you should think about/try

 

[donaldjoyner]

i checked it all,it was bubbleing back it to the over flow tank that is all i could figure but the temp guage could be wrong.and also sometimes when it would run hot the heater would not blow hot air did not understand that mabee the coolent was to low i have no idea this truck is driving me crazy i like the truck it is a 88 4x4 4 inch lift with 33x12.5 i just would like it to run wright...

 

[Psychopete]

I'd wouldn't put a dime or minute more into that engine if there's been a lot of coolant in the oil and would get either a used 2.9L or something else to put in there that's not as problematic - and nothing that needs much work to the actual engine. It's not too hard to verify if the head gasket isn't sealing (google it), head cracks are harder to diagnose and usually best checked by a machine shop. Coolant in your oil is not good, my bottom end did not last long when my '88 2.9L had a cracked head. It would blow cold and show hot on the gauge when enough coolant leaked into the engine oil.

 

[FordRanger1991]

I'd wouldn't put a dime or minute more into that engine if there's been a lot of coolant in the oil and would get either a used 2.9L or something else to put in there that's not as problematic - and nothing that needs much work to the actual engine. It's not too hard to verify if the head gasket isn't sealing (google it), head cracks are harder to diagnose and usually best checked by a machine shop. Coolant in your oil is not good, my bottom end did not last long when my '88 2.9L had a cracked head. It would blow cold and show hot on the gauge when enough coolant leaked into the engine oil.

Ya that would be a good idea if you could some how get an engine with low miles or one that has been rebuilt for cheap... otherwise you could be in the same situation in a year with the "new" engine. Might be best to check some things really quick without spending money.