Urgent Need Help Now!!! Lifters!!!

[fishunterx]

So I just pulled my valve cover off to take a look at my lifters because of a top end knock thinking I would just need to tighten one, but I don't see a way to tighten them, Anybody know how?

I have a 2.3L I4 in a 87 Ranger

 

[Ranger5.0]

i didnt think they were adjustable. Dont there use hydraulic lifters...

 

[fishunterx]

i dont know , has a cam over the rocker pusing the rod down to the valve with a spring on the rod. I dont see anywhere to adjust, so if they aren't adjustable, what do I do about the knock?

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

your lifters are hydraulic, self lash adjusting. if one of them is bleeding down, it needs to be replaced (might be easier to just replace all 8 if you cant identify which one is the problem child...they are less than $10 a peice).

but are you sure it was the top end you were hearing? bad lifters usually cause more of a "ticking" noise than a knocking one...and it will also tick at half the speed of the motor.

knocking is usualy more acossiated with bottom end problems..

 

[snake]

I haven't had one of these apart to know for sure, but you may have a collapsed lifter. If so, it would need to be replaced. I'd put the valve cover back on (loose) and crank the engine and listen to it with a stethescope to get a better idea of which lifter it is. If the engine is skipping, hit the exhaust manifold with one of those laser thermometers and the coldest lung should be the one misfiring.

Yeah-what he said. We posted at the same time

 

[fishunterx]

I'm sure that it's top end, I hear it more when I'm under power and it's at half the speed of the engine. I ran a treatment through to try and free up the lifter, do you know of anything that's been proven that I could run through to see if that will help. If I have to replace the lifters, I'll probably end up just doing the whole head. And I'll say this much, that is the LAST time I buy a cork gasket. That was way more than a PITA to get on.

 

[Jimmeh]

I'm sure that it's top end, I hear it more when I'm under power and it's at half the speed of the engine. I ran a treatment through to try and free up the lifter, do you know of anything that's been proven that I could run through to see if that will help. If I have to replace the lifters, I'll probably end up just doing the whole head. And I'll say this much, that is the LAST time I buy a cork gasket. That was way more than a PITA to get on.

Did you try Restore? That's what I did when I had a lifter tick and it cleared it up.

 

[1996 fordranger 4x4 stx]

I had a prominent TICKING in my current truck when it rolled over 200,000 miles last year so I decided to start using 1 quart of Lucas heavy duty oil stabilizer and for the rest of the oil I started using Castrol 5w-30 high mileage and my ticking has STOPPED, it took about 200 miles and shazammmmmmm no more ticking.

My wife's 1997 Taurus starting have a ticking at 180,000 miles and since it called for the EXACT same specs for oil I also did the exact same thing for her car and her ticking stopped almost immediately.

This has been my PERSONAL experience and yours might be different!

Be prepared for the people who support it and also the Nah-Sayers who say things like ( OMG DON'T EVEN TRY IT ) and of course the people who will say ( JUST FIX THE PROBLEM, MECHANICALLY )

Keep in mind there are literally THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of people using Lucas oil for old tired engines with great results.

Keep in mind to use the right weight of oil recomended for your particular year ranger.

I also use this particular OIL FILTER ( Fram Tough Guard ) for help with ENGINE START UP!! ( protects your engine by retaining oil when engine is off so your engine benefits from a full Filter at start-up)

http://www.fram.com/products/oilFilters.php#oilFilters2

http://www.lucasoil.com/products/di...&headTitle= - Lucas Heavy Duty Oil Stabilizer

http://www.castrol.com/castrol/genericarticle.do?categoryId=82915476&contentId=6003494

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

id say you got lucky with the restore...its supposed to help seal the bottom end, not clean out the top.

the best luck ive had with cleaning out sticky lifters is running karosene or ATF through the engine before changing the oil. either contains enough detergents that they will usually free up a stuck lifter.

im not a fan of lucas in my engines. i love their gear and trans. additives, but ive seen what they do to engines on dry start, its scary. of coarse, if you have low oil pressure, running something as thick as lucas CAN help prolong the inevitable...but id rather just fix the problem now before it leaves me stranded.

 

[94STXRanger]

We had a setup of three filters at work one time. A fram, Wix and the housebrand microguard made by purilator. They were all cut up and just looking at them you could tell the microguards filter material looked a lot better then the frams. the fram just looked like folded pieces of cardboard. I dont use them

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

lets not start the oil filter arguement again and plug up this guys thread.

 

[Mark_88]

I've used the lucas oil in my 2.0 and it probably extended the life of the engine way beyond what it should have lasted (considering I had a hole or crack in one piston and they wobbled back and forth in the sleeve)...

Just don't use too much...I was mixing one litre of lucas to three litres of oil and changed it every 5,000 km or so...and I never heard so much as a tap out of the top end...the bottom end now that's another story...

 

[fishunterx]

Thanks, I'll give that a try. I'm moving at the end of this month so replacing lifters is a little out of the question, but hopefully running some different oil through it will help. I'll go pick up some tomorrow. Right now time and money to fix that are not available.

On the plus side I did get a new starter and swapped it out, fixed my starting problem.

 

[1996 fordranger 4x4 stx]

Thanks, I'll give that a try. I'm moving at the end of this month so replacing lifters is a little out of the question, but hopefully running some different oil through it will help. I'll go pick up some tomorrow. Right now time and money to fix that are not available.

On the plus side I did get a new starter and swapped it out, fixed my starting problem.

What starter problem DID you have?

My starter is starting to get VERY tired and probably 35 to 40 percent of the time it complains and turns slow, of course the other times it sounds normal, I did have a bad solenoid I fixed for 9 bucks new at the start of summer,it would get hot and just click and would take about 30 minutes to cool down before working again, once I replaced the solenoid it NEVER did that again.

 

[fishunterx]

When I would turn my key to start it, It would turn the motor over fine about 2 times, and then would just free spin w/o turning the engine. I would then have to stop turning the key, wait for the starter to stop spinning, and then turn the key again and that time the engine would start within the 2 turns. I just went to a JY and picked one up for $20 and swapped it out.