My '87 BII is starting to sound like a typwriter

[Coloradorangers]

'87 BII Eddie Bauer, 2.9 Auto 4x4, 91,000 miles. I've had it for about 8 months, ran and drove great when I got it, mostly cosmetic issues. Now it looks like a million bucks and it sounds like a typewriter!

Before I put it on the road I did a tune up, wires, air filter, some hoses, oil changes due to the gunk that was in there, replaced Idle control, belts, valve cover gaskets, etc. I started driving it about a month ago. No problem, a little chatter under the valve covers but nothing that I thought wasn't the ordinary.

Went to leave work the other day and it sounded like woody woodpecker was on steroids and under the hood. I thought a rocker arm went, or maybe a valve was sticking. It sat at work for about 9 hours before I started it to go home.

So I park it in the garage last night, still chattering pretty bad, it sounds like its the drivers side that the noise is coming from. It sits for another 16 hours and I start it this morning and the sound is still there...not as loud, but still there. So I take off the AC compressor, get the valve cover off and start the engine. I figure I may have to adjust the rocker arms or put in a whole new assembly. I have plenty of rags over the exhaust and wanted to see if I had good oil flow. Started it and it sounded great! No chattering that I could hear, the oil was flowing fine and I didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

So I put everything back together, after having to drill out a valve cover bolt that broke, and start the engine again. Damn it if it wasn't chattering again. I mean just as bad as I've heard it. It almost sounds like a diesel. Then I started thinking maybe it wasn't the valves or rockers, maybe it's the water pump that's making all of that noise. The sound seems to be coming from the left front side of the engine, and it's loud under the engine when I had the engine running. Am I totally missing something? I know I've missed something in the description because I'm so frustrated. A little advise would be appreciated.

 

[WTF]

Can you verify how good your oil pressure is? I run 20W-50 synthetic in mine to quiet the lifter ticking. There's no adjustment for the rocker arms just torque specs.

 

[ragajungle]

you can get a oil pressure gauge from harbor freight for around $20... You plug it into where the oil pressure sender is and it will give you an accurate pressure reading. Even better you can post a video link and someone on here would be able to tell right away if it is the typical B2 valve train noise or otherwise...

 

[gaz]

Rocker arm adjustment

"Coloradorangers",

ACTUALLY THERE IS A ROCKER ARM ADJUSTMENT.

I have learned how to do it but I will have to refer to my notes as I haven't had to do it since I figured it out.

Give me a day or two as I am just about to adjust my own rockers.

Ultimately, from memory; the adjustment in a Chiliton's manual or in the tech library on this forum is close. The thing I learned to do different was the final gap. Each rocker has to set off the lobe of the cam (I know, common sense to most) and the measurement is what I don't remember exactly.

I can tell you this; my ranger ticked from 1988 until 2006. I performed a rebuild and wasn't willing to settle for the absolute best I could do. I spent 3 full days figuring out what worked best (just for the rocker arm adjustment). I took notes and will dig them up. My rockers where absolutely SILENT and I never heard a Ford 90 degree V6 purr like it before or since.

ANYONE CAN DO THIS, it will take a couple of hours, a ft/lbs. torque wrench and a few sockets. Don't move anything out of the way that you don't have to, to access the valve covers. I have also learned that only unpluging what is absolutely necessary to pull the covers without causing damage is very time saving. I will dig up my NOTES and repost.

This PROCEEDURE IS DONE ON A COLD ENGINE WHILE NOT RUNNING! Sorry WTF, I don't mean to intensionally step on a fellow member's crank (I suppose that could be taken even lighter since we are speaking of engines) Ha.

Kevin

 

[Coloradorangers]

Gaz, I'd love the notes on the adjustments if you can find them. I'm running 3 qts of 20/50, 2 of 10/40... It runs friggin' great, just chattering bad. I'm assuming my oil pressure is ok, but throwing a gauge on would definitely verify. I'll try to get a vid and post. My luck it'll run great tomorrow.

I usually run '70's Mopars and I'm pretty comfortable diggin in to fix what needs fixing. Our trucks have been fords and I've never really had any issues with them other than routine maintenance, so the 2.9 is pretty new to me and I'll take all the advice I can get..

 

[d112crzy]

In for the rocker adjustment how to. Mines been ticking a lot lately.

 

[90B24wd]

Here's the way I do it.

Well, in my case when I got my first Bronco II the previous owner replaced the 90 2.9 with a 87 2.9. To make a long story short someone didn't change their oil like they should. When I popped open the valve covers to snug up the rocker nuts, I noticed that oil was not flowing out on a few rocker arms. Figured that the shaft must be plugged. I punched a hole on one end of the shaft and found it to be clogged with dry sludge. On my other 90 bronco II I drilled a small hole then, screwed in a sheet metal screw and pry the plug out. Use a rod long enough to punch out the plug on the other end. You can reuse this plug.
(beware that their is 2 different inside diameter shafts. It's the same on bought ends)
A parts store near you should have dorman replacement plugs. Second Bronco shafts were clean because the previous owner had used synthetic oil.
Some people would not agree with my method of snugging up the rocker arm nuts.
I'd use an old heater hose to listen for the loudest tapping first. Manual says 1.5 turns after zero lash. I sometimes go 3+ turns. Lifters could be worn out. I listen for a light faint tick. THIS IS MY SAFETY MARGIN!!!. I would turn off the engine and snug it a little at a time. BEWARE OVER TIGHTEN MAY CRACK YOUR HEADS ACCORDING TO SOME OTHER KNOW IT ALLS.
Also use motorcraft oil filter, if you have a Fram filter get rid of it. It will restrict your oil flow. Make sure you have good oil flow before snugging up the nuts.
__________________
90 Bronco II 2.9 M5OD
90 Bronco II 2.9 EB A4LD
90 Ranger reg cab 2.9 M5OD
91 Ranger reg cab 4.0 A4LD

 

[jhammel85]

I know we're talking about adjusting valves but I'd just like to throw in my 2 cents as to what I think it might be.

