Cold engine tick?

[srisitt]

I have a 1991 4.0L with about 257k miles. It's running pretty well but it has a tick when I start it cold that gradually goes away as the engine warms up. The original owner (I'm the 2nd) said that he thought it was just a lifter and wasn't too worried about it. What does it sound like to you? Should I service it or is it not a big deal like the original owner thought?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Sounds like mine. I wouldn't worry to much. From reading, it seems these engines have upper oiling deficiencies, hence the tick.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

And they make fun of 2.9s for lifters; sounds just like one.

My 2.9 gets it when I'm rough on it. Lucas synthetic oil Stabilizer and synthetic oil help quite a bit.

 

[Vincenthdfan]

Its worn push rods and rocker arms.

My 93 4.0 did the exact same thing, so I took valve covers off and inspected only to find virtually all the rocker arm cups worn down significantly.

Mine only rattled on cold starts, never warm and always stopped as soon as it warmed up.

The intermittent ticking is when the push rod is spinning in the cup and the clearance is changing when it spins.

I was getting ready to order all new push rods and rockers when I found a smokin' deal on another motor, way cheaper than the parts I was gonna buy so I just swapped it out.

 

[edthediscoman]

Thats interesting, bought a crate motor 4.0 OHV from Ford dealer almost a year ago and put it in. Thought this might go away as it breaks in, but if you let the truck sit for 3-4 days, it ticks quite badly for a minute or two.