Oil pan drop, bearing replacement.

[vbrad511]

My '97, 4.0 has had an intermittent rattle for years. It's come and gone more times than I can remember, and for a while I chalked it up to rockers/pushrods. A couple years back I replaced them, and the noise still made it's random visits. It'd be there for a few days, and then gone for weeks or months. It's back now, and it almost sounds like underside noise, and I've begun to think I've got at least one rod/main bearing giving me fits. I know the absolute right way to deal with this is pull the motor, tear it down, and have things machined, but I really don't have the cash to spare right now, and I need my truck for my job with as little down-time as possible. Back in the day you used to be able to drop the pan on some vehicles and change bearings from underneath, with the motor still in place. Is that possible in the 4.0 Ranger? Can I get the pan off without pulling the motor completely? Can I "push" the upper halves of the mains around and feed new ones in place? This is a 4wd, 5-speed, with 284k on it. Thanks...

 

[Marty'70]

I'm not 100% sure but pretty sure you can't get the pan off without at least pulling motor mount bolts and raising the engine to gain clearance. Hopefully some of the 4 we guys will be along to help you out with that.

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[bobbywalter]

if your willing to pull the pan, buy a used engine and swap it.

 

[adsm08]

The 4.0 has a "full faced" oil pan, meaning that the bottom of your trans bell is actually bolted into the oil pan. They are great for strength, but those kind of pans make it so you have to get the engine and trans pulled apart a little before you can break the pan free from the block.

That, plus it being a 4x4, means that by the time you jack the engine up high enough to get the pan off and out of the way you may as well have just taken it out of the truck, because you are more than half way there.