Perhaps, its from the lack of maintenance before you owned it creeping up. You said there was some gunk in it, so maybe its getting blocked up in some of the passageways.

Like someone else said, I would start by checking the pressure and go from there. Best way to clean it out (that I know of) is running fresh clean oil and perhaps cleaning it yourself. I'm kind of weary on most additives but you could try running some ATF or Marvel Mystery oil in it to help it out.

Good luck man! Sounds like you are almost there with this truck!

 

[WTF]

Come on Gaz where's this Tech article at??

 

[Coloradorangers]

Good News! Then Bad News....then Good News

Ok, came home from work for lunch, went out and started the baby bronco up and got about 3-5 seconds of chatter then it went quiet. I let it run for a little to warm up and then hit the gas a little bit, then I then started to get this nasty smell in the air and turned around and it looked like the beginning of a KISS concert. Yep, white smoke blowing out the exhaust. Damn head or head gasket! Knowing the heads are are prone to cracking on the 2.9's I checked the oil fill tube and air flow opening on the passenger side valve cover and found a nice fresh sludgy mixture of oil, antifreeze and gas. I'm figuring it cracked in just the right place for the mixture.....but it's not chattering anymore!

As I was driving back to work, all pissed off might I ad, a buddy of mine who owns a shop calls me out of the blue and starts telling me he just picked up a '90 Ranger, 2.9 (107,000), 5 speed that he picked up for the tranny on a 90 Ranger he was working on. He was asking me if I knew anyone interested in a 2.9 in fantastic condition. I asked how fantastic and he tells me he's on the highway driving it back to his shop and he's at about 75 mph and it's running great He picked it up from a guy who owned another shop and rebuilt the tranny and had been working on the engine for the original owner (older gent) who died of a heart attack a few months ago. The owner had no family and he never paid the bill for the tranny so the other mechanic put a lien on it and got the title. No leaks, everything running great and a list of new stuff done to the engine over the last two years. Anyway, I tewll him my story and say I can use it and he says $350.00 for the engine, installed! He's a good buddy and probably still making a buck or two, but it's worth it to me. I figure that a set of heads at a junky are $100, + the gaskets, time, etc, it was going to run me almost $300 doing it myself..... I'm just going to have him replace the rear seal for the heck of it and I before he installs it and I should have it back by Wednesday of next week. I plan on taking the old engine, throwing it on the stand and make it a winter rebuild project, I may even take the old auto tranny he's pulling out of his '90 and try rebuilding my 1st tranny....

So, good news, bad news, good news.....all within 45 minutes And I'm pretty sure everything lines up and all I need to do is swap out the computer right?

 

[jhammel85]

Thats a shame man...I hate hearing that but Glad you're truck's getting a heart transplant!

Any warning signs before all of the chatter? Was it getting hot AT ALL?

 

[Rebel_Grizzly]

The chattering might be a u joint going out, i had to replace my front one and im going to replace the rear one because of the noise. just my 2 cents

 

[Coloradorangers]

Definitely not the U joints. And no, it was running cool and smooth before it committed suicide. Gauges never lit up and no anti freeze leaking.

 

[UtilityCow]

Let's not let this subject die! I need to see those notes!
I had new heads put on my BII after blown head gasket and cracked head. The bonehead that did the work was supplied with 12 new lifters, but I have no way of knowing if he really replaced them. The previous owner claims he cleaned out the sludge and probably replaced the oil pump. I have installed an oil pressure gauge which I recently disconnected after the plastic line broke squirting oil on the manifold. Pressure varied, but was always within spec of the Chilton manual. What should I realistically see on the gauge if I reconnect it?
I have been experiencing valve ticks from what seems like the driver side since the rebuild. The sound varies and I can't seem to figure out a pattern. Whether it's hot, cold, viscosity, RPM range, oil pressure, anything. When it is not ticking it runs really well with lots of power, but most times it ticks to some degree and effects driveability. I'm currently running 5-30 or 10-30 (can't remember) Motorcraft semi synthetic.
Tonight I pulled the driver side and started it. Appears oil is flowing from all rockers. Some of the push rods were a little loose, so I adjusted them all according to my Chilton's (1.5 turns past zero lash on the flat of the lobe). I may go back out and try another turn or two.
One or more of the lifters could be depressed by hand. This doesn't seem right since only one or two can be depressed. Does this indicate no oil in the lifter? The internal spring pushes it back up, but it's way too easy to depress.

 

[ragajungle]

SUBSCRIBED! Great Thread!