Because of a coolant leak I have torn down my 1987 Ranger's 2.9 v6 to the lower intake manifold gasket.
I didn't loosen anything on the valve train, but noted that I could spin all the rods except two of them on the left side. The engine is at TDC on cylinder #1, I rotated the engine manually 360 degrees, and the same rods wouldn't turn.
could something be wrong with the hydraulic lifters or the rods.
Thankx in advance for any advice.

 

Pushrods.

You started with number 1 at TDC. Where is the piston on the offending cylinder? Try moving it to TDC, then rotate 360 degrees and try again.

Was it running ok before the teardown? Any clicking or clacking? If not, leave it alone imo.

 

So the rods that won't turn by using my fingers are on the left hand side, 2nd and 3rd from the back. It is raining cats and dogs and my truck is outside...so I am unable to rotate the engine at this time.
Thank you for your prompt response!
Sorry for the triple post, but I thought it would have more ppl seeing my question.
And the motor was knocking on that side, but it sounded further forward...like cyl #1.

 

Where was the leak located and did the coolant go into the engine? If it did, it may have damaged the cam bearings which would lower the oil pressure. I had the same problem when the oil pressure would get low, it couldn't keep oil in the lifters and the engine would knock and the push rods would get noisy.

 

I had peanut butter like stuff in my valve covers only, but still got 21-22 MPG. I ran it this way for for at least a year.
I did oil and filter changes every 3,000 miles, and never had any water in the oil. I was getting a lot of compression into my radiator. Had good compression in all cylinders but #3 was 158 (dry), all the others were 165-170 (dry), and all were 180 after oil put into spark plug holes.
I tried to take off the oil pan to get a better look to see if any peanut butter was in it, but my truck is 4x4....pan would not come off. I put my hands as far as i could into the pan...nothing but oil....so I just put another pan gasket on..that took 5 hours and lots of patients.
I'm thinking of removing the rocker assy on that side, check the rods to see if they are bent, and also remove /replace the lifters.

 

If you were getting compression into the radiator.....I would say you have a cracked head.
1988 was the last year for the heads that would easily crack if the engine overheated. 1989-1992 heads were designed to be a little thicker but it didn't completely fix the problem if the engine overheated. Antifreeze doesn't always show up in the oil but 2 easy places to check are....the oil filler cap and the top of the dipstick. It will be like a yellow snot in those areas.
What I would do is a leak down test. That is where you put compressed air into the cylinder and see if it leaks out the valves, the rings or into the cooling system via a cracked head.
You will have to pull the head to replace the lifters and you might as well magnaflux the head while you have it off to see if it is cracked.