Help me fix my truck!

[MAV17]

Helped me fix my truck!


Hello i'm new to these forums.

I just recently bought a 97' ranger 2.3 4x2 automatic for $800. Chasis reads 195K but supposedly the motor was swapped out for one with 90K miles. Only issue it had when i bought it (that i knew of) was a blown head gasket. So i fixed the HG myself (first timer) fired her up and everything seemed fine for about 50 miles. Then i finally threw her on the highway, hit ~70mph and started hearing this horrible ticking noise coming from the engine. I wanted to cry. Here i am, thinking i made an $800 buy worthwhile, proud of myself for single-handedly fixing a blown HG and the motor decides to take an even bigger shit. I parked her for a bit, turned her around and drove her back home. She shut off on me twice as the ticking got louder and white smoke spewed from the intake mani (where it meets the head). Had to wait an hour both times before she would crank up again. Here are some videos of her this morning. You can see how much she struggles just to turn on. She would always crank right up before, even when the HG was blown and right after i fixed it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FIBq0tflb8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYBYjJRa01U

 

[adsm08]

Quick question, did you reuse or replace the head bolts?

Also, why is you PCV valve just hanging out in the wind instead of in the valve cover? That will cause problems all by itself.

Kinda sounds like lifter tick. How is the oil/oil pressure?

 

[RonD]

Yes, that is a top end tick, valve train, not a rod, so good news there.

I would guess the head gasket didn't get a good seal, from the lope when starting.

There is an easy test for that, the Glove test or Balloon test
Unhook spark plug wires or remove connectors on the coils, we want a no start
Remove rad cap
Remove overflow hose from rad
Place a latex glove over rad cap opening and use a rubber band to seal it, or use a balloon instead.
Block the overflow opening, vacuum cap from engine or hose with bolt in it, or your finger if you have a helper to crank the engine.

With all this in place the Cooling System is now sealed, so there should be no pressure coming into it.
Water pumps circulate, they don't actually pump, add pressure.

Crank engine, if glove moves then one(or more) of the cylinders is leaking into the cooling system, blown head gasket.
Not that it matters, but you can tell which cylinder is leaking by removing 1 spark plug at a time and cranking engine, when glove stops moving the last spark plug removed was the leaking cylinder.


Yes the new head bolts used now are stretch bolts, they are use once and replace, they can be reused but a bad seal is often the result, so they shouldn't be reused.

If you can, use a graphite composite head gasket not an MLS(multi-layer steel) gasket.
MLS gaskets are great if you have the head AND BLOCK machined, but for DYI that is often not possible, the composite gaskets are more forgiving of surface problems.

 

[MAV17]

Quick question, did you reuse or replace the head bolts?

Also, why is you PCV valve just hanging out in the wind instead of in the valve cover? That will cause problems all by itself.

Kinda sounds like lifter tick. How is the oil/oil pressure?

Yes i used brand new head bolts from advanced auto parts and torqued each one of them to spec. In the proper order as well.

As far as the PCV valve goes, when i put everything back together i couldn't figure out where it hooked up to, even made a whole thread about it here:
http://www.fordrangerforum.com/4-cylinder-tech/99876-need-97-2-3-vacuum-diagram.html

But i figure i'm going to have to take the head apart again anyways so i'm not even going to bother hooking it up for now.

Oil pressure is reading right in the middle and i haven't checked the oil yet.

I also forgot to mention that when i first took the head off, one of the rocker arms was shot over it's pushrod, so i took a hammer and gently tapped it back into place to where the rocker arm's pocket was back over the pushrod. There was also a hairline crack in between the two valves on the bottom of the head but the internet said not to worry about it too much then so i did just that. i feel like this head is pretty much done for.

 

[MAV17]

Yes, that is a top end tick, valve train, not a rod, so good news there.

I would guess the head gasket didn't get a good seal, from the lope when starting.
...

Yes the new head bolts used now are stretch bolts, they are use once and replace, they can be reused but a bad seal is often the result, so they shouldn't be reused.

