Hi,

My Main question I am posting about is will I be able to remove the Valve Covers on my 1998 Ford E250 with the 5.4L Engine without having to lower the motor.... I have seen reference to having to remove the engine mounts and lower the motor in order to remove the Valve Covers?

Getting ready to go after the service manual for my van but thought I would ask a question here first. I know clearance on my 1998 E250 between the valve covers and the body is not all that great.. Need to pull my covers and locate and correct a valve train tap... which actually might be a oil flow problem which only occurs engine cold but I can make it go away by gently revving the engine rhythmically to shoot more oil up into the covers.... If I leave it at idle the valve train will start clacking away until I give it a gentle rev then in 1 second it disappears then will come back if I leave it just at idle again... So I am guessing either a chunk of sludge / goo has built up in just the right spot to block oil flow to a lifter or one of the supply ports up to the valve train is partially blocked. Engine is quiet and smooth once warmed up and runs perfectly.

I Definitely need to get in there and take a look. Engine has 181,000 on it and I just put in Valvoline Full Synthetic High Mileage 5w-30 For Now until I have a chance to get in there, interestingly enough it reduced the problem immediately and I hear it supposed to do some gradual sludge / goo removal over time of previous buildup. Not to keen on the idea of doing a engine flush, 3rd party chemicals etc, looked at everything from (Really?) "Marvel Mystery Oil" from like what the !930's, gee wonder how that reacts with modern bearing surfaces and complex chemistry in current oils? Yikes? to " SeaFoam " to Auto-Rx .... funny thing is I really can't seem to find any good just average Joe who has done a video or set of before and after pics that shows any of this stuff working... Seems way to risky to me.

All that being said... If anybody wants to ring in with a really good positive experience using some type of detergent engine cleaner that is gradual not sudden would be interesting.

Mainly just interested in any tricks on slipping out the valve covers if there are any?

Thanks :-)

- Jon

 

try some ATF
it cleans and won't hurt anything
all those flushing products do is empty your wallet

 

Interesting.... My Haynes manual which I finally found only says that on V10s the intake manifold has to be removed. Doesn't say there is any additional steps involved on the 5.4 Liter V8.... Hmmmm..... Guess I could pull the intake manifold if I had to.... Engine Mounts or Intake Manifold... Decisions Decisions.... :

Or I could whip out the Angle Grinder and cut out a section above the valve covers to slide them out - then duct tape it back up when I'm finished

Ordered the Ford Service WorkShop Manual, be interesting to see what it says.

No Worries....

No ATF in the Engine.... ATF goes in the Transmission

 

Did you get them off without removing the engine mount? I need to pull one off tomorrow with a V10. I don't see how the intake would be in the way.

 

I got my valve covers off on my 02 E100 w 4.6. In fact I also got the oil pan off still in the van which the service manual says you can't. My "valve train" noise ended up being a cracked piston! Hope you fare better!!

 

You may want to hock up a mechanical gauge to do a real oil pressure check since this is only at idle. The full synthetic will definitely remove some sludge. It scared me first time I used it in the wifes vehicle. I saw all the sludge in the oil filter at the next oil change. My cheby van is picking up more piston slap as the motor gets more miles. Good luck.

 

Agree with Vettx. We had an Internationale dump truck with a sticking lifter when we bought it. dumped the oil, changed the filter, and added 1 less qt of engine oil and added 1 qt of transmission fluid. We drove the truck to the dump about twice a week (29miled round trip) after a month we changed the oil/filter and it never tapped again.

 

 

I's say your ticking lifters were due to wear and bled down too quickly until helped by increased oil pressure from driving or oil flow starvation, also corrected by increased flow by driving. Is this a high mileage engine? I've seen a slightly heavier oil help such as going from a 5w-20 to a 10w-30.
Once in a worn out 390ci I did an oil change with 10w-40 AA store brand oil and the engine sounded like a sewing machine at idle, drained and refilled with Havoline and it was quite so even brands can make a difference.