Death rattle in lower end

[vbrad511]

Today my 97's developed a nasty rattle, more like a preliminary rod knock in the lower end. I'm shopping around for a replacememnt motor, and I'm seeing lots of Rangers and Explorers with the 4.0, but I'm not sure what years/models will interchange. Anybody?

97, 4.0, 4WD, 5-speed

On an added note, I just changed the oil in it, the noise got a little lighter. Moved from
Mobil1, to Castrol 20/50, just for kicks. The noise isn't constant. I'm also out of work and money's very tight. Would I have any chance of throwing a set of bearings at it? This things got 170k on it. I can't afford a full on rebuild, really can't afford a different motor, really can't afford bearings, but I've gotta have my truck.

 

[red93terror]

try autozone.com for bearings, cuz thats what it sounds like. but if the noise got lighter with thicker oil, that means you have excessive clearance, so you need to pick up a micrometer and measure your crank journals and check them against the tolerances in the fsm or a haynes or chiltons service manual. if there is too much, you may need oversize bearings and to have the crank machined. otherwise, youll go a few miles and spin another bearing. BUT i have a little trick for you. THIS WILL BE AT YOUR OWN RISK< I ACCEPT NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR A F UP... get loc-tite red, pull the oil pan, take the rod caps loose, and loc-tite the bearings to the rods. do it right and youll never ever have bearing problems again

 

[red93terror]

I did the loc-tite trick to a 92 mits eclipse at 220k, with a spun bearing, and i sold it to a buddy at 264k, it now has 433k on it and hasnt senn an easy day of its life. he redlines it every day. doesnt use any oil, but i know thats the rings, but the point is, thats the original engine, with original bearings and no rebuilt anything, spinning over 7000 rpm everyday. hes trying to blow it to see how well my trick works