If you can, use a graphite composite head gasket not an MLS(multi-layer steel) gasket.
MLS gaskets are great if you have the head AND BLOCK machined, but for DYI that is often not possible, the composite gaskets are more forgiving of surface problems.

Well it sounded a lot worse yesterday as i drove it back home. Would a top end tick cause the whole engine to shut down and not crank as well as the white smoke coming from the intake side of the head?

i used a fel-pro HG set from advanced auto parts.

 

[Mark_88]

Hmmmm...

With the PCV unhooked, you will get engine smoke (shouldn't be much from low mileage engine) in and around where it looks like it is coming from...

Is the smoke also coming out the tailpipe? If not, you need to find the canister under the intake and connect the hose for the PCV (should be an S shaped hose about 6" long) to the canister and then put the PCV valve into the end that sticks up by the intake.

That might get rid of the smoke...if it isn't coming from the tailpipe.

Otherwise, could be a head gasket issue...or your intake could be loose or doesn't fit that head as well as it should...

What year was the engine/head from? There was a small opening in the head between #2 and 3 intake that was a coolant return...that MUST have both a new gasket and some sealant or you will get a coolant leak that could be getting sucked into the intake...

Anyway...I think most heads had that coolant return that ran through the back of the intake to help cool it...

And a crack in the head was deemed to be OK?

I don't know about that...every head that I've ever put on my truck was tested for cracks...and only one of them had "minor" cracks that were ok...but that head eventually had problems...

The ticking isn't too bad...for someone like me... You should hear my truck...you'd definitely know something was very wrong with my engine...

 

[adsm08]

Top end tick won't cause anything but noise. What you need to be more worried about is what is causing the tick. If it spit that push rod again that is probably your noise. It could also account for your starting issues, but not your white smoke.


Also, you can't go by the dash "gauge" for oil pressure. It's what we call an "idiot light" because it isn't that smart. It's run by a 5-psi pressure switch, not a real sensor. Put 5 pounds to it and it puts the needle in the middle of the gauge. You need to do a real oil pressure test.

Pop the valve cover off, take a look at the valve train. Also with the engine stone cold take the rad cap off, put a rubber glove over the cap spot, and start the engine. If it blows the glove up like a balloon you are gonna get to do the head gasket again.

 

[MAV17]

lol yea i do as much research as i can on the internets before i even bother asking anything and all i could come up with was that a hairline crack was not THAT big of a deal to worry about. Didn't have the money and or resources to get it tested by a machine shop anyways so i winged it.

gonna do the radiator glove/balloon test soon as daylight hits tomorrow i'll count my lucky stars tonight.

I used a brand new gasket for the intake mani (mani to head and mid-mani) i did NOT however, tighten the bolts to spec torque. just hand tightened them. tightening the bolts was a big pita i used a ratcheting wrench for most of them.

No smoke coming out of the tailpipe either. I'll hook up the PCV tomorrow as well and see if that kills the smoke but won't that just re-route the smoke into the intake mani?

And i have not a clue what year the motor came out of, completely forgot to ask the previous owner.

 

[adsm08]

I'll hook up the PCV tomorrow as well and see if that kills the smoke but won't that just re-route the smoke into the intake mani?

Yes, but that is what the PCV is for. It is the Postivie Crankcase Ventilation valve. A certain amount of blow by gets past the rings and down into the crank case. The PCV is there to pull all that out and keep a vacuum on the crank case instead of allowing it to pressurize. Since blow by is the same as exhaust except for it going past the rings and into the crank case instead of out the exhaust, routing it back to the intake and out the exhaust isn't an issue.

When you have no PCV and the crank case is allowed to pressurize it will start to blow smoke out the hole in the block/valve cover if it's not plugged.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Also if the valve cover gasket is not sealed properly or maybe moved while installing the lack of pvc will make the smoking worse. The pressure may push enough oil out to hit the exhaust. I don't know the 2.3 to know if that's possible but it is a concern on v-6 and v-8.
Good luck,

Richard

 

[MAV17]

Yes, but that is what the PCV is for. It is the Postivie Crankcase Ventilation valve. A certain amount of blow by gets past the rings and down into the crank case. The PCV is there to pull all that out and keep a vacuum on the crank case instead of allowing it to pressurize. Since blow by is the same as exhaust except for it going past the rings and into the crank case instead of out the exhaust, routing it back to the intake and out the exhaust isn't an issue.

