I'm new to this forum so I would first like to say hello to everyone..
I have an 88 ranger w/2.9 and I have the infamous ticking that comes along with it...recently the ticking got really bad and I decided to fix it.I figured it was my lifters so I replaced them..the ticking got a lot better but is still there and gets louder and softer depending on engine temp..I tried heavier oil(20w50) and lucas to no effect...upon further investigation I have low oil pressure...Now I've searched the forum quite a bit and the next thing I want to do is replace the oil pump and cam shaft bearings. I've read people talking about a high volume oil pump for our application but I have been unable to find one online..does anyone know where I can get one?? If not, does anyone have any opinions about the reg. oil pumps that I have found + melling/ clevite and sealed power...Also is it possible to change the guts of the existing oil pump and in essence make it flow more or use a HV oil pump from a different engine..
Lastly, does any one have anything to say about the modified cam shaft bearings made by sealed power that are supposed to flow oil better than the OE design..
I know thats a lot of questions but thanx in advance for any input.
Last edited by TigerDan : 02-11-2008 at 09:39 AM.
Reason: Removed extraneous code caused by copy-and-pasting from another forum
I went through the same thing with my 2.9. While I had it apart doing the heads, I dropped the pan and shimmed the oil pressure relief spring (old racer's trick) but all I accomplished by that was to have great oil pressure, enough to blow the filter apart on cold starts on a winter morning...got to be a real PITA. Still ticked though...
We had one user here who was looking at the problem from the cam bearing angle, he posted a poll asking if anyone had any experiences with the redesigned bearings but got no definitive answers.
This is an inherent problem with these motors that has caused much speculation and theorizing but no real solutions. You'll find many threads in this forum about it.
For me, I got so sick of it that I yanked the motor and dropped in a 5.0...problem solved!
I went through the same thing with my 2.9. While I had it apart doing the heads, I dropped the pan and shimmed the oil pressure relief spring (old racer's trick) but all I accomplished by that was to have great oil pressure, enough to blow the filter apart on cold starts on a winter morning...got to be a real PITA. Still ticked though...
We had one user here who was looking at the problem from the cam bearing angle, he posted a poll asking if anyone had any experiences with the redesigned bearings but got no definitive answers.
This is an inherent problem with these motors that has caused much speculation and theorizing but no real solutions. You'll find many threads in this forum about it.
For me, I got so sick of it that I yanked the motor and dropped in a 5.0...problem solved!
Thanx for the reply...LOL i used to have a ranger with a 5.0 in it..I might go the same route again...I still cant believe after all these years no one can come up with a difinitive answer to this problem....I know rangers didnt tick off the dealership lot...who would buy a brand new ticking truck while I got your attention what do you think about rotating the thust plate?
Years ago I bought a beautiful '91 Ranger SC, 4x4, 2.9 manual/od. 41k (a city worker's car - must'a had a city vehicle to drive) Ticked like heck coming off the highway. The salesman, in a round-about way made sure I knew about the motor prob. I thought "well I'll show you..."
Now six years later that truck has sat in the weeds for the last two years because the ticking was so bad, and yes it's the valve train, that i just couldn't stand to drive it. It purrs like a kitten in town and prob don't get that bad mileage "in town". BUT... if I go on the highway a mile the lifters go flat, no power, clattering like I ran it out of oil (did that repeatedly to an old nova - I know...) and drive around town a bit and it's purring like a kitten again. WTF!!! Side note: I ruined a clutch because of corrosion in the coil-dist wire. The bad wire made for absolutely no low end power - So ya rev it a bit more + town with hills = worn clutch. More learning by doing...
I had a Bronco ll (2.9) that had no oil pressure but didn't tick on the highway - just in the morning some, and dropped in a 4.0 V6. Piece of cake. Motor mounts, trans bolts everything was perfect. I had to change the complete wiring harness and move a few wires to match the two together. The mechanic for the owner of the 4.0 said he had regular oil changes, but the truck was in a wreck and I never ran it to check oil pressure - you guessed it - poor oil press in the 4.0 also. Why didn't I put a 40.00 oil pump on when it was hanging on a chain? More learing by doing. And if you read in the manual that you can change the oil pump with the motor in the vehicle, please let me know so I can come and watch and laugh while you swear. More learning by doing.
Now with the internet I have read that too about the cam thrust plate design releasing too much oil pressure so there isn't enough left for the lifter circuit. I read this article - http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/index.php - follow down to "Ranger engines 2.9" and it seems to make sense.
BUT... I want someone else to try it and tell me what to do. Learning by someone else doing... LOL
No really... I was right at the point of doing the lifters, as mentioned above ( I feel for ya brother...) but couldn't get myself to go whole-hog : head gaskets, valve job, ex manifolds, etc etc. And the 4.0 thing was great but I just got lucky and bought a wreck at the scene of an accident for the door of all things and ended up using the motor. That little bronco with no oil press and the 4.0 got 23mpg going 75 on a trip from the UP to NYC. What the hay - run 'er.
Anyway... Lawn - keep in touch. I just started to do the front axle joints on my 91Ranger the other day and made my mind up to fix that ticking prob one way or the other. Even if it means finding a salvage 4.0 with a wiring harness that I can rob. I am sick of looking at that nice little truck dying a slow death.
23mpg wouldn't be bad either.
