4l sohc timing chain rattle (cheap fix!!!)

[hilltopfarm]

bigmark303: All you need to post pictures is either a google account (using google+) or a pinterest account. All you need to do is upload the pictures to the account, and then left click on the picture and go to the "copy image url" link. Then post that into the line that appears when the "insert image" button is clicked on this forum.

Are there any suggestions that you can give me to prevent my timing chain guides from going out again. The engine only had 134K on it when I replaced it with a reman from Promar out of Patterson NJ. They told me that the engine had all the latest updated timing chain components, but I really have no way of verifying that. I have been told that the tensioners failing is what causes these things to go, others like yourself have said its the guides... I don't really know what to believe. So I was thinking of installing a oil accumulator to provide oil pressure to the tensioners before the engine starts, thus hopefully eliminating the initial 1-3 seconds of slack that they have before they get oil pressure... Also am probably going to run synthetic through it after the break in period. Any thoughts???

I would really like to see pictures of those guides, as I just installed the remanufactured engine in my 03' ranger 4.0L. I'm hoping that they installed the updated guides, since I don't want to have to deal with that again. Thanks! Pictures of mine are posted below:

^^This is the rear chain guide

^^This is what its supposed to look like...

^^Condition of bottom of engine

^^What the new one looks like

^^If you look closely at the left side of the chain, you will see a metal strip. This is supposed to be covered in plastic. (This is the front chain)

^^New engine put together!!

 

[hilltopfarm]

I am not questioning your knowledge of the guide material but why are there so many high mileage 4.0 SOHC rangers running with no problems. I am over 161,000 miles now without any apparent sign of timing chain problems.

I still run 5W-30 or 10W-30 Valvoline synthetic oil. I am tempted to bump the viscosity a little to help compensate for wear on the engine bearings and getting a little loose.

Just curious, since your running synthetic how many miles do you go between oil changes??

 

[hilltopfarm]

Just called Promar to get the part #'s for the timing chain kit that they used. They gave me the following:

7U3Z-6A257-A
4L2Z-6M290-AA

Can anyone tell me if these are indeed the "updated" ones???

 

[gw33gp]

Just curious, since your running synthetic how many miles do you go between oil changes??

Get ready to cringe. I run an extended oil change regiment of 20,000 miles. I use a micron by-pass oil filter to keep the oil clean and it is also changed at 20,000 miles. The standard oil filter is changed at the normal 5,000 mile interval.

I used oil analysis to establish this as a safe oil change interval for Valvoline synthetic oil. With my last Ranger (89 STX 2.9L) I used an oil change interval of 25,000 miles. Oil analysis showed this was good as far as engine wear but did reveal a slight increase in viscosity after 20,000 miles. I overcame that by adding lower viscosity oil when toping off after 15,000 miles. It had almost 200,000 miles on it when I sold it to a co-worker and it has over 250,000 miles on it now and it still does not use any more oil than it did when it was new (~1 qt. in 5,000 miles). It still runs great.

 

[Showboat911]

Theoretically... if the problem WAS chain rattle due to a tensioner, it is possible that an oil change, a bottle of additive, even a good ole WOT soot blowing session could "SOLVE" the problem if caught immediately after it started, since the hydraulic tensioners are hydraulic, and the oil is supplied via a small hole, it is possible for the chain rattle to be present even if there is not complete, permanent tensioner failure. I ran Royal Purple full Syn in mine, basically because its what I run in my race cars not that a 13 yr old 385,000 mi 6 banger deserves $8/qt oil, and when I changed my LH, Front tensioner (several weeks late because I thought the noise was heat shroud rattle) the inside of my 4L was nastier than my shop floor, I am actually surprised there wasn't any previous temporary blockage due to cake becoming freed in the engine. Basically there is no reason to say that it couldn't/ wouldn't/ or was impossible to happen, but the likelihood that a particular brand of product can completely eliminate an actual problem, surpassing all other brands on the market is very slim, the differences in product quality, and performance by brand are very minimal in this day and age(respectively).