When you have no PCV and the crank case is allowed to pressurize it will start to blow smoke out the hole in the block/valve cover if it's not plugged.

perfect, thank you for the explanation.

so as the list goes tomorrow i'm going to:
1. remove valve cover and check from thrown rocker arm
2. do a head gasket test

counting my lucky stars tonight. what are the chances of my bottom end being shot? is there a way to check for thrown bearings, rods etc?

 

[Mark_88]

Exactly what Adsm08 said...but please do not just plug the hole...lol

Could be just that the engine sat for a while...but not sure about the separated lifter...never had one of those myself so it may be a problem with the head...if the bottom end is tight just may need to rework the head...

These engines are tough...mine has run dry of oil a few times (blow-by) and started rattling like it was on it's last legs...I put some Lucas oil treatment in it and let it run for a few minutes and it quiets down...I've even had the "zipper rattle of death" on this recently rebuilt head and it still starts and runs fine...well, except for the blow-by and the smog...and the crappy performance that may be due to needing my carb rebuilt...

But they are tough engines...don't let a little rattle rattle you...

 

[adsm08]

perfect, thank you for the explanation.

so as the list goes tomorrow i'm going to:
1. remove valve cover and check from thrown rocker arm
2. do a head gasket test

counting my lucky stars tonight. what are the chances of my bottom end being shot? is there a way to check for thrown bearings, rods etc?

I would do those step in the other order. Check the head gasket first since that requires starting it. You should know within a minute if you have a problem with the head sealing.

I really doubt that you have a bottom end issue. Unless you have been pouring coolant into the oil somewhere the mains are probably ok. The standard first test for main bearing failure is to take the oil filter off and cut it in half, see what is in the filter material. Make sure there aren't a bunch of metal shavings in it. Not sure how effective that test will be since you should have changed the oil and filter when you did the head gasket, and it sounds like you don't have a lot of miles on it since.

If you have a dial indicator you could check for thrust bearing wear, but I kinda doubt you have one. I also kinda doubt you have thrust bearing issues.

 

[MAV17]

Exactly what Adsm08 said...but please do not just plug the hole...lol

Could be just that the engine sat for a while...but not sure about the separated lifter...never had one of those myself so it may be a problem with the head...if the bottom end is tight just may need to rework the head...

These engines are tough...mine has run dry of oil a few times (blow-by) and started rattling like it was on it's last legs...I put some Lucas oil treatment in it and let it run for a few minutes and it quiets down...I've even had the "zipper rattle of death" on this recently rebuilt head and it still starts and runs fine...well, except for the blow-by and the smog...and the crappy performance that may be due to needing my carb rebuilt...

But they are tough engines...don't let a little rattle rattle you...

good to hear man i was starting to hate this 2.3. I was on the fence between getting an s10 or a ranger, all i want is a good work truck and reliability, and this 2.3 was starting to let me down. seems like whoever had it before just overheated the piss out of it and i didn't take the steps necessary to make sure the head was good to go.

 

[MAV17]

I would do those step in the other order. Check the head gasket first since that requires starting it. You should know within a minute if you have a problem with the head sealing.

I really doubt that you have a bottom end issue. Unless you have been pouring coolant into the oil somewhere the mains are probably ok. The standard first test for main bearing failure is to take the oil filter off and cut it in half, see what is in the filter material. Make sure there aren't a bunch of metal shavings in it. Not sure how effective that test will be since you should have changed the oil and filter when you did the head gasket, and it sounds like you don't have a lot of miles on it since.

If you have a dial indicator you could check for thrust bearing wear, but I kinda doubt you have one. I also kinda doubt you have thrust bearing issues.

will do. i don't have any balloons or gloves so a condom will have to do.
i'll report back tomorrow morning.

thanks for all the help guys.