93 Ranger 4.0 4X4 Oil Pan Question

[RonSerling]

Hi All,
A quik question here !! I have a 93 Ranger 4X4 4.0 which I have done a ton of work on. I built a brand new 4.0 for it last year and it runs great but the issue I have with it is when I first built the new motor it had some lifter chatter from high idle to about 2000 rpm. I decided to tear it down and replace the lifters to see if that would resolve the issue. Once I put it back together the chatter was still there but at a different point in the engine operation, only at idle to about 1200 rpm. So now I am contemplating pulling the oil pan and replacing the oil pump. When I built the motor I used a Melling 328 high volume oil pump, or supposedly high volume which it doesn't seem like it really is. So now here are the questions on this issue !!! One, can the oil pan be removed from the engine with it still in the truck ?? Can I lift the engine high enough to remove it without having to take the engine out?? Two, any recommendations on a replacement oil pump ?? I was told the Mellings units are iffy and sometimes they work well and sometimes not so good !! I think I got one of those not so good ones. So if anyone could provide info on these questions I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

 

[mtnrgr]

Can't say for sure about lifting the engine high enough on a 4wd. I have experience on 2wd. For the oil pump, I would use ford oil pump. Last 2 rimes I had my 94 3.0 rebuilt, I used a new ford oil pump.

 

[bobbywalter]

What pushrods and rockers did you use?

Stock lifters? Are the cam bearings in right? The hi vil pump is nice. With new lifters pushrods and rockers....never seen an issue. With a 3 in body lift and 4 in suspension lift I have swapped out oil pumps...due to it being noisy...and the pan had a crack . Don't remember pulling one with a stock truck.

 

[gaz]

Ron,

1) No, you can not pull the pan without puling the engine.
2) if you have the Melling Hi volume, pull it out, take it apart and debur the components of castings, even chamfer the 90° corners. I'm pretty sure the procedure is outlined in Sven Pruetts book, which is in the tech files on this site. In my experience, I will only use Melling oil pumps, they are an effective, simple upgrade (they do benefit from the clean-up proceedure).
3) on a 4.0l ohv rebuild, without measuring the needed pushrod length, expecting new or used stock rods to be correct is not reasonable. Measure the length that your rebuild needs, then decide if you want a custom set or not.

Keep in mind that you could also use a custom adjustable set of push rods, so that you can eliminate the noise now and keep it adjusted out, throughout the next 60kmi of wear.

 

[RonSerling]

What pushrods and rockers did you use?

Stock lifters? Are the cam bearings in right? The hi vil pump is nice. With new lifters pushrods and rockers....never seen an issue. With a 3 in body lift and 4 in suspension lift I have swapped out oil pumps...due to it being noisy...and the pan had a crack . Don't remember pulling one with a stock truck.

I had Delta Cams go thru them rebuild or replace rockers as needed and harden them and the pushrods at the same time