 

[Lindsey Lee]

Synthetic oil experiences

I have no experience in the SOHC 4.0 liter engine debate, but a fair bit of experience in keeping older vehicles running. First truck was a 96 Ranger supercab, 2.3 liter engine, had 54k when purchased in 2003, had 250k when my son drove it to Boston from Houston, not sure if he still has it, but ran that far.

We currently own three '99 3.0 liter rangers, mine just topped 100k, other two have over 150k on them. On engines with more than 100k, I run Mobil 1 Synthetic 15w50. We live in the south, gets all kinds of hot down here, and we seem to do well on the engine life. I have replaced the timing belt on the old truck twice, both times as a preventative measure. We have changed hoses, belts, plugs etc., on all trucks, as a preventative measure, and at about 200k, the 96 got a set of fuel injectors,

This was the first last only time to take anything into an independent place to work on it. They charged me 1k to do essentially a tuneup, then they discovered that one injector was bad, replaced all four, and the shop owner kept insisting that all parts replaced were bad.

Anyway long story short, I have learned several things
1. I can change parts much cheaper than the professionals, if it is somethign I cannot fix, goes to a dealer. Might cost a bit more, but far cheaper in the long run.
2. I only use Ford parts for fuel system and engine specific stuff including emssions stuff. I have changed oxygen sensors, and some emissions valves, easy enough to do.
3. I use only 100% synthetic motor oil and change it at 5k intervals. This might seem to be overkill, but oil is much cheaper than repair parts and the time to do repairs.
4. In past lives, had a number of Company cars, including a Ford LTD nearly 2 decades ago. The idiot who was issued the car before me did not think it worthy of his very valuable time to have the oil changed, as a result, had an engine replaced, and then when I got it, had a lifter knock! When I changed the oil over to synthetic, the knock went away. This was a very valuable life lesson and I have used synthetic oil to solve other similar problems.

Bottom line on the oil thing, there are two major advantages for synthetic oil.
1. It really does not break down easily, such that my 96 ranger had no sludge visible from what I could see into the cam area from the oil filler.
2. Synthetic oil will often "fix" sticky internal engine parts. This makes sense as it is really better lube than conventional oil.

By the way, what is synthetic blend? Actually quite simple, it is part synthetic, part conventional. Good or bad, I do not use it, other than having the oil changed on the current Co car with what they recommend, have it done at the dealer, company pays for it. In my world, I do not use synthetic blend, as it still has the problems inherent with conventional oil. Conventional oil starts to break down around 3k miles, likely somewhat longer with modern oil, but still breaks down. For this reason, a synthetic blend is fine, if you are meticulous with oil changes, most people are not. Full synthetic can be run much longer, but still I do an oil change at 5k miles. Wife's '13 Fiat 500 decides if you drive it hard to change at 4k, if not recommended interval is 8k, I use full synthetic at 5k, and we have never triggered the automatic oil change warning.

So there is maybe some truth to both sides of the aisle, synthetic oil, and a higher viscosity for older broken in engines is a very good idea in my opinion, but the problems with the timing chain appear to be a design flaw in the 4.0 liter SOHC engine.

I am looking for a 4.0 liter 4x4 truck, maybe auto, maybe manual, to pull my Casita travel trailer. The 3.0 liter truck pulls it okay, but you just don't get in a hurry to go anywhere, it is comfortable at 60-65 mph, not much more than that, and depends upon hills, and wind direction. Seems like the 4.0 OHV engine is better for long term durability if you consider 200k + as a target engine life.

 

[Craig0320]

I have run regular havoline 10w40 in all of my vehicles and retired a few of them with over 250,000 and still did not use a drop of oil. My grandpa had 450,000 on his 89 2.3 ranger. Plus with the hot temps down here cold starts really are not an issue with thicker oil. I change my oil ever 3k and I do not care what anyone says that is what I am sticking with. My oil change is under 20.00. I do not believe the hype with synthetic. In my experience it creates leaks nearly all the time running it in higher mileage engines.