99f-250 sd = 9mpg (w 4.30 gears for snowplowing)
95 e250 4.9 = 11mpg (work van - gotta have it)
97 f-350 7.3 = 14mpg hwy loaded or not
94 Explorer 4.0 = 22mpg (Wifes car)
...It purrs like a kitten in town and prob don't get that bad mileage "in town". BUT... if I go on the highway a mile the lifters go flat, no power, clattering like I ran it out of oil (did that repeatedly to an old nova - I know...) and drive around town a bit and it's purring like a kitten again.
This is exactly what I experienced with mine. I drove it to and from work and around town, but if I had to go out on the highway for any distance, I was screwed. Not only noisy but loss of power so it was obvious that the lifters weren't pumping up and therefore the valves were only opening about halfway.
A lot of folks experience only the noise without the loss power, so there do seem to be varying degrees of the problem. I suppose it has to do with how little or how much oil is actually getting to the lifters.
Since I had water in the oil I dropped the pan and pulled the pump (yes, you can do it with the engine in the truck, but it ain't fun!) and tried a few old racer's tricks. I drilled out the oil passage from the pump to the filter and, ans I mentioned earlier, I shimmed the pressure relief spring on the pump. Then I replaced the rod bearings. Should have done the mains too as they were probably toast, along with the cam bearings. Water in the oil forms an acid that quickly eats bearings...
After all this I had great oil pressure on cold start up, about 75-80 PSI (actually had to go to a stronger oil filter 'cause I overdid it with the pressure relief shim and started blowing filters out...very messy!) but I still only had adequate pressure on warm cruise, and low pressure on warm idle. This tells me that there was definitely a lot of oil loss around the bearings.
And yet, some 2.9s never seem to develop the lifter noise. My dad had an '88 4X2 BII with the 2.9 and 5-speed, and it never made the slightest lifter sound. Ran strong and was fun to drive as well...plenty of power for what it was.
The main reason for 2.9 ticking is because of clogged rocker armshafts. Clogged rocker armshafts restricts oil flow thus causing lifters to wear out and tick. The theory of worn out cam bearings and air in the lifters causing ticking is BULL ****!
I'd have to argue that theory. When I replaced the heads on mine with WP heads, they came with almost new rockers and shafts. I checked them for wear before putting them on and they were like new, yet the engine ticked immediately on startup, even after priming the pump and oil system.
I would think that that (clogged arms) would help wear the lifters, but it would tend to increase the leftover pressure/quantity in the lifter area(inside the oil passages) and my engine anyway... suffered from no pressure left to keep the lifters pumped up. They would be collapsed after a mile on the highway. Collapsed as in no oil pressure at the oil galley that serves the lifters. Collapsed like it was run low/without oil and was sucking air. Hence, low power (valves just barely opening and late - shutting early) The ticking being the play in the lifters that is normally taken up by oil. That is how hydraulic, no lash, valve lifters work.
I drove an Opel until I let my wife drive it while I was working on the road. My brother-in-law came over and was going to get rid of the ticking in my 1.9 with the cam-in-head. (Cam in head with the lifters riding on top, no pushrods, aluminum head)
Well... he adjusted the rockers until he took all the play out of the lifters(washer riding down on the bottom of the bore of the lifter) and the first time my wife drove it on the highway and got it real good and warm, VOILA - BURNT VALVES!!! It had one cyl that you could take the plug wire off and make absolutely no diff in the rpm or sound of the motor, almost zero compression. And yes eventully I put a diff motor in, opened the old motor, and there was a spot on one side of the valve with a fishmouth in it. Burnt right away. My B-I-L didn't realize the ticking was normal and just more apparent because of the alum head and closeness of the valve train.
But the question remains, as far as I know, why some and not the others?
I think the guy on the Ranger site did some oil passage work that was evidently benificial as he increased his oil flow dramatically evidenced by his rocker-cover-off oil spray but still... he had a ticking problem. http://www.therangerstation.com/tech...unz_Korner.htm
PS I am never her to argue just my opinion. We are all products of our own experiences and will naturally believe them over others'.
And yes I have solved my ticking problems. Seems like I'm the only one that has solved this problem permanently.
Whats the use in making the oil pump flow more oil if it can not circulate. One way that you can tell if the rocker armshaft is clogged is to remove the valve covers and check to see if their is a good amount oil flowing out of the pin holes of the rocker arms at idle. If not or if it's dry around the arm then you got problems.(clogged shaft)
Solved my ticking problems 4 years ago. I did'nt have to waste money on new lifters, gaskets, or bearings. The problem here is people giving false information. And some take the whole hook, line and sinker...
Last edited by 8588ranger : 03-10-2008 at 01:37 AM.
Reason: add more info
Check your exhaust manifolds where they mount to the heads. i have an 88 2.9 that was ticking when I first got it. The right side was leaking. Replaced the gasket and it was gone. The fuel injectors on these trucks do tick pretty loud.
I have an '87 B2 with this 2.9
I also have several 1972-77 Mercury Capris with the earlier 2.8 engine.
These engines have solid lifters. Two of these 2.8's do not get oil up in the rockers,
just oil mist from the vents, yet they run quietly and reliably. One has 180k original miles, the other 75k rebuilt miles.
I wonder how a 2.9 would fare with solid lifters?
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...I still cant believe after all these years no one can come up with a difinitive answer to this problem....I know rangers didnt tick off the dealership lot...who would buy a brand new ticking truck
